We spent XMas/NYE 2013-2014 having a crazy, fun time with an international group, skiing and snowboarding in Switzerland!
The Crazy Snow Camp was a real winter adventure!
This event has taken place in December 2013/January 2014 and therefore is history. So you can not sign up for this event anymore
We will be in a wooden mountain hut just for our group in the middle of a skiing area in Switzerland, not in a village but on the mountain, and you can only get there by going up with two chair lifts and then skiing/snowboarding. In the evening we will organise crazy group games, we’ll cook and eat together etc. In the daytime there will be flash mob style assignments – and a lot of snow fun, obviously.
Location
The hut is at an altitude of 2200m and right at the slopes (ski-in/ski-out). The ski area is not super big and not super small. There are several chair lifts and ropeways. Highest point is at 2650m; lowest point at 1500m. The slopes are very diverse and freeride possibilities are good. We will be in the French speaking part of Valais/Wallis in the southwest of Switzerland.
Hut
The hut is really simple and consists of a dorm room, a kitchen/living/dining area and a simple toilet outside. Heating is with wood. For washing there is a sink and there will be an improvised shower/tub. The location is amazing, high over the valley, far away from the villages. There will be max. 12 people in our group. In the house clothing is optional. In general you will hardly have any privacy. You will be surprised how fast you will feel at ease with everybody, in a place where you can simply be who you are, far away from your day to day environment and habitudes. No smoking in the house. Bring a sleeping bag or sleeping bag liner. And there will be the unique Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna.
Yes the hut is really simple… and therefore this Crazy Snow Camp will be very affordable!
Activities
In the daytime most of us will be skiing or snowboarding. This can be individually but we will do some things as a group also. In previous Crazy Snow Camps it turned out that the participants enjoy shredding the slopes together, teaching each other some ski/board skills, etc.
Also we will be doing some simple, fun creative flash-mob style assignments – and don’t worry if you are not a creative person, you will surprise yourself.
At the end of the day and in the evenings we will be automatically together (theoretically you could ski to the village but there will be no way of getting back to our hut in the evening) so we will make our own après ski! This will start with cooking, eating and cleaning together. There will be crazy group games, yoga-ish stuff and so on. And I will do my utter best to implement a Crazy Camp style back-to-basics sauna/steam bath outside the house.
Excursions
There is the option to make one or more excursions, for example to go for a day of skiing in another resort nearby (costs of this are not included). At a half hour drive there is a nice wellness centre; somewhere half way the Crazy Snow Camp we will go there for a long, hot shower, swimming in the thermal pool and some hours in the sauna/hammam village (costs of this – Sfr. 21 – are included in the two-weeks option, but are not included if you sign up for just one week. Small print: we will go there by car; if there are more participants than places in our cars, the costs of public transport has to be added).
Workshops
There is space and time for workshop-like activities, so if you would like to share some of your knowledge or skills, feel free! Maybe you want to do a photo session, or make us sing the traditionals of your native culture? Just some ideas… it really can be anything.
Cost
If we fill all places, price for two weeks is EUR 620 per person for accommodation and the food that we will prepare together (breakfast, a simple lunch, dinner). That is cheap, especially considering that XMas/New Year is the most expensive time of the year in ski resorts! However, don’t come if you are only interested in an affordable winter holiday. The Crazy Snow Camp is all about the group, spending fun evenings together, doing crazy games, etc.
There is also the possibility of joining only the first week (21-28 dec) or only the second week (28 dec – 4 jan). Pricing for this is a bit complicated, because for example the price that I pay for the hut doesn’t change if you come only one week. So the price for one week will depend on how many people will eventually sign up…
Basic price for one week is EUR 500 per person, but can be as low as EUR 310. Check this link for the calculation for one-week participants.
Couples
If you are a couple, please understand that in the Crazy Snow Camp you can not behave like a couple. You can get neighbouring beds in the dorm if you want (in general the beds are allocated through a lottery) but apart from that, you are expected to participate in all activities and group life as individuals and not as a couple. Yes you will be hugging – in the numerous group hugs! So be prepared to sit each at the opposite end of the group table during dinner, and accept that someone else than yourself might be giving a salt scrub to your partner in the sauna.
How to get there
Distance from Geneva airport is 175km, Zürich airport 300km, Basel/Mulhouse airport at 270km, Milano airports at 250 km, Lyon airport at 325 km. Easy to reach by train (and then one bus). From The Netherlands/Belgium/Luxemburg there is a ride share available, approx. EUR 80 two-way per person. Most probably, as time passes by, ride shares from other directions will be added.
From the village where we will meet we will go up by chair lift and then ski/board to the hut.
Interested?
If you want to participate in this event, then you’re out of luck… It is a past event! Please check out the other upcoming Crazy Snow Camps or sign up for the newsletter and I’ll keep you updated about new Crazy Camps.
Confirmed participants Crazy Snow Camp – XMas/NYE 2013>2014 Edition
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