Crazy Snow Balance Camp 2020

We'll have a mountain hut just for our group at an altitude of 2.300m, high above the village and you can only get there by going up with the chair lift and then ski or snowboard to the hut. In the daytime we will be skiing and snowboarding in this beautiful area with 'on top of the world' feeling. In the evening we will organise crazy group games, we'll cook and eat vegan food together, we'll relax in the unique Crazy Camp Slow Sauna, have massage, yoga and meditation sessions etc. The Crazy Snow Balance Camp will be an unforgettable snow adventure!

Natural High

Let's enjoy this amazing adventure high in the Alps without any external stimulants! We will refrain from consuming alcohol and drugs. Our body will take care of generating adrenaline, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and lots of oxytocin to get us high :) Read more here. All food will be vegan.

Our mountain hut is at an altitude of 2.300m and right at the slopes (ski-in/ski-out). The ski area is not super big and not super small. There are mainly ski lifts and chair lifts. Mainly red slopes but also blue and some black and ski routes. Max. vertical drop is around 1.350m. The hut is on a blue slope. Because the resort covers altitudes from 2.000m till over 3.000m above sea level, the snow conditions in April usually are excellent.

The mountain hut is simple. The beds are bunk beds in group rooms. There is a kitchen and a dining/living room. There are toilets and showers. Please do not expect luxury things like comfort, tv or wifi. In the house clothing is optional, except in the sauna [faq]. In general you will have very limited personal privacy. You will be surprised how fast you will feel at ease with everybody, in a place where you can simply be who you are, far away from your day to day environment and habits. No smoking in the house or in the sauna. Bring a sleeping bag.

We will be in the south west of Switzerland. Distance from Geneva airport is 180km, Basel/Mulhouse airport at 295km; Zürich around the same. Public transport: two buses from a main railway station.

From The Netherlands/Belgium/Luxemburg there might be a ride share available, approx. EUR 100 two-way per person [faq].

Switzerland is member of the Schengen agreement. If you can travel in any other Schengen country, you can travel in Switzerland.

Although just being in this absurdly beautiful, remote mountain valley is already a good reset for your stressed brain, we will be actively working on bringing back balance to your life. Every day there will be yoga sessions and meditations – in the hut, but in the snow around the hut as well…

There will be the unique Crazy Camp Slow Sauna – with jump in the fresh powder snow afterwards! – as well as guided massage sessions.

There are uncountable moments of fun, feelgood and laughter at the Crazy Snow Balance Camp. And there are moments of emotional release. One of the house rules is "Feel happy at all times – except when you don't feel happy." All feelings are welcome and the intention is to not judge any of them. And you are invited to welcome all feelings that might arise in you. We will be doing plenty of exercises and games (eye gazing for example) to connect with ourselves and with the others.

What if I love mountains but don't want to join all that sharing and yoga and massage stuff? Then please choose a different Crazy Camp :) Of course you can opt out of certain activities if you had a bad day in skiing, but if all these mind and body things are not your kind of thing, then the Crazy Snow Balance Camp is not your kind of thing.

Please notice that there is no 'leadership team' or 'staff'. The yoga facilitator and Klaas will participate in the activities just like the other participants. At best they are 'primi inter pares'. We're all in it together :) [faq]

Monika will be our yoga guide. Here is her message for you:

"Hi I'm Monika, originally from Poland, but I consider myself more as a world citizen. I did my Yoga Teacher Training 200h Ashtanga and Hatha style. I received my yoga certification from the very sources of this ancient practice, which means in India. I'm very happy and excited to share it with you and to give what I received. In my practice, I focus on the union of the body, mind, and soul but also between internal and external, human as an individual and nature as a whole, nature of human and a human as a part of nature."

In the daytime we will be skiing or snowboarding. This can be individually but we will do some things as a group also. In previous Crazy Snow Camps it turned out that the participants enjoy shredding the slopes together, teaching each other some ski/board skills, etc.

Please keep in mind that SNOW comes from NATURE so there is no guarantee for the amount of snow that will be there and for example no guarantee that all lifts will be working. In that case, we might be doing snowshoe hikes, build a kicker near the hut, or other improvisations :-) This having said, because the resort covers altitudes from 2.000m till over 3.000m above sea level, the snow conditions in April usually are excellent.

How is springtime snow? Great for skiing/snowboarding!

Program

After our daytime winter sports, at the end of the day and in the evenings we will be automatically together (we're high on the slopes, there is nowhere else to go!) so we will make our own après ski. This will start with cooking, eating and cleaning together. There will be crazy group games, fun bonding activities etc.

Basically everybody is expected to participate in the group life at the end of the day and in the evening [faq].

The deal

Your participation in the cost for these 6 days and nights is EUR 395 per person for accommodation, vegan food (that we will cook together), guided yoga sessions, guided meditations and tourist taxes.

That is cheap! However, don't come if you are only interested in an affordable holiday. The Crazy Snow Balance Camp is all about the group, spending fun evenings together, doing crazy games, and enjoying the mountains together!

Reductions

If you identify as female or are genderqueer and you choose to use the Gender Pay Gap Compensation [faq] then your reduced participation fee is EUR 335. The reduced price of EUR 335 is also available for students and people that receive unemployment benefits. In these cases you will be asked to provide a proof of your status.

What is included/provided?
+ Guided yoga and meditation sessions
+ Accommodation
+ Vegan breakfast
+ Simple vegan lunch (sandwiches, leftovers of yesterdays dinner)
+ Vegan dinner (we will cook together)
+ Coffee, tea, water, juice
+ Tourist taxes
+ Unforgettable fun

Not included:
x Snacks, fruit, energy bars, soft drinks etc.
x Sleeping bags
x Towels
x Skipass, equipment rental
x Parking fees in the village if you come by car