Dorms cancel ski trips due to travel complications

Jan. 22, 2017, 11:53 p.m.

The majority of this weekend’s dorm ski trips were canceled after the bus provider Stanford Parking & Transportation was working with decided to cancel all buses to Lake Tahoe out of concern for how heavy snowstorms would affect the safety of commuters.

Dorms cancel ski trips due to travel complications
(Courtesy of Bakari Smith)

Freshman-Sophomore College alone was able to hold its trip as planned because one of the organizers called a second bus company. While students were disappointed to miss the annual dorm tradition, they said they still bonded with each other this weekend on campus.

“I’m bummed that our ski trip was canceled as it is a good chance for dorm bonding, and so much money, time and effort was put into [planning] it,” Larkin Resident Assistant (RA) Emma Sanderson ’18 said in an email. “However, we did have a fun pizza mixer with Arroyo on Friday night and had a blast at our ‘Larkin Lock-in’ on Saturday night that consisted of fun games, crafting and a lot of food.”

The bus company canceled too close to the trips’ planned departure date on Friday for the dorms to find alternate travel accommodations, and ultimately they decided to suspend the trips completely because of the dangerous weather conditions.

“We recognize that a great deal of planning, anticipation and financial commitment goes into scheduling ski trips and other activities that are supported by our Charter Services,” wrote Brian Jackson, transportation operations manager for Stanford Parking & Transportation Services, in an email to The Daily. “If there are safety concerns due to weather and road conditions, we place the highest priority on safety.”

“Although I was really looking forward to the experience, I understand [that] these things happen,” Larkin resident Will Kenney ’20 said. “It’s unfortunate, but hopefully another opportunity will arise.”

The dorms’ RAs are exploring rescheduling the ski trips or potentially even taking other trips around California. In Larkin’s case, the dorm would not be able to reschedule its ski trip until April when the house Larkin was planning to stay at becomes available again, according to Sanderson.

Burbank and Arroyo residents might be able to ski sooner than April, though, as the house Burbank had rented out this weekend will be available again in February and Arroyo’s house will be available again in late March, according to Haley Hodge ’20 and Lauren Taylor ’20, residents of Burbank and Arroyo respectively.

“We’re considering rescheduling, but it depends on whether or not we can get a refund on the house,” Hodge said. “I’m bummed because I’m [a member of dorm government], and we put a good amount of work into it, but I’m also not super upset. I had a lot of work this weekend and not going meant I could go to the San Francisco Women’s March.”

Taylor said ski trip is “already such a privilege” that it is difficult to complain about the cancellation. She believes the main goal of the trip was achieved.

“Instead, since many of us were already prepared not to study this weekend, we’ve been able to spend time together more than we normally do,” Taylor said. “So one of the most important components of the trip happened anyway.”

Contact Jonathan Seymour at seymourj ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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