Ski Bus Dates & Overview
This overview includes: important dates for the program, informational meetings, program costs, policies, and registration information.
About Ski Bus
- The Overlake School Ski Bus program operates under the direction of The Overlake School offering ski trips to 7th-12th graders.
- The program organizes and coordinates several all-day ski trips to Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass Resorts in January through March of each year.
- Ski Bus is managed and operated by Ski Bus Coordinators who are parent volunteers.
- Each Ski Bus trip has a designated Trip Manager. The Trip Manager is responsible for managing the execution of all aspects of a specific Ski Bus trip, is present from the beginning to the end of the trip on the bus and on the mountain -- and is Overlake’s primary representative during the trip.
- Chaperones are parent volunteers and/or Overlake Faculty/Staff members who assist the Trip Manager with executing the ski trip.
- Ski Bus is open to beginning through advanced skiers/snowboarders.
- Parents are expected to notify the Ski Bus Coordinators if their child is new to snow sports and parents must register their child for a ski lesson at the resort for the day of the trip.
- When students arrive at the ski area, they are expected to be respectful of their classmates and all other skiers/snowboarders and the ski area.
- Students are expected to abide by the Overlake School Student Handbook Code of Conduct and expectations of student behavior for this school-affiliated program.
- Students organize and ski in their own ski groups. Students never ski/snowboard alone.
- Although the Trip Manager and adult chaperones are present on the mountain, it is important to note that they are not responsible for supervising individual skiers/snowboarders or groups on the mountain.
Ski Bus Pandemic Modifications
The 2022-23 Overlake Ski Bus program will be modified to promote participant safety in relation to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
All Ski Bus participants (students, trip manager, chaperones) are expected to abide by the following modifications during Ski Bus trips:
- Be fully vaccinated and up to date, which includes a completed COVID vaccine booster.
- While masking is not required, it is still highly recommended that you wear a face mask.
- Do not participate:
- If you feel sick symptoms of any kind
- Those who test positive for COVID-19 are required per public health to isolate at home for 5 FULL days and may return after 5 days when 24 hours fever free and symptoms become vastly improved and only remain mild.
- Those who are exposed to COVID-19 may continue to attend provided that:
- They monitor for symptoms for 10 days after exposure.
- They test as soon as possible after exposure and continue to do so every 24 hours for the next 5 full days thereafter.
- They wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days after the exposure.
- Follow all pandemic mitigation practices as required by the ski resorts
- During Ski Bus registration, participants will explicitly acknowledge Overlake policy, pandemic modifications, and pandemic risks, and agree to abide to Ski Bus trip pandemic modifications.
2022-23 Trip Schedule
Six dates are currently being planned for 2022-23 trips, however, the actual number of trips depends on weather conditions, student participation, and chaperone support.
| Trip | Weekday | Date | Destination | Depart From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday | Jan 9 |  |
Overlake |
| 2 | Sunday | Jan 22 |  |
Overlake |
| 3 | Sunday | Feb 5 | |
Overlake |
| 4 | Sunday | Feb 12 | |
Overlake |
| 5 | Sunday | Mar 5 | |
Overlake |
| 6 | Friday | Mar 17 | |
Overlake |
Note: All trips are subject to weather/student participation; cancellation and/or *resort change is possible. Trips may depart/return from an alternate point.
You may be wondering... what if snow conditions are bad this year?
If weather or snow conditions are poor, a planned Ski Bus trip may be revised, rescheduled, or cancelled at the discretion of the trip manager. Trip revisions and cancellations will be communicated using the Trip Day Communication Channels shown below.
Note: Students will NOT be charged for lift tickets OR bus fees if a trip is cancelled.
Communications
Overlake Ski Bus provides the following communication channels:
- Overlake News
- Overlake Website (this page and subpages)
- WhatsApp Groups
- Email: SkiBus@overlake.org
Week-Before Trip Communications
On the Monday before each trip, the Ski Bus Trip Manager will send an email to parents/students that provides important trip details such as the schedule, participant status, waitlist status, Trip Manager & contact info. Make sure you read this email carefully before each trip.
Trip-Day Communications
Ski Bus will use WhatsApp groups to convey information immediately preceding & during each ski trip. There are two channels that parents and students may join.
Overlake Ski Bus Communication
The following types of information will be conveyed using this channel:
- Trip logistics changes (cancellations, delays or other revisions)
- Trip Day Status (Boarding, Departure, Arrival, ETAS)
- Join Overlake SkiBus Comms on WhatsApp
Overlake Ski Bus Social
The following types of information will be conveyed using this channel:
- Social Communication
- Photos
- Other fun stuff!
- Join Overlake SkiBus Social on WhatsApp
All Ski Bus participants and parents/guardians are recommended to join the Overlake Ski Bus Communication WhatsApp group.
Mandatory Parent Meetings
The Overlake School no longer requires parents of students who are interested in Ski Bus to attend a mandatory in-person pre-season information meeting. Instead, parents may meet the policy requirement by either attending the Ski Bus parent meeting or viewing the Ski Bus parent presentation during registration. In both cases, parents are required to acknowledge understanding and acceptance of the parent video content during registration.
Participation Costs
Ski Bus offers two different models to cover transportation and lift ticket participation costs: a season pass model and an a la carte model.
Season Pass
The season pass offers students access to all trips that Ski Bus offers. The "pass" is the best model for regular Ski Bus participants.
Benefits
- Simple registration – one ticket, all trips
- Best discount
- Registration priority
- Available with and without lift
A La Carte
The a la carte model offers students the ability to register for specific Ski Bus trips.
Benefits
- Flexibility
- Available with and without lift
*Ski Bus Season Pass & A La Carte participation model pricing will be published as part of Ski Bus registration. Note that gear, lessons, lunch/snack money are not included as part of Season Pass or A La Carte participation models.
Lift Ticket Guidelines
- Only registered participants can purchase discounted lift tickets; and they can only purchase those lift tickets for their own personal use.
- Students must ride Ski Bus to the resort to receive a discounted lift ticket
Refund Policy
Participants are responsible for all Ski Bus program trip costs for which they have registered, regardless of whether they attend a trip - with the following exceptions:
- Students how have sustained an injury that prevents them from participating in snow sports can request an exemption from transportation costs - please contact the Ski Bus Coordinators.
- In the event of a trip cancellation by Overlake, no transportation costs will be charged for the cancelled trip.
- Waitlist Exchange - in the event a given trip has a waitlist, it is sometimes possible to transfer a registered participant's seat on a given trip to another student on the waitlist. Contact skibus@overlake.org as soon as possible if you wish to attempt a waitlist exchange (at least two days before the registered trip.) Your seat(s) will be made available for waitlisted students at that time. You will be contacted by Ski Bus staff if the waitlist exchange is successful.
- Participants are only charge for lift tickets that are issued to the participant.
Registration
Click here to register for the 2022-23 Ski Bus season
- Parents/Guardians may add/remove trips and change registration model (Ski Bus Season Pass versus A La Carte) at any time during the open registration period.
- The Ski Bus program endeavors to supply seats for all students for all registered trips without a waitlist. However, depending upon the registration volumes for specific trips, a waitlist may be required. In such cases, available capacity will be initially assigned to Ski Bus Season Pass holders, with any remaining seats assigned to registered students at random. Coordinators will contact parents/guardians with waitlisted students via email and/or phone if a seat opens up for a given trip.
- Registration status will be sent to registered parents/guardians/students once registration closes. Status will identity all students who are registered for each trip along with whether their registration is confirmed or waitlisted.
- Ski Bus registration for the 2022-23 season will close at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) on December 23.
Residual Tickets
Any seats remaining after open registration completes will be available first-come, first-served at a la carte pricing to students who registered for Ski Bus during rounds 1 & 2.
To acquire residual tickets:
- Parent/Guardian emails SkiBus@overlake.org at least 48 hours before trip departure
- Email should identify:
- Student(s) who wish to participate
- Which Ski Bus trip(s) students want to join
- Do your student(s) need lift tickets?
- Parent will receive email confirming trip commitment status at least 24 hours before trip departure. Please be sure you receive this commitment status email before arriving for trip departure.