This has been a challenging year. The annual fees of many elite credit cards have increased while the benefits have been reduced; no longer can a Delta Amex Platinum card holder buy a day pass into a Sky Club or even a Centurion Lounge. All three legacy carriers redid their frequent flier programs requiring much higher minimum spending thresholds making it harder for so many of our parents to achieve status. On United, it now costs over 55,000 miles for an average reward ticket from New York to California. Sometimes it seems that the bad news does not stop as happened two weeks ago when JetBlue called off its merger with Spirit airlines, something that would have made flights to camp that much easier. Amidst all these challenges, for those of us who preach the importance of reducing our global carbon emissions while actually understanding the references above, we thought we would take a moment to share some of the highlights we are planning for kayitz (summer) 2024.
Let Them Fly
Our return rate is the highest it has ever been (editor’s note: this is true). We have chalutzim (campers) who started with us when they were 8 years old and now are heading into 10th and 11th grades. They have done each of our masa’ot, can practically free-solo Prospector Mountain and know each log and boulder on our single tracks.They have been asking for something new, something challenging and most importantly, something thrilling to do at our chava (ranch). We learned from TikTok that wingsuit BASE jumping is going to be the new it sport. As seen in this video, last month our tzevet (staff) spent a few days in Arches National Park practicing our jumps, overcoming the initial fear of leaping into the abyss, and then eventually learning how to soar above the treetops in custom Ramah Rockies wingsuits (exclusively sold on our online swag store). This is the ultimate Challenge by Choice! When researching how to legally bring this sport to camp, we learned that while according to the Colorado Department of Human Services, our licensing agency, we need consent from parents to give a child a vitamin C lozenge or to apply sunscreen when it is 90 degrees outside, no such permission is required for unsanctioned extreme sports. Therefore, we will be allowing each older chalutz/a to make their own choice, no parental permissions required. Those who wish to participate will do a dawn hike to the top of Prospector to take advantage of the strong morning thermals. As the sun rises in the east over Givat Ilanot, they will take a running leap off the top and soar over Ramah Valley, banking a hard left into the Lost Creek Wilderness, behind Buffalo Peak, and eventually setting down on our neighbor’s buffalo ranch.
Let’s Stay Close
Over the years, parents have repeatedly expressed their desire to go on epic masa’ot (backcountry excursions) like their children but with some creature comforts like Nespresso machines and Dyson hair dryers. While some might say “you can’t have it all,” we at Ramah disagree; consumerism should know no bounds. With this goal in mind, we started to envision a new masa, one that takes place in the Rockies AND allows parents to sip their lattes quietly at home while doom scrolling on their smartphones. While engaged in this process, we were approached by Peloton to help them build out their overnight-camp unit. Since its peak in January 2021, Peloton’s business model has been in a free-fall due to the reopening of gyms, the emergence of cheaper competitors, and a total saturation in the market of the typical Ramah parent. Peloton asked whether we would be interested in receiving a donation of 25 bikes to use in an innovative program, and we were delighted to help this struggling public company with a tax-deductible contribution! Thus, our new alpine cycling spa masa was born! Over the past month, we have installed solar panels and a Starlink connection on the top of Prospector Pavilion in the middle of Ramah Valley. Using electricity and internet generated from these, we will be connected directly to Peloton’s newest studio in Berkeley, CA, designed specifically for trail-riding simulation. For this masa, chalutzim will camp near our bathhouses so that they can begin their day with a hot shower as well as a flush toilet. They will eat from an array of low-carb, high protein smoothies, including our newest kachava-infused blend, grab their mineral water, which was flown in from a remote mountain spring, and head to their Pelotons. Each chalutz/a will meet up with their parents on the screen and begin their two hour simulation of riding through the Rocky Mountains. In addition to adding a real time connection with their parents, we expect that these rides will massively reduce the number of scrapes and bruises that typically occur on our biking masa’ot. If this experiment proves successful, Peloton has told us they hope to roll this program out to all the Jewish camps in North America as a way to recoup some of their over 1.4 million lost subscribers.
There’s Plenty of Parking Here
This year’s Super Bowl was a nailbiter, coming down to the last minute.
Would she or wouldn’t she?
Collectively we, on the year-round team, were aghast during the days leading up to the epic game that Taylor Swift might not see her beau play in the Super Bowl because there was no parking for her jet. That week, we reached out to her agent and said that if she ever wanted to come to the Rockies, we would welcome her with a direct, 20 minute helicopter ride from the private Centennial airport to our landing zone on the kikar. Two weeks ago her advance team asked us to reserve the helicopter for two weekend appearances. Apparently, she and Travis are going to be spending some time in Aspen this summer, trying to escape the throngs that follow them when they are in places not used to hob knopping with the rich and famous. Touched by our invitation and excited about the ruach (spirit) that exists in camp, Taylor decided to come play TWO concerts for us, one in each session. Taylor is also hoping to head to Israel in the fall as part of her Eras Tour for her first concert in Tel Aviv and wants to make sure that she is able to brush up on her Hebrew. She asked that in lieu of payment a member of our mishlachat commit to working with her weekly over zoom to improve her pronunciation and that Dancing Gali, our rikud all-star, help her with the latest in modern Israeli line dancing before her Sunday performances. We do not know yet whether Travis will accompany her on her overnight visits. Based on the success we had a few years back with hosting Tom Brady, word might have gotten out to the elite players in the NFL that practicing their moves at a Jewish camp that has one of the worst organized team sports programs in the country (editor’s note: also true), is an incredible way to relax, have fun, and not worry about anyone pestering them for advice on how to become a star high school or college football player.
Conclusion
It really has been a heck of a challenging few months. Many of us wake up each morning to read the day’s news and wonder when we will have a return to some sort of calm in our lives as diaspora Jews, Israelis, and humans who pray for the peace and safety of all on this planet. Purim is the holiday where we are commanded to have fun, ideally by turning inward and poking fun at ourselves. To this end, we hope you have enjoyed our latest Purim blog, knowing that we can never take ourselves too seriously.
(Third true thing: the online swag store is real and set to open next week. Be on the lookout for an email and social media posts for when it opens and get your Rockies swag in time for camp!)
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