RUDY'S BLOG
The first step in booking your next ski trip is easier than you think! One call to Nexstep Travel will get you linked up to hundreds of options. We'll find the perfect fit to meet your budget, drive time and dates.
Call today or fill out on on-line quote for info. Thanks and have a great day!!!
Happy WV DAY! Do we know Winterplace, Snowshoe, Canaan Valley and Timberline? You bet your chair lift we do! GO WV !!! #skiwv #skiraftzip
William Shakespeare. On a great cold snowy day! ANSWER TO QUESTION: yes
If you’ve ever been on a weekend student retreat, you know how that experience can build community. Teenagers ride together, play together, eat together, stay up late together, get up tired together… “Together” is a powerful word. Think of “together” as glue – the more broadly it’s spread, the better a youth group will bond. Group Retreats apply “together” to students’ sense of adventure, their relationship with God, their daily experiences, their broken comfort zones and much more! GO SKIING!
We work hard all year long building relationships with Vendors ( Hotels, resorts, cabins, adventure companies, ski resorts, motor coach companies and more ). It's our goal to find the best places to go at the best rates possible. We know there are many choices you can make when planning your next group adventure, but, we hope you'll give us an opportunity to show you what we can do.
We know: Winterplace Ski Resort, Snowshoe Mountain WV, TImberline ski resort, Canaan Valley, Beech Mountain, Cataloochee , Wolf Ridge SKi Resort in NC and more!
If you're going skiing on over the holidays, Now is the time!
CHRISTMAS DEC 27-JAN 1, Martin Luther King JAN 13-16, Presidents FEB 17-20
Call Today. Great rates!
Corduroy: A common slang term for the grooves found on a recently groomed trail created by a snowcat or grooming machine. Called as such for the obvious resemblance to the fabric."
Please note that all of our southeast/mid atlantic ski resorts have snowcats and professionals drivers that can groom this "carpet" into their slopes. It's a great ride!! #happyleader
Enjoy your weekend!
8 Resorts OPEN this weekend! MAY / 2016
#skiraftzip #celebrate
Located on Cheat Mountain in the Appalachian Mountains, Snowshoe Resort opened in 1974 with trails and lifts that paid homage to the area’s logging history. Though the resort started off small, it grew in 1992 with the purchase of nearby Silver Creek ski area. Now, visitors to Snowshoe can enjoy 244 skiable acres and 60 runs. Get Snowshoe Mountain lift tickets.
Stop and Smells the Palm Trees. We're thankful!
Before ski resorts became real estate companies {selling high priced condos to the rich and famous} Ski Bums were everywhere! People that just loved to ski. They would sleep in the "Bunk Houses" that most all resort had on site or close by. Ski, Sleep, Repeat.
SKI BUM... Life Mag
I think this is funny. #onedirection #stumin #happyleader
Nexstep Travel offers the best group packages and service in the industry. With over 20 years experience, we know what groups want and need! Great rates! Great Service!
Look no further. #onecall #bestrates
I find myself using more and more hashtags with marketing nexstep. Seems people can find just what they're looking for by typing in "#123" . isn't social media great? !
just setting up my twttr ? Jack Dorsey
There was no need for any sort of organization or classification system for posts on the newly launched social networking site, and in fact, that's how Twitter was designed. ...we came across the word 'twitter', and it was just perfect. The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information, and that's exactly what the product was." The organic, community-driven instantaneous sharing of brief messages and thoughts was how the founding fathers envisioned this microblogging site; a sort of online SMS text messaging system.
Fast forward to 2011, where the almost 200 million worldwide users send over 140 million tweets daily, and the need for some sort of tool to bring order to all of this information is clear. (340 million Tweets a day in March, 2012.)
Thanks to a Tweet by Chris Messina (@chrismessina), a Twitter user from the early years, the hashtag was successfully pitched to the online community as a way to organize messages into meaningful groups. Hashtags have since been embraced by users worldwide as a way to classify the often-frantic exchange of thoughts and information on the social networking site.
On August 23, 2007 at 12:25pm, Messina Tweeted "how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?"
how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]? ? Chris Messina? (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007
Two days after this game-changing Tweet, Messina wrote two posts on his blog, Factoryjoe.com expanding on his idea to create a "whisper circle" to exchange these little messages. (In 2007, Tweets were commonly referred to as "whispers".)
In his first post on August 25, 2007 at 2pm, titled "Whispering Tweets," Messina proposes setting up an "inner circle" on Twitter as a place to receive "whispers", giving users the ability to partially restrict posts to a "small, and more intentional, audience". He suggests that posts directed to members of a user's inner circle be prefaced with a simple syntax, an exclamation point (!). Messina was a pretty busy guy on August 25 that year, posting again on his blog at 10pm. This second article, titled "Groups for Twitter; or a Proposal for Twitter Tag Channels," elaborates on the idea of improving content filtering on Twitter by using channel tags. In his second blog of the day, Messina details the specifics of using a hash character (#) as a prefix within Twitter posts to enhance the user experience. He suggests that by using a channel tag within a status update, other Twitter users will garner specific information about that post as well as have the ability to "eavesdrop" on the channel, participating at will. It's interesting to note the level of dialogue between early Tweeters that occurred during the development of the hashtag prefix. On Messina's site alone, there are comments from over a dozen industry experts who all actively discuss how tag channels on Twitter should evolve. Messina wasn't some random Twitter user who stumbled upon hashtags by accident. In 2007, he and then-girlfriend Tara Hunt founded a consulting company called Citizen Agency, focused on using social media in relation to open source practices and values. A year earlier, in 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle identified Messina and Hunt as a couple of the "Digital Utopians" of the Web 2.0. Following this early conversation on the development of hashtags within Twitter, Cody Marx Bailey and Aaron Farnham launched a new website called Hashtags.org in December 2007. This popular site is now the undisputed authority on Twitter hashtag tracking, claiming to be "the defacto standard for hashtag information". Bailey and Farnham parted ways later, and the Hashtags.org domain name was, in early 2011, sold to current owner and new media entrepreneur Michael Cyger.
Today, the use of hashtags on Twitter continues to be an evolving practice, growing in much the same way it began. Users of this social media site continue to explore the different applications of hashtags, and collectively control the future of channel tagging on Twitter. The history of hashtags is an ongoing story about the ways in which product users can influence the application and use of a product with the strength of a collective voice. Popular hashtags enjoy devote followers, while Tweeters who are unpopular or use hashtags as a form of spam are quickly tossed from the virtual nest.
A few I've been working on.
#skiraftzip #quotemytrip #stumin #yuthmin #grouptravel #youthskitrip #youthraftingtrip #onelesstask #onecall #information
We make you look good! #easy
Let us do the work. #onelesstask #dontbelikedave #happyleader
#happyFutureleaders
Ziplining is the perfect activity to experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains with your friends and family. Call Nexstep Travel today to looking into getting the best rates available.
As you are flying through the treetops with a breeze cooling you off, it can be easy to forget that you are getting a lot of sun. Make sure you protect yourself and your children by applying sunscreen before you begin your zipline adventure.
Close-toed shoes ARE REQUIRED.
Normal street clothes are fine, however modest clothing is encouraged. Every participant will be wearing a full-body harness that wraps around the legs and goes over the shoulders. Although a tee shirt or tank top is fine, a shirt with a collar may be more comfortable as it offers some protection from the possibility of the shoulder straps rubbing on your neck. Longer shorts or light pants are recommended as well to help with the comfort of the leg straps. We strongly suggest guests refrain from wearing short shorts.
Wear clothing that is appropriate for the weather, we suggest bringing multiple layers on colder days. As a general rule thinner and less bulky clothing is preferred as loose or thick clothing can interfere with safety equipment.
Our staff is your best resource! French Broad Ziplines guides are highly qualified and have the best training available. If you have a question or if you are slightly nervous about something, then ask your guide about it! Pay close attention during “ground school” where we teach you the basic techniques needed to enjoy your zip trip safely, but if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask! Your guide is there to help you have a safe and fun zipline experience.
Our minimum age limit for ziplining is 10 years old. You must also be between 70 and 250 pounds – no exceptions. To insure the safety of all participants, all participants will be weighed prior to participation.
Our ten-line zipline, 2 rappel canopy tour takes you through a forest of native trees and plants, and offers picturesque mountain views. Count on spending 2-3 hours with us. You will ride in our biodiesel-powered UTVs up to the top of the mountain, receive instruction on ziplining technique at our practice area, and zipline on our 10 separate lines ranging in length from 75 – 1,000 feet, totaling over 1 mile of cable!
We call the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains our home, so it’s no surprise that you will see amazing views when you zipline with us. What may surprise you is all the smaller bits of nature that you will see when ziplining with us. From native plants to animals and insects that scurry along the forest floor, ziplining with us is a true treat for the eyes.
It is highly recommended that you before you arrive to assure that we can accommodate you on the day and time you choose. Call us and let our friendly reservations staff assist you in scheduling your zipline trip between 8am and 8pm.
We require all guests to sign a waiver. You can do this online with the provided link, or you can download the waiver and fill it out and bring with you. (You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to download the waivers from our website). You can also complete the waiver form at the outpost on the day of your trip, but please allow extra time for this.
Did you know that there are only 227 days until DEC 27th ( a big moving day for group ski trips) Of course, 225 days until Christmas. One of my 4 kids reminded me of this last night.
If you'll be considering taking your youth group skiing this winter, I hope you'll give us an opportunity to show you just how easy and affordable it can be. We have packages to meet any groups dates, drive time and budget.
One of our best partners is Winterplace Ski Resort, in Ghent West Virginia. It's a easy all interstate drive and offers full day / night skiing as well as a Super Tubing Hill! Would love to share more information this great resort. rudy@nexsteptravel.com
#happyleader #onecall #information #skiraftzip #happycamper #winterplace
NOTE: You can read this blog or simply contact us. We do ALL the work! Free Quotes/Free Service. Think Ski! Rudy
Planning a winter ski retreat this year? Ski retreats can be the perfect getaway for families, couples, singles or youth. Other than the actual skiing logistics, these can be low-key events in terms of planning since most of your day is spent on the slopes. During down time, other than organized worship times, guests often just want to relax as they are tired from a day filled with skiing (and possibly sore from a day filled with falling!).
Here are some ideas to consider as you prepare for the skiing part of your winter retreat:
While skiing is often the highlight of this type of event, there are also things you will need to prepare for when you are not on the slopes.
You’ve reserved the ski equipment. You’ve got transportation to and from the ski mountain covered. You’ve made lodging reservations, and you’re praying for the weather conditions to be favorable for your ski retreat. Now what?
Though most planning for winter ski retreats is based on the actual skiing details, there are still things you need to prepare for your trip. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this trip?” Is it just for fun? Do you want to have a worship element? Are you trying to build group dynamics? Is this more of an outreach event? As you think about these questions, here are things to consider as you prepare for the non-skiing aspects of your winter retreat:
