Frequently Asked Questions

High Schoolers will catch the buses for Blue Mountain trips by meeting the advisors at the Arena entrance to the High School. The Elite charter buses will be parked along the curb near the tennis courts. Students may choose which of the two buses that they would like to ride to/from the mountain. For Parent Pick-Up in the evening, this is accessible by using the Oregon Road entrance to campus, turning onto Arena Drive and continuing to the end of Arena Drive towards the tennis courts and the entrance to the Arena.  The buses will plan to leave for Blue Mountain Ski Resort by 3:00pm and will return back to the High School around 11:30pm.  

Gear can be stored at the High School in a storage closet behind the Concession Stand that is behind Convo Hall and across the hallway from the South Gym. Please look for an advisor to be standing in the main hallway between the cafeteria and main office--- they will direct you to place your gear in the storage closet where it will be locked and secured throughout the school day.  Please drop off gear between 7:00-7:25am, and retrieve it between 2:30-2:50pm.  If you arrive to school after 7:25am, please take your gear to Mr. Rineer's room (#217). 

Typically, the buses arrive back to the High School around 11:30-11:45pm.  When there is about 20 minutes left in the bus ride, we tell students to text or call their ride to give them a heads up.  We appreciate your promptness when picking up your child!

Please follow the directions given by Blue Mountain Resort for where and when to meet for your lesson. Lessons will be held at the Valley Lodge School Hill at the bottom of the mountain (where the buses drop us off for the evening).

We encourage students to change from school clothes into your ski wear before boarding the bus. Students may change at school prior to boarding the buses. Changing rooms and restrooms are also available at Blue Mountain to get ready to hit the slopes. There may be limited space by the lockers in the lodge to get ready this year. Do not wear ski or snowboard boots on the buses.

You may want to place a luggage tag on your bags, so they aren't accidentally picked up by someone else at the end of the night when we unload at school. Store gear in designated areas at the lodge and consider using a locker or ski lock. 

Check out the following recommendations on layers to wear while enjoying the slopes. What to Wear while Skiing or Riding. This is particularly important for New England trips, where a ski face mask and many wickable layers is crucial for the cold weather.

Tables are available at the resort to eat packed food, or food purchased from the mountain. Blue Mountain is a cashless resort, so please bring a credit card, ApplePay, or use your gift card given by Blue Mountain.

Yes! This is a great alternative to carrying a credit/debit card or using ApplePay. 

• Go to skibluemt.com and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on where it says "Gift Cards".

• At the top of the page you will see Sign in/Register. Select "Register" and fill out all information and enter the gift card number.  This will allow you to reload throughout the season.

• If a gift card is lost, Blue Mountain is not able to trace it if you have not registered the card.

We consider the weather and conditions for each trip in advance of the trip. We typically do not cancel for weather unless the mountain resort, bus company, or school district advises us to do so due to safety concerns.  If we do make any changes to the schedule, we will send out a text blast and post these changes to the website. If possible, we will also send an email notification and place an announcement to be read over the loudspeaker by the school office. We try to give as much notice as possible.

NOPE! Because we are no longer aligned under our high school, you do not need to pay the district mandated activity fee.

OF COURSE! Even though skiers might have a hard time understanding how you can balance on only one ski, you are more than welcome to be part of the ski-club if you snowboard.  We usually have one or two advisors on snowboard as well.

Students are considered "members" of the Ski Club if they go on a trip with us. There isn't a membership obligation, and we aren't a school club that meets together on a regular basis. So as long as you are a Manheim Township student, you are able to register for our ski and snowboard trips. 

NOPE! We welcome skiers and boarders who are new, experienced, and everyone in between. We do offer lessons for purchase that are run by ski instructors at the resorts where we ski. We also encourage all students to wear a helmet when on the slopes.

For Blue Mountain, this is a season ticket that you can pick up with Mrs. Eshelman in Room #231, or it will be handed out when you board the bus on the first trip. Because this lift ticket is good for all season, please keep it someplace safe (zippered in your jacket). The resort will charge an additional fee if it needs to be replaced. Additionally, do not place it next to your cell phone, as this can deactivate your lift ticket. Your pass is good all day Monday through Friday (non-holiday), and Sat/Sun after 3 PM (non-holiday) all season. Please check the website to see if your particular date is considered to be a holiday.

For overnight trips, you will receive specific directions.

For 2024-25, the pass is good for the MT Ski scheduled trips as well as any other day you wish to go to the mountain, with some exceptions. Your pass is good all day Monday through Friday (non-holiday), and Sat/Sun after 3 PM (non-holiday) all season. Please check the website to see if your particular date is considered to be a holiday.