If you haven’t seen the 2020 TRIPS post, read that first! This post goes over the planning of this specific trip in depth and my different thoughts on each part of the process.
Inviting Friends
- I created a Facebook messenger group and started adding friends that I knew would be interested. Since I was planning ~1.5 months in advance and that I wanted ~12 people to go, I knew I could set a date and if people couldn’t make it then no biggie
- I created a poll in the chat titled “Can you go” and had people answer that. It’s an easy way to get a commitment from someone after establishing a date
- Try to book the AirBnb (lodging) as soon as possible. It helps solidify someone’s commitment to going (the most stressful part about planning big trips)
- I got a little stressed out because more than 12 people ended up wanting to go. We ended up with ~17 people. I learned it’s important to set a cap, but also be flexible when plans don’t go how you intend them to
- If you plan too far in advance, people are usually less committal because they don’t know what their own schedule might look like
Food
(Section not completed yet!)
Lodging
Part of what makes a ski trip so fun is booking the lodging and relaxing with friends after a long day of carving up the mountain. In total, this place costed $1304.00 for two nights. For 17 people, this place ends up to be around $76/ea. Even though this location maxes out at 15 guests, I’m sure we can squeeze a couple of extra people onto an air mattress.
One of the reasons we ended up choosing Snoqualmie as the destination was because there’s not as much availability for lodging near Crystal Mountain (Mt. Rainer area) and available lodging books up far in advance. I didn’t have the foresight to plan that far in advance (planned roughly 1.5 months in advance) and had to be flexible with everyone’s schedule.
Skiing!
(Section not completed yet!)
