Winter Weekend 2020!!

OVERVIEW

Salutations fellow Outdoorspeople,

Are you ready for the best weekend of the year? One full of shredding with the gnarliest people you know? Winter weekend extravaganza is here!

***Please read everything I send for this trip. MEGA trips are a massive amount of work which can be greatly reduced by you all.***

THE PLAN (Summary):
Snowshoe arguably is the best mountain for skiing and snowboarding in the Southeast, with good trails and tons of variety. We’ve already rented out two whole houses at the Cass Railroad State Park 20 minutes away from Snowshoe for Friday-Sunday (Jan 31st-Feb 2nd). If there is enough interest, we’ll reserve even more and make this a real romp.

Depending on people’s schedules, everyone will come on either Thursday night or sometime on Friday. Rough schedule will be:
– Ski/Board/Tube on Friday (arrive early Friday morning)
– Theme-Party Friday night
– Ski/Board/Tube/Snowshoe on Saturday
– Different Theme-Party Saturday night
– Optional Ski/Board/Tube Sunday morning/afternoon
– Clean up, pack up, and return to Cville

~~~~~ FOOD ~~~~~
Group dinners/breakfasts will be cooked in the houses on Friday evening, Saturday morning, Saturday evening, and Sunday morning. Lunches will be up to you, most will probably eat at the various restaurants near the resort area next to the slopes or bring their own.

~~~~~ LODGING ~~~~~
We’ll be staying in two-story historic houses owned by the Cass scenic railroad park. Website: http://www.cassrailroad.com/cottages.html
Currently there are two 5-bedroom house already rented out for this trip. The houses feature bathrooms (with showers), fully equipped kitchens, television, cooking utensils, tableware, towels, dishcloths, linens, television, Wi-Fi, and heat.

People on sleeping pads (on the floor) may be sharing bedrooms with others, or will be in living rooms. Details about the trip fee will be addressed at end, but beds are approximately an extra $15 for a single bed for the whole weekend, or $30 for a double bed for the whole weekend ($30 per double bed not per person). Bed requests can be made in the trip signup questionnaire. I will email you after the signup deadline to let you know if you got a bed, what size, and in what house.
For now, we’ll have one house dedicated to meal-cooking and partying, and another house dedicated to chilling. If there’s enough interest, we’ll reserve more houses and add more themes for a progression. Last year we had 4 houses!

The rental houses we stay at are part of a West Virginia State Park, and like all state parks, alcohol isn’t allowed. I’m not a park officer and I won’t be acting as one. If you decide to bring your own beverages, you’re responsible for your own decision and any consequences that might happen. Let’s close curtains / cover up windows.

~~~~~ ACTIVITIES ~~~~~
All skill levels welcome!! Even total beginners! There will probably be plenty of ODC members willing to teach beginners
There will be skiing, snowboarding, tubing, relaxing, and partying at the houses, and possibly cross-country skiing and/or snowshoeing.
On Friday night in the dinner house there will be a list posted showing everyone’s downhill ski / snowboard skill levels, if applicable, to help you choose buddies for the day. In addition there will be car signup sheets.

Drivers will write in when they’re leaving and what their activity for the day will be (skiing / snowboarding, tubing, or snowshoeing / cross-country skiing), and others sign up for spots in cars. Our rental houses in Cass, WV are about 20 minutes away from Snowshoe.

On Saturday night or Sunday morning there will be signup sheets you can check for which drivers are doing what, leaving when, and sign up for a spot in an available car. Some folks will head to Snowshoe Mountain, some will head home. The return time thus varies; the 1pm time listed is if you choose to do no activities at Snowshoe on Sunday and find a car in which to drive straight home.

~~~~~ COSTS ~~~~~
The club reimburses:
– ALL gas (capped at $150) with a 50% tip (capped at $20). To be reimbursed, keep gas receipts.
– $5 per person per night for lodging (This will be reflected in a lower trip fee)

To cover house rental fees as well as food/beverage costs, all attendees must pay a trip fee to be let off the waitlist.
The trip’s cost will be highly dependent on how many people sign up – if more people sign up, lodging and food costs for everyone will dramatically decrease. The signup deadline for the trip will be January 9th.

Everyone who signs up will be waitlisted at first. Once the signup deadline has passed and I have a concrete idea of how much the cost will be based on the number of people signed up, I will send an email out to the waitlist with the fee information (fee will be paid to the Outdoors Club’s Venmo account or by check/cash). Last year, the fee was around $60 give or take $15 depending on whether you got a bed or not.

Please remove yourself **BEFORE** the signup deadline if you can’t attend. The club fronts a significant amount of money based on you paying the trip fee.
If you wish to Join after the signup deadline please email me. I always try to accommodate as many people as possible.

Everyone will independently pay for their own lift tickets and rentals (if needed), as well as for their own lunches on Fri/Sat/Sun.
Walk-up rates for Snowshoe lift tickets cost $100 per day, maybe cheaper if you’re a student though. Website: https://www.snowshoemtn.com/plan-your-trip/tickets-and-passes/lift-tickets
Tubing tickets cost $20 for two hours.
Rental gear (skis/poles/boots/snowboard) can be acquired at Freestyle (shop in Cville) or another convenient option is Route 66 Outpost, just a few blocks from our rental houses. See www.route66snowshoe.com I would call them and tell them to have everything ready for pickup Friday night. They also offer helmet and bib rentals (just $6 each I think) and may offer sharpening – drop off Friday night, pick up Saturday morning. I’d call them if you were interested in this option.
Remember: If you take care of rentals/tickets before getting to Snowshoe, you can rest easy knowing that you won’t keep any other trip attendees waiting for you anywhere and that you’ll have more time on the slopes!

COSTS SUMMARY:
– Predicted ~$50-60 club fee per person for food/lodging/beverages (will be payed AFTER signup deadline on Jan 9th)
– Extra cost added to club fee if you want a bed (see above section on lodging)
– Gas is reimbursed by club
– $80-$100 lift tickets per day at Snowshoe paid independently
– Lunch for Fri/Sat/Sun paid independently
– $20 to go tubing for 2 hours paid independently
– Rentals if needed (costs vary) paid independently

~~~~~ SIGNUP & WITHDRAWAL DEADLINES ~~~~~
The hard signup deadline will be Wednesday, January 19th, after which you must email me to sign up. This is subject to space availability.

To reiterate, everyone will be waitlisted at first. After Jan 9th (Ninth not Nineteenth), I will send an email to all those on the waitlist with the trip fee information. Once the trip fee is received (either by venmo, or check) you will be removed from the waitlist and officially on the trip!

If you withdraw/cancel after paying, there may be a possibility for a partial refund if it happens early enough, but a late withdrawal will throw a major wrench in the works of the logistical planning, so there will likely be no refund in that case. Refunds are up to the trip planners’ discretion. Thanks for understanding.

~~~~~ FINAL PREPARATION ~~~~~
A week or so before the trip departure, I will email all participants a lot of information containing final details, which should answer all of your questions. If possible, please be thoughtful of the trip planners’ time and hold small questions until after reading the final details email, thanks.

~~~~~ WHAT TO WEAR AND BRING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> From the Snowshoe website a while back:
“What to Wear:
Be sure to dress in layers – layering keeps you warmer and lets you adjust clothing as the temperature rise or fall. The layer closest to your skin should be made of a ‘wicking’ material so that it removes perspiration away from your skin. The outermost layer should be wind and water resistant. This includes your jacket, pants and gloves. Clothes such as jeans and sweat pants are not suitable as they absorb water making you cold and wet. If you choose not to wear a helmet, be sure to wear a hat at all times as most of your body heat escapes out of your head.
Goggles and Sunscreen:
At our higher elevation, the sun’s rays are less filtered. Sun also reflects off the surface of the snow making the rays even more intense. To protect against sunburn and damage to your eyes, you should always were sunglasses or goggles and sunscreen at all times. It is also important to carry goggles with you at all times – goggles offer protection against the winter elements (snow, ice and wind) and provide you with greater visibility while skiing and snowboarding during tough weather conditions.”
>>> What to bring, in addition to the above:
– Beverages
– Snacks / munchies
– Boom box or speaker of some sort
– karaoke machine
– musical instrument
– board games
– lunch or lunch money for Friday Saturday & Sunday.
– money for renting (as applicable): downhill skis, snowboard
– money for trail passes (might be needed, probably free though) for cross-country or snowshoeing
– a towel and shower items
– pillow
-EAR PLUGS if you want
if you have them: skis, boots, poles, a snowboard, snowshoes, and a sleeping bag* and pad*
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Here’s what the Snowshoe website said in the past about the mountain:
“So Much Terrain, Such a Great Price
At 4,848′ elevation, life in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia is a bit different. Forests of snow-laden fir and spruce trees provide a distinctly alpine feel. Snowfall is plentiful and consistent. For what Mother Nature doesn’t supply, the resort’s powerful snowmaking system, coupled with one of the colder climates in the East, ensures there’s always plenty of the white stuff up here. And with 57 slopes and trails and 1,500′ vertical drop – more than any other resort in the Southeast – the skiing and riding is as endless as the views.
Thankfully, you don’t have to ski and ride like a pro to enjoy it; Snowshoe has terrain for all abilities and tastes. Just below the Village center, Snowshoe’s basin offers cruiser green runs for learning your turns, challenging blues where you can explore new skills and bomber black diamonds to test your threshold for adventure. Adrenaline junkies love the Western Territory – long and steep and home to the mountain’s biggest bumps, it’s mile and a half long runs will leave your legs screaming for mercy. …
For snowboarders and freeskiers, two awesome terrain parks offer everything from a 300-foot halfpipe to monster table tops, rails and other features. It’s truly the Southeast’s most prolific winter playground with one Freedom Lift Ticket that lets you explore it all both day and night.”
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Some interesting history on Cass, WV and our rental houses (from rental house brochure):
“The Cass Company Houses, located in the Town of Cass, are two-story houses once used as residences by employees of West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company. These employees either worked at the Cass Mill or on the Cass Railroad. The houses were built around 1900 and have been renovated to include modern conveniences such as fully-equipped kitchens including coffee pots and microwave ovens. Television is provided.”
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If you have any questions, feel free to email me at src7gd@virginia.edu,
but please make sure you have read all of the above first.

Happy Trails!!
Clifford – The Big Red Dog