Snowflex Reimagined

Liberty’s mountain has received an upgrade with the remodeling of the Barrick-Falwell Lodge at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre. 

The lodge, which has been a location for relaxation and study to students and other visitors, has been redesigned since its opening over 10 years ago.

Emily Johnson, the director of communications and marketing for Liberty Campus Recreation, oversaw the redesign process that took place in June 2022. 

“(We) wanted to promote the lodge for students to come and study,” Johnson said concerning the purpose behind the redesign. 

“The couches and oriental rugs had been in the lodge since its opening and were outdated,” she said. “The furniture was very old. A lot of the couches were a little beaten up. We wanted to change it. We get a lot of banquet table reservations where people will have birthday parties for their kids, and a lot of the chairs that we
had had broken.” 

Johnson said the purpose was to update the lodge to have a “modern cabin feel” so students would feel more inclined to study there. 

For the redesign, Johnson wanted to lean into an Aztec warm cabin concept. One of the goals of the redesign was to work with all the wall colors. The lodge is divided into two uniquely colored, wood rooms, one having a light oak color and a the other a deeper orange-red tone. 

Another was to minimize the number of couches in the lodge. Johnson said that once one person sits on the couches, other people will not sit next to them, limiting the amount of seating choices. 

Another issue was the lack of accessibility to electrical outlets, which students find useful in case they need to charge their devices. Using a diagram that indicated where the outlets were located around the lodge, Johnson was able to arrange the new furniture more appropriately for students who want to plug in their electronic devices to do schoolwork. 

Johnson wanted to use the La Vida Coffee + Market concept as an example for the lodge redesign, noting the shop had the Aztec setting she wanted the lodge
to replicate. 

“The lodge’s new arrangement has two couches on both sides of the fireplace, each one with its own coffee table and two armchairs,” Johnson said. 

The other areas have a dining table with two chairs each. The lodge also has concessions for students and visitors. Barstool seating is going to be installed within the next few months in two different areas of the lodge.

Johnson and her team have received positive feedback from students and staff at Snowflex. Junior Katherine Wolfrays described the environment as a place where she felt “very welcome.” It reminded her of an actual snow lodge, and it is also a great location to watch
the sunset. 

Another student, Caleb Kaopuiki, said the redesign has made Snowflex a prime study spot on campus.

“With the newly furnished common area and revamped concessions booth, it has provided a comfortable environment to meet any student’s needs,” he said. “When in need of a study break, Snowflex offers many different activities and the perfect scenery to refresh the soul and mind.”

The Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre is a facility accessible to Liberty University students for free. The facility includes artificial slopes for skiing, snowboarding and sledding, two Neveplast tubing runs, an Olympic-grade trampoline and the Barrick-Falwell Lodge.

For more information on Snowflex, visit Liberty.edu/Snowflex.

Rolon is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion