This opportunity is for experienced, reasonably advanced skiers and snowboarders, both Scouts and adults, interested in taking a New England Winter Ski Trip to Killington, Vermont!!! Due to repeated requests by experienced Scout skiers and snowboarders, the Troop runs a high adventure winter snow sport trip to New England each year. Initial interest levels are determined in the Spring.

Dates: December 26-30 (5 days, 4 nights--3 FULL DAYS OF SKIING/SNOWBOARDING!!!)

Itinerary: The Troop departs early on December 26, taking Troop vans and other personal vehicles, as required, with a minimum of 2 adult drivers for each vehicle. Drive time to Killington is approximately 11-12 hours. The return trip is on December 30, also leaving early that morning and arriving back in Arlington between 7pm and 9pm.

Snow Sports: 3 full days of skiing or snowboarding at the best site on the East Coast!!! Killington offers an astounding array of slopes of all difficulty levels, including some extremely difficult double blacks for our truly advanced skiers and boarders. Many blue and single black diamond slopes abound, and there are also a substantial number of green and blue trails. However, no beginners are permitted to participate in this trip; it is intended for qualified intermediate/advanced skiers/boarders only, based on Dr. Bob's and ASM Rick's assessment of Scouts' ski/snowboard skills. Dr. Bob's famous ski lessons will not be offered on this trip, so only Scouts who are already qualified to spend entire days (with buddy) on the slopes should plan (and will be permitted) to go. To give you some idea of how big Killington is, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ski all the slopes in 3 days even if one were qualified to do so.

Lodging/Food/Amenities: The Troop stays at Trailside Lodge (www.trailsidelodge.com), a family operated lodge located approximately 5 minutes from the slopes. It has bunkbed accommodations with a maximum of 6-7 per room, along with a heated (outdoor) pool and hot tub. There is also a movie offered each night. A full hot breakfast and family-style full dinner are provided each day.

Trip Cost: Unfortunately, such an exciting adventure doesn't come cheap! TOTAL TRIP COST is estimated at $500-575, depending on the participant’s age and need for equipment rentals. Approximately $500 of this money is collected as the Troop trip fees, but a portion (about $100) needs to be taken in cash by each participant, to cover trip meals en route and lunches at the ski resort each day. Therefore, the Troop collects approximately $450-500 up front, and parents provide the additional $100 each to your family member(s) at the time of departure. Although this is not cheap, it certainly compares favorably with other weekend ski trips the Troop has offered and will continue to offer, especially considering the quality of the snow sports available at Killington. To preclude only semi-serious commitment to this event, there is a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $50 per participant collected prior to making the Lodge reservation in the Spring. This deposit is refunded ONLY if there is insufficient interest to proceed with the trip. For this trip to be "a go", we must have a minimum of 20 qualified participants sign up by the Spring deadline. In the Fall, three payments of approx. $125-150 each are due in September, October and November. This means that although you would not need to pay for the entire trip in September, the Troop would have to commit to a minimum group size, in which you would be included. Therefore, if you withdraw later, you would still be responsible for the cost of your share of the trip.

Adult Participation: As always, Troop trips are highly dependent on adult participation/supervision. For this trip the transportation arrangements require that we have at least 2 adult drivers for each vehicle. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and adult siblings to get in some great skiing themselves, particularly because this trip is offered to qualified, experienced Scouts only who do not require hands-on instruction on the ski slopes.

Eligibility: Scouts/adults eligible must be qualified intermediate/advanced skiers/boarders who do not need direct adult supervision on the ski slopes. All Scouts are required to "buddy up" as usual for safety. Although we have not set a minimum age requirement because ski/boarding proficiency is more important, Scouts must be mature enough to enjoy this physically exhausting but truly exhilarating 5-day trip away from home. Adult emeritus Scouts are also welcome, since we have many fine skiers/boarders among our college and post-college Troop family.