BGSA Winter Retreat – January 15-17, 2010

Who: BGSA members, their friends and partners

What: Kind of like the September camping trip, but with skiing and snowshoeing

When: Friday Jan. 15^th to Sunday Jan. 17^th, 2010

Where: Keene Farm, near Keene Valley, NY (about 2 hours from Montreal)

http://www.accmontreal.ca/en/huts/keenefarm

Why: Get together after the holidays, welcome new students and have fun!

Keene Farm is a big log cabin in the Adirondack Forest Preserve (New York) owned by the Alpine Club of Canada. You can drive right up to it and it has wood stove heating, insulation (!), gas lighting and stoves for cooking, and sleeps 30 people in bunk beds with foam mattresses. There is an outhouse and no running water.

What to do?

There are lots of outdoors activities within walking and short-driving distance, suitable for everyone from beginner to advanced levels. You can rent cross-country ski gear and snowshoes at the infamous Mountaineer store* and there are trails all over the place. For downhill skiers, Whiteface Mountain is about 30 min. away in Lake Placid. The cabin is cozy and warm if you want to relax indoors or play games after making snowmen.

** ‘Mountaineerfest’ is the same weekend http://mountaineer.com/?page_id=83

What to bring?

• Passport or border-crossing driver’s license
• Sleeping bag, pillow, and indoor shoes/sandals and clothes
• Your ski or snowshoe gear (or rent there) and outdoorsy clothes
• Games or musical instruments
• Food and drinks (either food groups or BYO, will figure out later)