YOSEMITE WINTER CLUB SKI TEAM MEMBERS TOOK HOME 14 MEDALS AT LAST YEAR S SILVER SKI RACE AT BADGER PASS. THE RACE IS AMONG THE OLDEST IN THE NATION. A s the first real snow of the season has fallen, the Yosemite

Winter Club (YWC) is preparing

for what will be an historic year. In addition to all the YWC’s regular activities, the club will help Badger Pass celebrate 75 years and honor Yosemite legend Nic Fiore.

Badger Pass is the first alpine ski area established in California and is said to have been named by stagecoach driver who saw a badger while resting his horses in the area. The Yosemite Winter Club led a campaign to host the 1932 Winter Olympics in the Park, but the games were eventually held in Lake Placid, NY.

Fiore, who died in June of this year, spent 57 years at Badger, teaching nearly 140,000 people to ski. He was the director of the Yosemite Ski School and the Yosemite High Sierra Camps.

IN DURING THE SEASON. The YWC newsletter states, “Nic was instrumental in making Badger Pass Ski Area what it is today - a family oriented and teaching ski facility where the old traditions of skiing fun live on.”

On Dec. 5 in Curry Village, YWC along with many other members of the community will celebrate the lives of Fiore and his wife, Midge. For ticket information, visit www.YosemitePark. com.

The following weekend, the celebration continues. The YWC annual dinner dance will be held on Dec. 12, also at the Curry Village Pavilion. The event is the official kick-off of the beginning of the winter sports season in Yosemite.

Registration begins at 5 p.m., and a spaghetti dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. After dinner, there will be music and dancing. The event is free with a paid annual membership. The cost is $15 for adults and $10 for children. Those interested can join or renew at www.YosemiteWinterClub. com.

Badger Pass is set to open Dec. 18 (weather permitting), and YWC members can’t wait. In addition to the usual anticipation, members are looking forward to “the sprint,” a brand new lift at Badger that replaces the 33-yearold Badger lift. The equipment cost more than $1.2 million and will allow for easier loading and unloading. The lift will retain the badger name.

Last year, the ski team collected 14 top ten medals in the Silver Ski Slalom race. More than 110 junior ski racers participated. The race, which dates back more than 50 years, is one of the longest running races in the country.

The Yosemite Winter Club ski-team is an all volunteer organization supporter through membership dues and donations from DNC Parks and Resorts, Rosignol, Herb Bauer sporting goods and others. For information about the ski team, contact Coach Tom Medema at yosemiteskiteam@yahoo. com.

The ice skating and hockey program of the YWC is also set to begin. Basic skating lessons will be on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m., with the exception of Dec. 23 and 30.

Basic hockey lessons will

be every Thursday at the ame time, except Dec. 24 and 31.

Sign-ups are being conducted online. Participants should bring their proof of purchase to the first night’s practice.

Those interested in skating and hockey must show YWC membership, Ice Skating Institute membership, which is available at www.skateisie.com; and an ice rink waiver, which can be found at www.yosemitewinterclub.com. For more information, about hockey, contact Dave Kari at 379-2411. Carol Johnson (742-4410) has information about ice skating.

The YWC also has a cross county section which has five overnight ski trips planned for the coming season. Breakfast and dinner are provided for all trips. Participants bring their own lunches, snacks and water. Trips are open to YWC members with experience in cross country skiing and the backcountry.

The “first ski” will take place Jan. 22 through 24. Don and Kay Pitts open their home at the Falcon’s Nest for dinner and sleepover. The cost for one night is $10, and two nights are $20 per person.

The Glacier Point trip is 11 miles, one-way. There are two trips planned, Feb. 5 to 7 and 27 to 28. The Ostrander trip is set for Feb. 11 to 14 and March 4 to 6.

The trans-Sierra trip is a fournight, five-day ski from March 17 to 21. The trip starts with a flight to Lee Vining. Skiiers then ski up to the Tioga Pass entrance station, where they spend the first night. The trip concludes with the 126 switchbacks on foot down to Yosemite Valley. More information about the trips is available on the YWC Web site.

The annual Snow Ball at the Ahwahnee is set for Feb. 27. There is a champagne reception, silent auction and four-course dinner. Tickets purchased by Dec. 15 are $75 each. After that they are $95. They can be purchased by calling 379-2602. The event sold out weeks in advance last year.