How To Write a Trip Email

Trip Announcements:

So you now are a tripleader, and you want to know how to announce your new trip! Here is a basic outline of how to go about this:

  1. Name the cave(s) you plan on going to and a date, and give some information about the caves. You could link a trip report, a website, or just give a description of it if you've been before.
  2. Give the difficulty of the cave. You don't want someone who's never been in a cave before going somewhere super technical that will make them not want to come back! Make it clear who the trip is geared towards.
  3. Name any hazards that might make someone not want to come. If there are bad squeezes, for example, say so so that those with claustrophobia don't come and are sad.
  4. Ask that they email you back with the following information:
    1. Name/kerberos
    2. Cell phone number
    3. Can you drive/have a car/would be willing to rent one
    4. Ever been waitlisted for a previous caving club trip
    5. Previous caving experience
    6. Are you a tripleader-in-training/do you want to be
    7. Any other relevant information
  5. Tell them the total cost of the trip. Usually this is the $5 for gear rental plus gas split among each car. Say that if money is a problem to tell you, as we can use club money to cover them.
  6. Tell them that space is limited, so they should email back as soon as possible. Tell them that you'll let them know if they are on the waiting list or not soon.

On the Trip Emails:

The next step is to plan a time for gear rental. After telling everyone that they are on the trip, send out a poll to plan gear rental.

Waitlist Emails:

Unfortunately not everyone can come on every trip :-( Tell those on the waitlist that they will be emailed if there is new room on the trip for them. Also mention that they will have priority over other people next time due to them being on the waitlist.