Some Extra Notes for Parents
Colorado Rockies Adventure 2023

These notes must be read before submitting the application.

Medical Emergencies
If a participant becomes ill or injured, the leaders will do whatever is necessary to preserve the participant’s health and safety including, without limitation, obtaining medical treatment at parents’ expense. This could include transporting the participant back to his home for medical reasons. Parents agree to pay or reimburse any extra expenses incurred on the participant’s behalf. Trip insurance is available from private companies that could cover special travel arrangements and medical care. 
 
Please let us know if there are any medical, emotional, or educational conditions that would necessitate special consideration and care during the trip. A “permission to treat” form will be required as is a “release of liability.” There will be some activities through outside vendors such as horseback riding, zip  lines, etc. that will also require waivers. All forms will be sent to you in early spring.

More You Should Know
There's a lot to read here, but please take the time to read this!

The application notes that all participants must be fully vaccinated against Covid including any age-appropriate boosters. In addition, should there be a new vaccine that has been approved even for emergency use authorization by the CDC...this too will be required if necessitated by the airlines or other vendors. Failure to have these vaccines will not forgive the deposit or fee if your son cancels after February 21, 2023. It might be required that your son bring his original Covid vaccination record card if we find out that vendors will require this.

We cannot be responsible for events beyond our control, including, without limitation, mechanical issues causing a delay, acts of nature, war, strikes, or government restrictions. This includes pandemics or other such world-wide or national emergencies that we can't imagine at this time. We are not responsible for loss or damage to luggage or any other personal belongings including cash.

Please note that the director, Mark Levin, can't personally cover losses if we have to cancel this trip because of unforeseen circumstances. With the pandemic of 2020 we were lucky in that all our vendors refunded all the money we had paid for reservations, etc and parents didn't lose any funds. That cannot be guaranteed for this trip. Many vendors are hesitant to take groups because they're afraid of late cancellations of a group. In the event that the trip has to be canceled because of circumstances out of our control, we will refund every cent we can get back from vendors. But signing up your son for this trip means you understand and agree that the amount we can't recover could be lost. We've never had to include a statement like this before, but the Covid pandemic has changed things.


Refunds:

We want to be fair about refunds and do understand that things happen to change plans. Our program this year is especially set to have a small enrollment, about half the usual number. For this reason, it's hard to refund money unless a boy is accepted from the waitlist. No matter what, some of the refund will never be refunded including $100 of the deposit that goes for the registration fee (even if the trip has to be canceled for reasons out of our control). This is because the director will have already spent money and time that can't be recouped. The airlines deposit is also non-refundable unless a boy takes your son's place. The same goes for fees paid to vendors (the motel, activities, etc.) that might be non-refundable. These days vendors are asking for non-refundable payments up front based on their losses with groups in the past, especially from the pandemic. The motel where we'll be staying on the Colorado trip will be asking us to pay the entire bill in January and that it will not be refundable for any reason. They will allow us to drop one room without penalty as late as March 1. So know that the portion of the fee that goes toward lodging may not be refundable.


Behavior:

Generally speaking, we brag about the behavior of our boys. In fact, it's our promise of good kids and behavior that gets us rooms in certain hotels. We've been turned down in some hotels in the past because they've experienced bad luck with kid groups. We are out to change that perception. A good example of this is the motel where we'll be staying in Manitou Springs. They no longer accept group reservations, but because of our past trips there and our excellent behavior...they made an exception for us. This will be our fourth time at this property.

Students are expected to obey all regulations and rules and codes of conduct that might be set by the places we visit, the local culture, or by the trip leaders. We have the right to send home with notice to parent or guardian, at parents’ expense, and without escort, any participant who does not adhere to the rules and regulations, or who infringes upon others’ enjoyment of the trip.

​If your son has any bullying tendencies, we are not in a position to have him in the program. Our programs have small enrollment and just one boy can upset the entire balance. Bullying is one of those behaviors we cannot tolerate. As a private program, we have the right to exclude anyone we feel will take away from the positive experience of the other participants including the leaders. We might ask parents to give us names and contact information of your son's teachers (or other youth group leaders) so that we can make sure your son is a good fit for our program.


A Note About Lodging:
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On this trip we are planning on having all double-bedded rooms. Most rooms will house only two boys. There might be one or two rooms where we'll have to house three boys in two queen beds. If your son is uncomfortable sharing a bed with a friend, he can bring a summer-weight sleeping bag (stuffed into its own sack) to use in the room. (There’s more space on a queen-sized bed for two than in a typical two-person backpacking tent!) The sleeping bag should be packed inside the boy’s luggage. It is possible to request a private room, but in Manitou Springs in the summer - it will be very, very expensive.


​Trip Insurance:

Trip Insurance is always a possibility to protect your investment should your son have to cancel after the deadline for cancellations which is February 21, 2023. You should check early with travel insurance companies. Some policies must be purchased within two weeks of paying your deposit. Some of the more expensive policies will cover cancellations for "any reason" and some will cover canceled trips because of pandemics. In any case, if you wish to explore or purchase trip cancellation insurance, you need to start that process as soon as your deposit is paid.


For more information about our programs in general, check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.