Skiers Find Companions by Joining Local Clubs

It may be typical midwinter shorts weather here in balmy Ventura County, but that’s no reason to avoid the ski slopes.

Four ski clubs are thriving here, regularly shuttling members to Mammoth Mountain or far-flung glamour spots such as Innsbruck, Austria, on ski junkets.

But that’s not all they do. They’re busy all year around organizing tennis, biking, volleyball--even bridge. One of them took members on a bungee-jumping fling in New Zealand.

Conejo Ski Club changed its name last summer to Conejo Ski and Sports Club because of all the non-ski activities the club plans.

“We do almost anything,” said Joe Martineau, president. That includes baseball, basketball, tennis three nights a week, even a bike trip in Mexico. Members also take in plays from time to time.

This is hardly a little garden club. It’s one of the largest clubs in Southern California. Membership runs 400 to 450, with many coming from the San Fernando Valley. That’s down from a high of 1,200 in the 1980s. The downturn in the economy coupled with the drought caused the dip in membership.

But meetings twice a month at the Westlake Village Inn still pack in 100 to 200 people, who stick around after the meeting for the social scene. The club is not family oriented.

“The majority of our people are single,” Martineau said. Ages of members range from mid-20s to 60s. “We’ve had 12 or 13 marriages develop from the club,” he said, adding that, for many looking to make friends, the club is an alternative to the bar scene.

Only 60 percent of the members actually ski, and for them it’s no hardship to live in Southern California, Martineau said. Wrightwood, or Mountain High, is only a two-hour drive away and Big Bear isn’t much farther. Drive a little more and there’s Mammoth--”some of the finest skiing in the world.”

Despite sparse snow in the state this winter, the club still organizes bus trips to Mammoth every other weekend. A week in Innsbruck is also on tap this winter.

Los Padres Ski Club, which draws more members from the west side of the county, operates much the same way. It has five weekend bus trips scheduled to Mammoth this winter. Members recently returned from a trip to Colorado and a jaunt to Utah is coming up.

“If you go on your own, it can be costly,” said Irene Peters, club treasurer. But through the club, members can get special deals like the one to Mammoth: a $123 package that includes the bus, two nights’ lodging and a meal. This is no rattletrap bus--it’s equipped with movie screens for watching videos. (These deals don’t include daily lift ticket, $43, or ski equipment rental, about $28 for two days.)

Los Padres, organized in 1937, has 100 members and it’s also adult oriented. Meeting in Ventura, the club usually has a speaker who talks about ski-related stuff. Like other clubs, it appeals to a range of skiers, some of whom compete in a race league.

The rest of the year members are into volleyball, bike trips and cultural events like museum outings. Every summer they take a camping trip to the Kern River.

Gold Coast Ski Club, meeting in Camarillo, is the one for families. It’s smaller, only 35 or 40 members, some of whom joined because they felt uncomfortable with the singles scene at other clubs, according to Scott Anderson, vice president.

“It’s hard for young families to afford to ski,” said Anderson, whose own two daughters like to ski and snowboard.

This club, originally formed in the 1970s as the Point Mugu Ski Club, travels to Mammoth regularly. They’ll be at Big Bear this weekend. In March they’re off to Breckenridge, Colo.

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Although skiing is the main focus, Gold Coast operates year-round with hikes, bike trips, including one in May from Ventura to San Diego, and a camping trip in April to Temecula for the hot-air balloon race.

A fourth club is taking hold in the county. Recreation Ski Club, based in the San Fernando Valley, last year began meeting twice a month in Ventura as well.

It has about 40 active members. The cheaper rates the club offers aren’t the only draw, according to Sharon Manzo, who organizes the trips. “A lot of people want to ski and their friends don’t ski,” she said. “It’s a way to find people to ski with.”

In addition to Mammoth bus trips, the club takes two out-of-state trips a year, this winter to Colorado and British Columbia. Their off-season activities include volleyball, biking and even river-rafting excursions. Children are welcome on the trips.

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DETAILS

Ski clubs:

* CONEJO SKI AND SPORTS CLUB meets first and third Tuesdays of the month, 7 p.m., Westlake Village Inn (Lakeside Room), 31943 Agoura Road, Westlake Village. Membership, $35 a year. Information, 499-1266.

* LOS PADRES SKI CLUB meets first Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Alexander’s, 1050 Schooner Drive, Ventura. Membership, $35 a year. Information, 647-8029.

* GOLD COAST SKI CLUB meets first Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. for dinner, 7:30 meeting, Denny’s Restaurant, 1659 E. Daily Drive, Camarillo. Membership, $20 a year for individuals, $35 for families. Information, 484-7441.

* RECREATION SKI CLUB meets second and fourth Wednesdays, 7 p.m., Round Table Pizza, 4255 E. Main St., Ventura. Membership, $35 a year. Information, 986-2626.