Snow camp FAQs"How do I convince my parent(s)/guardian that I can go on this trip?"
or "How do I convince
them to pay for some gear for the trip?"
1) Read all the pages at all the links from the Snow Camp page carefully and make plans you can explain for where you will borrow or rent
the right gear.
The Outdoor Club has first-signed-up-for-the-trip, first served rentals for members including really good tents, lanterns,
stoves, insulated sleeping pads (you can borrow two pads for this trip), camp chairs, full size backpacks, and water purifying pumps for
hikes.
Do some comparison shopping. But don't skimp on quality. Don't, for example, buy long
underwear with any percentage of cotton in it, even though it's much cheaper. Snow or rain camp must-haves has a dozen ideas for people on a budget, including any rentals for snow parkas or really good sleeping bags that we know of.
Explain to the person funding the trip for you that this gear will be used for years for camping
and outdoors adventures all year long. Once you know how to deal with winter weather,
you'll probably never camp again without proper rain/cold gear, an insulating sleeping pad, or a
decent tent. Then when Mom nature sneaks up on you with an unexpected spring or fall
storm, you'll be able to not only survive, but even enjoy it.
"How do I convince my parent(s)/guardian that I will be safe on this trip so I can go?"
2) Tell them
the club advisor (a member of the De Anza faculty) and her husband, who are leading this trip,
have done it with the club for nineteen previous years. They are Red Cross first aid/CPR instructors,
and many of the trip participants are her students who are trained in first aid.
Almost every year we have had at least a half dozen experienced people who were on the trip the year before, or even more than once before. Almost every year we have people who have never been camping and/or have never seen snow, so beginners are welcome and planned for.
The Rangers come by the campsite and check up on us regularly. If there were an emergency at
home, and someone really needed to talk to you, the phone number for the Yosemite 911
dispatcher is: (209) 379-1992. In a non-emergency, the nearby Ranger office is (209) 372-0300,
and they will get a message to call home to our campsite when they have the time.
We choose Yosemite not only because it is gorgeous and has many recreation choices, but
because it has heated restrooms and purified tap water in the campground, restaurants (in case
the weather is bad or just for convenience), and a medical clinic with 24 hour emergency service
just two miles from our campsites.
If it snows much, the roads are plowed frequently and patrolled by Rangers. The park provides a
free Greyhound type bus to the ski area, and different free shuttle buses to the stores, visitor center,
restaurants, ice rink, and trail heads. Therefore very little, if any, driving in snow is needed. Give them a full report of the info you learned by reading Safe driving in rain and fog and Prepare for winter driving
For people driving who are not used to putting on chains, a passenger can usually be found who
knows how to do it. Or even better, more than one carpool can leave at the same time, and
caravan together. This can be great if someone has car trouble, and fun to change passengers
around as you go and get to know more new people.
The trip is oriented towards first-time people, but experienced people also sign up.
Alcohol consumption is not allowed. This is not just enforced by the club advisor, the returning
trip goers and club officers truly know how important it is, and there is considerable peer
pressure to not break this rule.
Heated wood-walled cabins or canvas tent cabins(a few of which have heaters) are within walking distance of where we will be
camping, or if they are closed, the Yosemite Lodge (just two miles away, served by the free Yosemite valley shuttle bus from our campground) has nice rooms. On previous trips some people
have borrowed a parent's credit card in case they wanted to bail from the trip. (One year some
people did rent cheap cabins the last night). You can preview potential accommodations at
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_CurryVillage.aspx
Curry Village weekends as of early 2009 - winter rates (please call them to be sure these prices are right)
wood walled cabins with bath ($125 two adults, each extra adult $11)
Wood walled, hard sided cabins without bath at Curry Village were all destroyed by the 2008 rockfall or flagged as closed by NPS. The closure area includes the newest shower house (Nob Hill shower house), no canvas tent cabins and some of the really cool cabins with fireplace, etc. (but 819 with the huge fireplace is still intact). Basically it's almost everything on the up hill side of the road that runs behind the pool/ shower house, dining pavilion and the old amphitheater, including the restroom across the road from the pool/shower house. As I write this after the 2009 club trip, Curry village has not posted a list of which units were closed, so here it is if you have a map of the complex: units 50 A/B through the 60s and 70s, 80 A/B and 90 A/B are closed, units 33, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25 and 24 on the upside of the road are open, but 34, 35, 36, 263, 250, and all the rest of the 200s and 300s are destroyed or closed and will be removed.
Canvas walled tent cabins - heated $97
Canvas walled tent cabins - non-heated $39 -- or, they have a 2009 deal of a price as low as the low temperature the night before. (In Jan & Feb 2008, the temps were regularly under 39, got as low as 27 regularly, with one 16 and one 19.) Hey, check that this deal is in place when you pay.
Each additional person per night (in same room) above the double occupancy listed above costs $10 to $12.
There is a cell-phone transmission tower in Yosemite Valley, so you can bring/borrow a phone and
keep in touch, or there are pay phones in the campground and elsewhere in the park.
3) A parent or guardian who is having last minute second thoughts about allowing a De
Anza student to go on this event can come to the mandatory pre-trip meeting and check out
the group going, and get questions answered. (An occasional parent or older sibling has done this
before.)
(2010 trip meeting will probably be Friday, Jan. 22 from 6 - 8 or 9 p.m. , probably in P.E. 12U, upstairs on the Administration building side of the small gym building.)
4) Educate them. Have your parent(s)/guardian read all the pages at all the links from the Snow Camp page.
photo by Quang-Tuan Luong/terragalleria.com, all rights reserved.
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