What to expect at Meany Lodge

WHAT TO EXPECT

We are an all volunteer community, not a 4 star hotel. Meany Lodge provides a warm family environment for all. With room, board and hot showers, it’s perfect for winter and summer adventures.  You provide your own sleeping bag and toys (from skis to board games), and the lodge provides most everything else, including food.  If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, please contact us and we’ll work with you.

Given the volunteer nature of Meany, guests are expected to complete a daily housekeeping chore in addition to washing their own dishes and an additional “pot or pan”.

When visiting Meany, always register for your event, even when attending our free work parties.  This ensures we have enough leaders and food for everyone joining us.

Lastly, remember Meany Lodge is a remote facility in mountainous terrain.  Things can go wrong – power may be lost, heavy snow may make road travel impractical, our transport machines may break down, etc.  We are a trained and resourceful volunteer group, with hundreds of years of combined experience helping mountaineers, guests and families get to and from Meany and enjoy their time there.  You play a key role in keeping everyone safe and happy by having patience if plans change to accomodate events and planning and packing so your family will stay warm in the mountain conditions.

Accommodations

Overnight accommodations inside Meany Lodge are bunk beds in one of three shared bunk rooms.  There is a Men's dormitory, a Women's dormitory, and a mixed-sex Family dormitory.  All beds have a mattress, and guests must bring their own sleeping bag.  Most beds are singles.  The Family dormitory has double beds with a single bunk bed above. 

We ask that priority for space in the Family dormitory be given to parents with young children who need to sleep with them.  Children often form themselves into groups that will then sleep near each other in the Men's or Women's dormitory.  Please talk to any of the Meany Committee members at the Lodge if you have trouble finding appropriate sleeping arrangements.

Lights in the Family dorm go out at 9pm and lights in the Mens and Womens dorms go out at 10pm.  Lights go on each morning at 7:30am.  People are welcome to stay up as late they like on the main floor and basement, so long as they are reasonably quiet.

Meals

Meals are usually buffet style, and they are served at 8am, 12:30pm, and 6:30pm.  Many cooks will set out snacks between meals, and some will serve a separate salad course before dinner.  Please wait for the cook to announce the food is ready before serving yourself from food on the service counter.  A horn is blown to announce meal time to those in other parts of the Lodge.  Please the cook or a Committee member any questions you have.

Volunteering to help with food preparation, set up and clean up are among the  most important daily jobs.  If the chores signup sheet  has blanks for those roles, consider signing up!

GETTING TO MEANY & VEHICLE PREParations

Directions can be a little complicated and vary depending on the time of year.  During summer, Google maps will get you to Meany Lodge.  If snow is present, you'll need to plan ahead, park at the Crystal Springs Sno-Park and ride TomCat to the lodge. Check out our winter weekends events page for more details.

When snow is present on the pass, please check conditions & prepare your vehicle for winter driving conditions. Vehicles should carry snow shovel, extra clothing, food and water, and tire chains – please practice putting these on ahead of time. Experienced guests have learned it’s wise to install chains (if not already on) when you arrive. Deep snow falling while you are at the lodge may make it more difficult to install chains after you return to the snow park lot.

ARRIVAL TIME & TOMCAT SCHEDULE

When snow is present, the road to Meany is closed by the state and the only approach is on foot or via TomCat's schedule.  Please arrive at Crystal Springs 20-30 minutes ahead of your departure time so that you can extract gear out of your car and load onto TomCat.  Consider longer if you have children or plan on installing chains on your vehicle.

The 3 mile cat ride to the lodge usually runs 30 minutes, but in bad conditions may take an hour. The cat is unheated and you may be asked to walk a segment of the route, so please dress accordingly and consider a blanket or warm drink for the ride. In the event TomCat breaks down, we’ll try to accommodate transportation using our fleet of snowmobiles, but it may be necessary to ski/hike the 3 miles from the  parking lot to the lodge.

The safest option, when packing your gear, is to assume you’re packing for a 3 mile hike, with the likely possibility of getting a free ride.  See our beginners guide for packing for meany, and remember to always pack your stuff in a backpack or duffle bag – loose gear, paper / plastic bags, suitcases and crates / boxes are a recipe for disappointment.

CHILDREN

Meany is a family friendly environment with children welcome. Lodge volunteers will provide help to any child that asks, but we will also provide direction to unsupervised children and their responsible adult(s). There are rules for safety, including, but not limited to:

• First time guests MUST contact us if your child is under 4 years old to discuss risks & responsibilities for your family.
• Written permission is required from a parent or guardian who is authorized to provide emergency medical care.
• Children must be under the care and supervision of a responsible adult at all times.
• At night, parents are expected to take crying or upset children downstairs so that other guests can sleep.
• Helmets are required for anyone sledding, and a parent must be stationed at the top and bottom of the sledding hill.

ATTENDANCE & CAMPUS GROUNDS

• Always sign in & sign out as you enter / leave the campus; for safety we keep attendance of who is present at the Lodge.
• While we encourage you to explore (e.g. snow shoeing, cross-country or back-country skiing), you must sign out with Lodge staff.  There is a blackboard by the basement door to record your names, route, method of travel, time of departure and expected time of return.