Re: [Philmont]: wait list question

Since I don't think anyone else has answered, I will make some comments:

First, at #135, and 2004 *not* being a Jambo year, you are really on the
knife-edge of being able to make it off the waiting list. Past comments
on this list suggest a cutoff around #125. But 2004 is still a long
ways off, and "things can change".

Second, having four Crews probably exacerbates the situation. But FWIW,
the only personal experience I have been involved in with this sort of
scenario was two Crews, and when Philmont came calling, they were
looking for both (this was a neighboring Troop I was counselling, not
mine). If memory serves, they were #112 or #122, and yes, they were
called late/late, like in early April. They were given a couple of
dates to choose from, and had one week to make up their minds.

If you are serious about going, then you have to plan, train, and prep
like you ARE going - otherwise, your trek will be a disaster. This is
what makes your situation really hairy. Unless you're millionaires, you
have to buy airfares, arrange housing and meals, transportation to the
Ranch, etc., much earlier than you will know whether you can go. But
the Ranch can't guarantee your preferred date, and if you never get off
the waiting list, you have lost a fortune - and aggravated the hell out
of 40 sets of parents. The only way to try and compensate for this
<likelihood> is to co-arrange an alternate trek in e.g., the Rocky
Mountain State Park, that you can do if Philmont falls through. You can
also try reserving Packard or one of the other Scout camps in Colorado
that offer low and high Alpine treks, and see how much it would cost you
to bail out if Philmont comes through. All this is a heck of a lot of
contingency planning (especially for 4 Crews), but if you've done things
like this before you can manage two plans at once, especially if you
start *now*. I sure wouldn't recommend it for novices, however. Going
independent is a metric butt-load of work.

It goes without saying that you really need to pay attention to the wait
list numbers. The big drops occur about a month after the big
pre-payments are due (I believe the Ranch gives wavering Crews a month
to get their acts together, after which they are dropped). My personal
WAG would be if the wait list hasn't passed #100 by January 1st, it
ain't gonna happen, and you're wasting your time - and I'd personally be
a lot happier about my chances if it was at 110 or 115 by January 1st
(note, however, that my guarantee on this opinion expired when I hit the
"send" button).

Lord only knows why, but Philmont does not publish the wait-list number
here or (to my knowledge) anywhere else. Dumb. But (like everyone
else) you can keep tabs on the wait list by calling Philmont every few
months and asking to talk to Betty or Frances. And I do mean 2 or 3
months between calls - they are both very patient ladies, but don't wear
out your welcome.

Your next biggest problem will be keeping your four Crews intact in the
face of all this uncertainty. People don't like making plans or
shelling out big bucks on "maybes". Just be aware that you will face
constant (and accelerating) attrition as 2003 wears on.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

- Dr. Bob

Craig Maes wrote:
> Our troop is wait-listed for 4 crews in 2004, about #135 on the list. Can
> some of you share your experience's with being on the wait-list, having been
> contacted, etc?
>
> Did you have space for your entire group, or was only one crew accepted at a
> time?
> How far down the list was your group?
> How early were you initially contacted to see if you wanted to go?
> How much time were you allowed to decide if you wanted to accept?
> Did you already have a training schedule setup "just in case"?
>
> Thanks
>
> Craig Maes
> maes@comcast.net
>

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Received on Tue Jun 10 17:11:36 2003