johnmbowen

Another interesting high adventure/training program from an outfitter which caters Scouts in the Rocky Mountain Area. See www.hpoiadventure.com, look under Programs, then Teen Programs to see a listing called "Ultimate Adventure Program" which appears to be geared toward Scouts and includes climbing, mountaineering and rafting, which goes for 6 days at a reasonable price/person for so many events.

That is pretty elaborate, and based on the rafter's fire pan. We have usually got a couple of large logs to set on the snow and then built a fire on top of them. They all eventually sink a bit. We also tend to dig pits with seats on the sides to keep out of the wind, and the sides of the snow pits will also tend to reflect the heat back on you. If you are rigorous you can also build a channel to a lower pit to siphon off the cold air which sinks, but we were rarely that concerned.

For a recent trip, we invented a nice "Troop scout hat" which is OK for a "B" uniform. It consisted of a tan baseball hat we got from a vendor that does screen pringing and embroidery and cost $5. We added the BSA pin for the adult campaign hat for $6.50 and had a nice hat. THe equivalent type of hat is the "commemorative 2001" hat for $23. You could have the troop number embroidered on it, why not?

Hi again guys. Hi Buffalo2, this is of course jargon stuff that one gets from going to too many swift water rescue clinics, or having to do it for real on the river. I have been lucky with Scouts and have never had to unwrap any boat when they are involved...but just like WFR...it is better to 'be prepaired'. Voyager! I am not familiar with the Mariner Hitch but believe it has to be similar to a hitch called the UMIT (which stands for something that I have forgotten). It was developed by Canadian and US (USFS etc) SAR people for releasing tension on very highly tensioned ropes,

THough I have used z-drags for inflatabls (and for practicing cravasse rescue) I have not done canoes. How much force can a pinned canoe take? The usual system for a broached raft, after you equalize the D-rings is to try to run a line around the boat at the point where your 'best pull' angle will do the most good...but those things give! Do you do the same with a canoe? (Which oughta make since?) When do you stop and try something different...I would hate to pull a livery boat apart with a Z! My last canoe broach was solved by the 10 "boyscout" pull which is of course more gentle

Ha, All this is NOTHING!! A tempest in a teapot. Do you all remember that nationwide case where these two toughs killed that little homosexual in Laramie Wyoming by pistolwhipping him to death, and leaving his body hanging on a buck rail fence? Well, one of the perps was Russell Hinderson, Eagle Scout, now serving a life sentence. Being a Scout doesn't necessarily give you sense or brains. Be glad that these kids are only doing small stuff.

The CRASH nymonic is very useful to check redundancy for each partner in a climb. However, I would highly recommend that any group that goes out to climb on their own cultivate (after checking) actual experienced climbers who can help insure that the anchors for the top roped climbs are bombproof and redundant too. There are lots of people who can help if approached. Our method (after I check them out) is to make them an ASM but only call on their expertise when the Troop wants to go climb. THis also works well for river people, rafters, kayakers or canoers that can help your unit on these

The CRASH nymonic is very useful to check redundancy for each partner in a climb. However, I would highly recommend that any group that goes out to climb on their own cultivate (after checking) actual experienced climbers who can help insure that the anchors for the top roped climbs are bombproof and redundant too. There are lots of people who can help if approached. Our method (after I check them out) is to make them an ASM but only call on their expertise when the Troop wants to go climb. THis also works well for river people, rafters, kayakers or canoers that can help your unit on these

The CRASH nymonic is very useful to check redundancy for each partner in a climb. However, I would highly recommend that any group that goes out to climb on their own cultivate (after checking) actual experienced climbers who can help insure that the anchors for the top roped climbs are bombproof and redundant too. There are lots of people who can help if approached. Our method (after I check them out) is to make them an ASM but only call on their expertise when the Troop wants to go climb. THis also works well for river people, rafters, kayakers or canoers that can help your unit on these

The CRASH nymonic is very useful to check redundancy for each partner in a climb. However, I would highly recommend that any group that goes out to climb on their own cultivate (after checking) actual experienced climbers who can help insure that the anchors for the top roped climbs are bombproof and redundant too. There are lots of people who can help if approached. Our method (after I check them out) is to make them an ASM but only call on their expertise when the Troop wants to go climb. THis also works well for river people, rafters, kayakers or canoers that can help your unit on these

Yes! I highly recommend Warren River Expeditions Warren River Expeditions P.O. Box 1375 Salmon, Idaho 83467 Office: (208) 756-6387 Reservations: (800) 765-0421 Fax: (208) 756-4495 SalmonRiver@raftidaho.com Dave Warren is very personable, and has just got a permit on the Middle Fork. I believe you can either fly in to the half way point or start from the beginning and end up at Corn Creek on the Main. I have rowed for Dave many times and he always has high quality and knowledgible boatmen who are patient with kids. I was on a trip down the Main Salmon with Dave and

Hi Folks, I had to write this up for one of the groups that I work with, and since I saw that some of you are interested in ideas as well, thought I would bore you with some of these. Note that I abbreviated backpacking, as there is a very complete discussion here. High Adventure Ideas for Scouts Water Stuff: Assuming you have or can rent canoes and or kayaks. Note, be sure to train your Scouts very well in all aspects of river safety. Safety Afloat is NOT sufficient. A source of trainers is to find out who in your area runs rivers a lot. Try them. Also call the American Canoe A

The trip cost everyone about $1k which included the airline tickets (we had to scramble around to get cheap ones, mine was $450) and all on ground transportation as well as food. Busses from Mexico City to Puebla cost less than $10US, and $6 to Tlachachuca one way, the shuttle to the mountain and staying at the shuttle driver was $80US. We went to see Tiotihuacan $3.5 entrance + $6US bus ride, and the Anthrapological Museum (another $3.5US...that seemed to be the rate for all the archaeological sites). Meals in town ran around $3-5. I spent $1100 total. The difficulty is not the doi

I attended a "climbing instruction" session run by BSA called 'Climb on Safely' which was a nice introduction to climbing for non-climbers. Mostly though, like the 'Safety Afloat' the session was mainly set up to inform the participants of the BSA policy. As an outfitter, I rapidly recognized this as a liability waiver situation, which merely informed the participants that if the BSA policy was not followed, the penalty was NO insurance coverage. I don't blame BSA for this stance, but outside of that, the instruction was not enough for a group to safely set up even the most rudimentary clim

Now, I don't know if this is true, but I heard that the reason we wear the US flag on our shirts is that the John Birch Society gave the BSA money with the flag as a proviso. While I like the flag and don't mind wearing it, it does remind me of this story. I'm not too liberal, but I would distance myself in a hurry from the John Birch Society and what it stands for. Additionally, I am just back from Mexico on a Scout Trip, and know that the Scouts down there, while patriotic as any, do not wear their flag on their sleeve.

Our Scout Troop, which does a great deal of high adventure, does not use the Scout Uniform on any outing, as they are completely unsuitable for anything other than meeting in a room. The pants are expensive, not durable, and made of cotton which is useful only in the heat. The shirt (also more expensive than they are worth), while polyester, while it will pass moisture to outer garmets is too beribboned to be useful and too fragile to be used on a trip. So we don't. We are beginning to use zip T-neck long underwear shirts with a logo on them and the Troop number on the collar. (Check

Younger Scouts and High Adventure: Part of the method is the makeup of the Troop itself. All the youngsters coming into the Troop know what this troop is about right away. We have posters of previous trips on the walls and we take them through them, with their parents. The kids who are not interested, dont' join up. We also have a nice webpage (which needs updating) that the parents can look at (check Wyoming Troops, and 136 from Laramie) that spells out what we do. They come looking for high adventure...same as seen in the handbook. The second part is that at the first meeting t

HI Eisely! Wow, someone working on a holiday like me! This mountain is El Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltepetl near Puebla, in Mexico. We went down on the 26th and got back on the 6th of this month. It is the 3rd highest in North America, but is also the easiest of the high altitude mountains to ascend...therefore a target for Scouts. The guys on this trip were highly motivated about this trip and really wanted to train and learn more. The 18 yr old has signed up to be ASM with two of his friends (who didn't get to go). Because of proximity (we're from Wyoming), we have done sever

Our Troop does exclusively high adventure, and has been very successful. We have good retention with older kids, and have a lot of fun. We are lucky enough to accumulated a group of adults who are experts in their field of recreation whom we ask for help only when the kids are interested in that kind of trip. We pull these adults in as ASMs but call them "specialists." They help do the extensive training for the kind of trips they do anyway, and the kids not only get to go, but to learn a great deal about that form of recreation. For example, we worked hard for three months on cavin

Hi, Well, this is a somewhat serious mountain, 18,800 feet, glaciated with a steep snow approach. We did use crampons, ice axes and helmets. We have trained the four guys involved since June in ice and snow mountaineering, including climbing in rope teams, rope team management, ice axe arrest as a team, and as individuals. We also covered team rescue techniques, running rope belays, fixed rope techniques, etc. They were if anything overprepared (something that we insist on) for this mountain, which frankly is not too difficult, except for the altitude. The only significant thing

Our Troop has had a great deal of success with high adventure trips. We do a lot of training in preparation, and have good attendance. I think that you just have to go a few times, bring back pics and stories and you don't have any problems. Additionally, our Troop has just done a bit of mountaineering. I am very interested in Scout Troops that have done big mountains, or have done some mountaineering. I am particularly interested in international mountaineering trips by Scout Troops or Venture or Explorers, when they did them and what stories they have to tell.

Our Troop has just done a bit of mountaineering. I am very interested in Scout Troops that have done big mountains, or have done some mountaineering. I am particularly interested in international mountaineering trips by Scout Troops or Venture or Explorers, when they did them and what stories they have to tell.