Posts Tagged ‘Snow Camp’

Winter Camp gets tubing upgrades

That’s right. It’s safer, faster and you’ll get trips back up more often.  Many campers choose tubing as their favorite activity at winter camp. Why shouldn’t they? 1/4 mile long, speed, 3 turns, a ride back to the top. It’s great fun! We upgraded the famous tube run in three ways this year. Safety, speed and the ride to the top. Safety and speed were addressed through some excavation of the second turn. That turn was always problematic. On the slow days it was fine and on the fast days it was not fine! By adjusting the shape of the turn and adding earth a few places we think we have made it both safer and faster. Parents and campers rejoice! The ride to the top: with the addition of the Birchmobile for hauling campers back up (rather than the tractor) the ride up will be faster. That means more runs in a weekend!

Winter camp is around the corner. During February we’ll host elementary and middle school age campers for weekends and long weekends. Winter camp at Bethany Birches is something to behold. Super great food (afforded by volunteer cooks), 160” annual average snowfall, a large indoor space for getting out of the cold, a backcountry ski program and a quarter mile tube run. I wanted to take a minute to update you on the tube run.

See you here this winter?

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

 

Summer 2017 Dates!

Many of you have been asking about Summer 2017 dates. We worked hard to put our schedule in order so we could get them to you. Put these on your calendar and plan now for summer camp!

The schedule is very similar to last year.  Throughout the summer we will have three different weeks of “Core” for 9-13 year-olds. These weeks are the heart of Bethany Birches where we do classic and traditional BBC activities like Messy Monday, Wet and Wild Wednesday, Mud Pit, Plenty of Pond Time, and more! Campers are welcome to come to one, two, or all three of these weeks. And yes, we did adjust the aging of Core A to allow 9 year-olds to come to our Core program!

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Summit weeks are for older campers who enjoy BBC but desire more free time, cooler games, and unique activities like Night Group Games! Summit High has trips and activities totally unique to that week, so stay tuned for more information on that!

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If you’re a teen camper and you love camp why not consider the leadership development programs?  They are the perfect way to get the inside track to being a counselor or staff member.

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Summer ends with a week for the youngest campers. Launch is a great opportunity for your 6-10 year-olds to experience some classic BBC events and activities that have been specifically geared for their age. Is your child uncomfortable going overnight?  Launch Day Camp!  Perhaps they want to try overnight but for a short bit. Launch Half! The launch programs are a great introduction to any young camper.

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We’ve also updated our website with these new dates. This is a great way to share about the upcoming summer with your friends!

Online Registration for Summer Camp will open Nov 11.  In the meantime, check out information on Winter Camps coming up this February!  Registration for winter is open right now!

We hope to see you up at camp this summer!

Dan “Chick” Laubach

1/4 mile tube run. Full speed ahead.

Greetings Friends.

It’s that time of year again! In just two short months we will be ice skating on the basketball court and drying our boots by the fire after flying down the tubing run! Full speed ahead. Its Winter Camp season! unnamed-7

During Winter Camp we pack a full week of Bethany Birches into just one weekend. Campers will get to reconnect with their friends from the summer, hang out with some returning counselors, and sleep in the heated Staff Cabin! Campers also participate in a variety of Snow Camp specific events, including: Tubing, Sledding, Broomball, Snow Painting, Cardboard Sled Races, Firesides, Night Tubing, and the New Pavilion!

Winter Camp Weekends are:
Lynx: February 13-16 (Grades 4-7)
Polar Bear: Feb 19-21 (Grades 7-9)
Bobcat: Feb 26-28 (Grades 3-6)
Connect: Mar 25-27 (Grades 8-11)

If you would like more information check out bethanybirches.org/winter-camps or call the camp at (802)-672-5220 unnamed-8

We hope to see you there!

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey and Dan “Chick” Laubach
Executive Director and Program Director

REGISTER NOW

TBT: Polar Bear Campers in the New Pavi

Impressive. Well Constructed. Beautiful. These are words people have used to describe the new pavi when look around the construction site. But the word we hear most is BIG. And it’s true. There is a lot of space in the new pavilion. Outside of renovating the kitchen, more (dry) space was one of the main motivators for a new pavi. And now we have A LOT OF SPACE. It’s easy for me to think of all the  games, activities, etc campers and staff can play in that space. But that’s my job.

At Polar Bear camp in February I asked campers to consider what they might do in this space. Before they started making cardboard sleds they acted out activities that would take place in the new pavi. They had no trouble coming up with ideas. Look below to see a couple of the ideas they came up with.

I hope they’ll each come back and use the new space this summer.

Will you come too? (Bring a camper, volunteer, or come to the annual sunday service)

If you want a sneak peak of the new pavi before summer come on up to volunteer anytime between now and June!

-Cheeks.

Nye and Campers are ready to play 4 square in the new pavi!

Nye and Campers are ready to play 4 square on the porch of the new pavi!

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Benji and campers are ready to sing prayer songs in the new pavi!

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Ru and campers pretend to sing in front of the designated spot for the fireplace in the new pavi.

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Ray’s campers are ready for fun!

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Buoy and campers are ready to eat in the new pavi during inclement weather!

 

 

“See” Winter at BBC

Waking up to snow this morning reminded me that this is the winter that just won’t quit! And what a winter it has been. Lots of people were on and off the hill to help with the building but my favorite groups continue to be THE CAMPERS! During the month of Feb there were 3 great weekends of winter camp! I recently spoke with a camper who was at snow camp who said she enjoys snow camp even more than summer camp.

The 2015 Snow Camp Season included Bobcat Camp for grades 3-6, Lynx Camp for grades 5-7 and Polar Bear Camp for grades 7-9. Each camp had unique activities like cardboard sled races, snowball olympics and popsicle stick collages. Each camp had different staff and campers. Despite the uniqueness of each weekend all 3 snow camps included time outside enjoying the beautiful (and cold) winter wonderland, learning and asking questions about faith, great food (thanks to many volunteers) and lots and lots of fun!

See the BBC Snow Camps for yourself at these different links and then mark your calendars to join us next year or tell your friends to join us for exciting weekends of camp in the snow!

Bobcat Snow Camp: Pics of Bobcat  and a video with the new BBC Quadcopter!

Polar Bear Snow Camp: Pics of Polar Bear

Lynx Snow Camp: Pics of Lynx

As winter winds down (slowly) we are anxiously awaiting Summer! This summer marks BBC’s 50th summer and the first summer in the new pavi! Don’t miss these exciting milestones at BBC! Sign up for SUMMER CAMP now at  https://www.bethanybirches.org/summer-camps/

Newsletter 2013: Snow Camp!

A lot of snow + campers + BBC= SNOW CAMP!! Undoubtedly campers love going to camp: to see friends, to see the staff, and at BBC- to learn more about God. We (a group of volunteers) had a great time with the campers in a non-stop action packed weekend, but the focus wasn’t necessarily on snow – It was on God.

Something that stands out in my mind from the weekend was a conversation that a couple of us (volunteers and campers) were having. I remembered one of the campers – he has a brilliant mind but had a hard time processing the existence of one almighty God. He and his family tended to be polytheistic and as we talked about the story of Elijah found in 1 Kings in the Bible, he asked some really good questions – like, “Why did Elijah call upon Baal to bring fire down when that wasn’t Baals ‘gift’ or ‘power’? He wasn’t the god of fire so of course he won’t be able to send fire down on the altar.” Hmm, good point. We continued to go deeper, yet at some point he seemed to reach an impasse, to which he said, “I’m a skeptic…” as if he thought that by saying that I would stop asking questions.  We pressed on.  He said that it would take a REALLY BIG miracle to prove to him that the God of Abraham is real.

IMG_7573It was a blessing to be a part of that discussion. He was processing the Christian story. He was asking good questions. He has a deeper knowledge now than he had before – whether that translates into a trust in Jesus and eventual service of God’s Kingdom is yet to be seen.  At least a weekend at camp filled his heart and mind with knowledge of the truth. Sometimes these conversations can be a challenge, but they’re the ones that can also bring about the most change and can give us the most encouragement to keep going, to keep proclaiming the message of the gospel to a world that so desperately needs to hear it, see it, feel it, experience it – and Bethany Birches IS all of those things to EVERY camper!

Scott Kratz, Volunteer

 

Kumbaya

I understand Kumbaya means come by here.  Directing this at Jesus, we ask the Lord to come by here, where we are… to show up in our midst. We sang this at Polar Bear Snow Camp with the help of Scott Kratz. Here’s a recording from my phone:

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And a link to download it

5 Reasons to Join us for SNOW CAMP (from the campers)

Last weekend the cabin was bustling with Bobcat Campers. This weekend the cabin will be bustling with Polar Bear Campers. And next weekend the cabin will be bustling with Lynx Campers! Each weekend includes a great line up of snowy adventures on the tubing run and ice rink, unique BBC all camp winter activities, stellar staff and a theme to help us each understand how much God loves us. We asked a few Bobcat Campers what they liked most about snow camp and compiled their response into:

TOP 5 REASONS to come to SNOW CAMP (from a camper’s perspective):

1. The Tubing Run is AWESOME

2. Broomball Tournaments are fun!

3. Lots of Laughter

4. The Indoor Game Room (Air hockey, foosball, ping pong, etc)

5. Making Creations

There are many other reasons to come but you should join us on the hill to find out why! Lynx camp still has openings for any 4th – 8th grader. Register online here or email the camp office with questions: camp@bethanybirches.org

Click here to see a slideshow of Bobcat Camp Pics

Bobcat Campers enjoying the snow

Bobcat Campers enjoying the snow

Bobcat 2013 Slideshow

We had a great snow camp weekend with campers in grades 3-6. The weather was good. The tubing was good. The stove-sides were good.  A few pictures: