We spent XMas/NYE 2014-2015 having a crazy, fun time with an international group, skiing and snowboarding in Switzerland!
The Crazy Snow Camp was a real winter adventure!
Please find some additional info in this comparison between this season’s Crazy Snow Camps.
The best way of spending XMas and New Years Eve: with a very mixed and international group of people, on top of a mountain, far away from the XMas kitsch! Let’s do some awesome skiing, snowboarding and crazy group fun!
This event has taken place in December 2014/January 2015 and therefore is history. So you can not sign up for this event anymore
We will be in a group accommodation at the top station of the cable car in the centre of a skiing area in Switzerland, thus not in a village but on the mountain, and you can only get there by going up with the cable car or ski lifts. 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
Our group accommodation is at an altitude of 2350m and right at the slopes (ski-in/ski-out). The ski area is not super big and not super small. There are several skilifts and a cable car. Blue, red and black slopes; a ski route and a snow park. Highest point is at 2400m; lowest point at 1300m. The slopes are quite diverse and freeride possibilities are good (mainly trees). We will be in the French speaking part of Valais/Wallis in the southwest of Switzerland.
Accommodation
The accommodation is functional and consists of a couple of dorm rooms, a kitchen, a living/dining area, a toilet and showers. The location is amazing, high over the valley, far away from the villages. We are in the building where the cable car arrives. Doesn’t sound very romantic maybe, but it is the best place to be, at the highest point of the ski area. After breakfast: take your skis or snowboard and you’ll be the first on the slopes! There will be max. 22 people in our group. In the house clothing is optional (faq). In general you will have very limited 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 normally there will be the unique Crazy Camp Mountain Sauna, or a steam dome for example – to be decided later.
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. This Crazy Snow Camp is good for beginners and for experienced skiers.
Please keep in mind that SNOW comes from NATURE so there is no guarantee for the amount of snow that will be there! In last years Crazy SNow Camp XMas/NYE (that was in another resort) the first 3 days the resort was closed because of insufficient snow for opening the slopes. So we made (snowshoe) hikes, built our own kicker etc. and still had a fantastic time :-)
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 accommodation 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.
There is some amazing news: a Real Ski Teacher will be joining the Crazy Snow Camp XMas/NYE 2014/2015 Edition in the second week. And he volunteered to give SKI LESSONS for free to those Crazy Snow Camp participants that want it! Oops did I just say ski lessons? That was by mistake. For juridical reasons (liability etc.) I can not call it ski lessons and I can not call him a ski teacher. So let’s say that a very experienced skier with pedagogic skills is willing to give some peer-to-peer help to other Crazy Snow Camp participants :-) Incredible added value! Only dinosaurs, people that are in prison and people that suffer from chionophobia have a good reason for NOT joining our epic adventure in the snow!
Excursions
The skipass for this resort is also valid for the neighboring resort, with chair lifts and skilifts. If you want to go skiing there, you will have to take care of your own transport (bus or car) to get there and back.
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 18 places, price for two weeks is EUR 745 per person for accommodation and the food that we will prepare together (breakfast, 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 (20-27 dec) or only the second week (27 dec – 3 jan). Basic price for only one week is EUR 500 per person.
What is included/provided and what is not?
+ Accommodation
+ Breakfast
+ Simple lunch (sandwiches, leftovers of yesterdays dinner)
+ Dinner (we will cook together)
+ Coffee, tea, milk, water, juice
– Snacks, fruit, energy bars, energy drinks, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages
+ Tourist taxes
+ Bed covers
– Bed sheets or sleeping bags or sleeping bag liners
– Towels
– Skipass, equipment rental
– Parking fees in the village if you come by car
+ Unforgettable fun
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 (faq)) 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 cable car.
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 2014>2015 Edition
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