We used to have a really lengthy and unfriendly-sounding set of rules here, but decided they struck the wrong tone for AHSP. Here’s a summary of our policies:

1. AHSP guests and staff have a well-deserved reputation for courtesy and consideration. Above all else, please help us uphold this reputation.
2. AHSP guests are expected to comply with instructions from AHSP and Spruce Knob Mountain Center (SKMC) staff. We’ll make every effort to be reasonable and fair, but our staff’s decisions are final.
3. Leave your arsenal and drones at home — we don’t allow firearms, fireworks, chemical weapons, or drones of any kind at AHSP.
4. We’re sorry, but we can’t permit pets at AHSP. Individual exceptions may be made for helper or assistance animals.
5. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
6. Registrations and payments are final. We have to make commitments based on projected attendance, so we regret that we can’t offer refunds if you’re unable to attend.

Common Sense

We’ve tried to cover items of potential concern, but in the end it comes down to this: we expect AHSP attendees to exercise good judgment, courtesy, and common sense. We think you’ll find AHSP a warm, friendly event — and we’ll do our best to be flexible and accommodating wherever we can.

Problems

Don’t hesitate to contact AHSP staff on-site if a problem develops. We wear lanyards in a different color from attendees, and can also be reached via FRS radio on channel 1.

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The following are answers to specific policy questions that come up often.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages are permitted at AHSP. The legal drinking age in West Virginia is 21. If you choose to consume or serve alcohol, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for complying with West Virginia law. Please exercise good judgment, courtesy, and common sense.

Camping Area

No alterations to the site are allowed — this includes digging holes, cutting trees, etc.

Fire Safety

Please make sure everyone in your camp is familiar with fire safety. No open fires or briquette cooking are allowed — camp stoves are permitted for cooking only. A nearby fire extinguisher is highly recommended.

Garbage Disposal and Recycling

This is a remote location with no regular trash service. We’ll provide a garbage bag at check-in, and ask that you take your campsite trash with you when you leave. Garbage or refuse may never be burned.

Late Arrival

Attendees arriving after dark must not drive vehicles past the designated late-arrival area near the SKMC entrance. You’re welcome to camp in the late-arrival area, or walk up to the main campsites (about 0.85 mile) — but vehicles must stay in the late-arrival area until morning. This matters for everyone’s safety and comfort, and has been a problem in past years: guests who disregard this instruction are likely to be denied access to AHSP without refund.

SKMC Emergency Contact Information

Cell coverage at SKMC is unreliable due to low tower density and mountain terrain, so if someone needs to reach you in an emergency, the most reliable way is an email that you check periodically via the WiFi near the main yurts.

Alternatively, a message can be left at info@ahsp.org, or by calling the SKMC landline at 304-606-3233 (not monitored 24/7). Experience Learning staff radios — different from the regular FRS radios — are stationed at Registration and the Medical Stations; AHSP does not monitor FRS radios for emergencies.

Spruce Knob Mountain Center
18 Woodlands Way
Circleville, WV
304-606-3233

Review and print the AHSP Emergency Plan (PDF) to keep a copy with you — your car, alongside your directions, is a good spot for it.

Lights and Laser Pointers

This is a dark site. Because it’s easy to lose your dark adaptation, glow sticks or any source of white light are prohibited. Only low-powered, red-filtered flashlights are permitted in the observing areas — many red headlamps and flashlights are actually too bright for a sky this dark. If yours is one of them, ask AHSP staff for help filtering it.

We ask that participants not use laser pointers — they interfere with astrophotography and can break visual observers’ dark adaptation. AHSP staff may use one during a guided “star tour” just after dark as part of the formal program.

Astrophotographers: your computer screens and equipment emit a lot of light. Please consider nearby visual observers when shielding your setup, and let staff know if you’d like a field location where stray light won’t bother your neighbors.

Modern cars have courtesy lights that can’t always be disabled, and some turn on automatically as you approach. This is a particular problem in the Yellow and Green fields, where vehicles sit right next to observers — it’s your responsibility to cover any lights you can’t disable with dark tape for the duration of AHSP.

No On-Site Registration

There’s no on-site registration or drop-in attendance at AHSP — all registration must be completed and acknowledged before arrival. Anyone without a completed registration will not be admitted. You can add activities on site, up to capacity and the coordinator’s cutoff time — just ask a volunteer at the reception tent.

Quiet Hours

Please be considerate of your neighbors and avoid loud talking or music at all times. On generators: very quiet portable models are generally fine from noon to 7 PM, but you’re responsible for being quiet enough not to bother fellow attendees at any hour.

Smoking

No smoking is permitted in any building or public tent, including dorms, the bath house, session tents, or the meeting room. Even outdoors, if your neighbors are bothered by cigar or cigarette smoke, you’re the one who’ll need to move. Please dispose of butts properly — dropping them on the ground is a fire risk and isn’t permitted.