Frequently asked questions

Yes — for the bus. Our bus is full for the 2027 season, so the waitlist is for bus seats only.

Need a bus seat? Join the waitlist using our Bus Waitlist Form. We'll contact waitlisted families after registration closes on November 15. If enough families need seats, we may move to a larger bus.

Driving your child separately? You can still sign up — the waitlist is only for the bus. Register with Whitetail directly using our group code, WTMDSC5fri, and email skiclubmd@gmail.com so we know your child is coming.

Please don't send the $50 deposit unless we offer your child a bus seat.

Questions? Email skiclubmd@gmail.com.

No. Ski Club is an independent, parent-organized activity and is not sponsored, operated, or administered by St. Bartholomew School. The school provides no supervision and no financial or logistical support to Ski Club. Students are released for early dismissal through the school's regular process — see How does early dismissal work? below. All participants come from the St. Bart's community.

Skiing and snowboarding carry an inherent risk of injury, including serious injury. Lessons, rental equipment, helmets, and attentive chaperones reduce that risk. Nothing eliminates it.

The Ski Club waiver below is not a formality. By signing it, you and your child accept and assume those risks. Please read it rather than skim it — if you are not comfortable with what it says, this is not the right activity for your family.

Ski Club is run by volunteer parents. Chaperones are not ski instructors, ski patrol, or medical professionals. On-mountain instruction and safety are Whitetail's responsibility, and Whitetail has its own terms that apply to everyone on its slopes.

The Safety & Responsibilities page lays out the risks in full.

Yes. Every participating student must have a completed Ski Club waiver on file before their first trip. The waiver is separate from registration, and the link will be posted here once it's available for this season.

Whitetail also has its own waivers and participation requirements, completed inside its registration. Both are needed before your child takes part.

Yes. At least one parent or guardian and each participating skier must attend the preseason meeting on Friday, November 13, 3:15 – 3:45 PM, in the Parish Hall. Participation is contingent on it, along with completed registration and the required waivers.

The meeting covers how a trip night runs, transportation, chaperoning, student conduct, the risks of skiing and snowboarding, weather decisions, emergency procedures, and the waiver. It is the one time all of it is explained in person and questions get answered.

Can’t make it? Email us before the meeting.

See Safety & Responsibilities for what the meeting covers.

Through the school's regular release process. Ski Club coordinates with the school and with families: each week we send the school a list of the students taking part that Friday. Families also need to do two things:

1. Notify the school in writing of all five early dismissals:

• Friday, January 8
• Friday, January 22
• Friday, February 5
• Friday, February 19
• Friday, February 26

2. If anyone other than you will collect your child at dismissal — including a Ski Club chaperone — that person must be on your child's approved pickup list with the school.

If your child will miss a Friday, let us know as early as you can so that week's list is right.

No — and most don't. Last season roughly three-quarters of our participants had never skied before. Lessons cover the fundamentals from the very start.

Grades 2 through 8. Preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are not eligible this season.

Students also need to handle a long group evening away from home: following instructions from chaperones and mountain staff, staying with their assigned group, behaving on the bus, and being at meeting points on time.

Five Fridays in 2027: January 8 and 22, and February 5, 19 and 26. Dates can change for weather or resort scheduling; registered families are emailed if they do. The required preseason meeting for parents and skiers is Friday, November 13, 3:15 – 3:45 PM, in the Parish Hall.

Two parts. Estimated $300 per student to Ski Club, covering the charter bus for all five Fridays, pizza on the way up, and cookies and snacks on the way home. The final figure depends on enrollment and bus pricing — the bus is split across the group, so more participants means a lower price per family.

Separately, families register and pay Whitetail directly for its Slope Days package, which covers a lift ticket for each trip, rental equipment, and the hour-long lesson at a group rate. The 2027 price is $352 for all five weeks, covering lift, lesson and rental — or $175 for the lesson only if your child already has an Epic Pass (plus $144 for Whitetail rentals if needed).

All in, about $650 per child — about $475 if your child already has an Epic Pass (about $620 with Whitetail rentals).

Yes. A $50 non-refundable deposit per child confirms your child's place. It is not an extra fee — it is credited toward your final Ski Club cost.

It is non-refundable because we set the bus and the per-student cost from confirmed enrollment; a family withdrawing late raises the cost for everyone else. Please don't send a deposit while registration is full — we'll ask for it only if we offer your child a bus seat.

No. The charter bus is booked and paid for in advance against a headcount, so a seat costs Ski Club the same whether or not your child rides. Payments to Ski Club are non-refundable and non-transferable.

That holds for any reason a student does not participate — illness, injury, a conflict, a change of mind, or removal from a trip for conduct under the Code of Conduct. Please treat sign-up as a commitment for the full season before you pay.

Amounts paid to Whitetail are a separate transaction with the resort and are governed by Whitetail's own policy, not ours.

No. Ski Club is not-for-profit and organized on a volunteer basis by parents. Nobody is paid, nobody takes a commission, and there is no markup on anything.

Your payment to Ski Club covers the charter bus, the pizza, and the snacks — that is all it covers. The Whitetail fee goes to the resort at a group rate.

Chaperones are volunteers. They are not reimbursed and they are not paid.

No. Whitetail and Ski Club are separate registrations, and Whitetail does not send us a list of who booked.

Your child's Ski Club place is confirmed only by the Ski Club form and the $50 deposit, both on the Cost & Sign-Up page. Without those, the bus seat goes to another family.

WTMDSC5fri. On Whitetail's Slope Days page, choose 5 Weeks from the Session drop-down (it starts on 3 Weeks), then at checkout type the code into the Special Conditions box in the Medical Information section so your child is placed with our group.

Epic Pass holders register by email instead — see the next question.

Don't use the Slope Days link. Whitetail registers Epic Pass holders by email:

1. Update the credit card on your Epic account.

2. Email Whitetail. Tap the address — your email opens with the subject line WTMDSC5fri and a short form to fill in.

LBWTschoolgroups@vailresorts.com Copy address

If your email doesn't open, copy the address and send it yourself with the subject line WTMDSC5fri, including your child's name, their Epic Pass number, the product you want, any allergies or medications, an emergency contact phone number, and confirmation that the card on your Epic account can be charged.

Products for Epic Pass holders: 5-week Lesson Only, $175, and 5-week Rental Only, $144 if your child needs equipment.

Registration for 2027 is full — our bus is full. If you need a bus seat, join the waitlist using our Bus Waitlist Form. Driving your child separately? You can still sign up — register with Whitetail directly using our group code. See Is there a waitlist? at the top of this page. Questions? Email skiclubmd@gmail.com.

Registration for 2027 is open until November 15. Complete one registration form per child from the Cost & Sign-Up page, which lists every step, including the separate Whitetail registration.

Whitetail Mountain Resort near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania — roughly ninety minutes from campus. Students travel together by charter bus and return the same evening.

Not registered yet? The waitlist is only for the bus — if you're driving your child separately, you can still sign up. Register with Whitetail directly using our group code, WTMDSC5fri, and email skiclubmd@gmail.com so we know your child is coming. A parent or guardian is responsible for getting your child to and from Whitetail. The rest of this answer is for families already registered with Ski Club.

Yes. Families may drive their own child up and meet the group at Whitetail. Tell us in advance so the headcount and lesson groups are right, and so nobody is held on the bus waiting for a student who was never coming.

Students who travel separately still ski with their group and take the same lesson. Check in with a chaperone on arrival and again before you leave, so we always know who is on the mountain.

Driving yourself does not change what you pay Ski Club. The bus is booked in advance against a headcount, so the seat costs the same either way.

Safe and appropriate behavior is required, particularly on the bus and during transitions between the bus, the rental shop, and lessons. Unsafe, significantly disruptive, or repeated inappropriate behavior can cost a student Ski Club transportation for the rest of the season.

A student who loses bus privileges may still take part in Whitetail's program, but a parent or guardian becomes responsible for transportation and for any additional supervision required.

Ski Club fees are not refunded in that situation, for the same reason they are not refunded in any other — the bus is already booked and paid for.

The Safety & Responsibilities page covers behavior and transportation in full.

Students must be at the bus by 8:10 PM and it departs at 8:15 PM. Arrival back at St. Bart's is usually around 9:45 PM, traffic depending. Parents receive an emailed ETA as the bus leaves the mountain.

Lessons run 5:30 – 6:30 PM, grouped by ability. An optional free ski period follows, 6:30 – 8:10 PM. Instructors assign lesson groups, not parents, and adjustments are made weekly.

Yes. Pizza is served on the bus on the way to the mountain, and snacks are provided during the trip. Eating on the road means the students spend their time at Whitetail skiing rather than sitting in the lodge.

No. Rentals — skis or a snowboard, boots and a helmet — are part of Whitetail's all-inclusive package, and many students rent for the whole season. Epic Pass holders buying the lesson only add Whitetail's Rental Only option if they need equipment — see My child has an Epic Pass.

No, and most students can't — that is expected and it is fine. Getting boots fitted, collecting skis or a board and a helmet, keeping track of gear, and getting ready to go out is one of the main things chaperones do on a trip night.

Students get noticeably better at it as the season goes on. A first-timer who has never rented equipment before is not at a disadvantage here.

More on how we support students is on the Safety & Responsibilities page.

Yes. Both skiing and snowboarding are accommodated. Indicate a preference on the registration form.

We evaluate road conditions, transportation, the mountain forecast, and overall safety before each trip. Ski Club does not automatically follow MCPS weather decisions. A snowy forecast can force a postponement because the drive becomes unsafe even when the skiing would be excellent. Rain alone does not cancel a trip.

Families are notified directly if a trip is postponed or rescheduled.

You do. Parents keep the right and the responsibility to decide whether their child travels and skis on any particular night — for weather, road conditions, illness, how their child is doing that week, or any other reason.

A decision to run a scheduled trip is a judgment about the group and the conditions we can see. It is not a statement that the evening is risk-free or right for every child. If you are not comfortable with a given Friday, keep your child home and let us know.

This is set out on the Safety & Responsibilities page.

Please keep your child home if they're contagious or not well enough for an active outdoor evening, and let us know as early as you can.

Contact us as soon as possible — we coordinate with the bus company and the resort to recover items. Please label helmets, gloves, bags, and clothing. Gear gets left on buses; labels get it back.

Chaperones are volunteer parents. They supervise the group, manage the transitions, help students through rentals and equipment, and account for everyone across the evening.

They are not professional childcare providers, ski instructors, or ski patrol, and they cannot provide continuous one-on-one attention to any one student. Whitetail's instructors run the lessons and Whitetail's staff are responsible for the mountain.

If a student needs individualized supervision beyond what a group setting reasonably allows, we may ask that a parent or guardian come along on the trips for that student to participate. That is not a judgment about the child — it is the honest limit of what volunteer parents can cover.

The Safety & Responsibilities page explains the limits of volunteer supervision in full.

It is highly encouraged, and we mean that sincerely — we cannot do this without parents. Ski Club has no paid staff and no budget for supervision. Every adult on the mountain is a volunteer parent.

Here is the arithmetic. Each trip needs about five chaperones, and there are five trips. If only a handful of families volunteer, those same people carry all five Fridays, and the program stops being sustainable.

So please plan on taking at least one trip. It is the single most useful thing you can do for Ski Club, and most parents who do it end up glad they came.

Once the five Fridays are confirmed, chaperone dates are claimed on SignUpGenius — first come, first served. Two parents from the same family can split a trip, and every parent who wants to come along will get the chance.

No. Many of the most important chaperone responsibilities — bus loading, headcounts, rentals, boots, lesson transitions, getting everyone back on the bus — don't require advanced skiing at all. Some chaperones never put on skis.