Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Troop555EagleScout,

Welcome to the virtual campfire!

The answer to your question depends. The Director of BSA High Adventure once told me that to a new Tiger Cub, sitting on a fire truck at the local fire station was high adventure. He meant we should think of high adventure not as something only done by 14-yr old scouts a few times in their youth career and should be emphasising adventure at all levels in scouting.

Tell us more about the intent of your question. Are you looking for participation guidance for a planned trip? Medical questions? Preparation requirements?

You'll get plenty of opinions. That's the joy of this place!

-mike

Link to post
Share on other sites

I confess. I'm a recovering High Adventure snob. There was a time that I felt that if you weren't doing a long, strenuous backpacking trip in the Rockies or a 100 miler in the Boundary Waters you just weren't doing High Adventure. Philmont just barely qualified in my mind. Troops that were doing float trips on flat water or car camping trips to historic sites were just fooling the kids.

 

I have come to the feeling that anything that challenges the boys and gets them and their leaders out of their comfort zone is a High Adventure.

Link to post
Share on other sites

555 raises a really good question. The new medical form contains a phrase "Individuals desiring to participate in any high-adventure activity..." but I can't find a definition of "high-adventure activity". There are a number of high-adventure programs but what are the activities. The GSS assigns age limits to various activities but does not define those activities as high-adventure or not-high-adventure. I think I know what it is but the next guy might not agree in all cases. In a lot of cases it seems like a matter of degree; trekking for a week is high-adventure but trekking for a weekend probably isn't. Climbing/rappelling are not necessarily high adventure but they might be given a location or conditions...

 

It wouldn't really matter if BSA were not using the term to determine whether or not a person is fit enough to participate.

 

Really good question. I look forward to what others have to say.

Hal

Link to post
Share on other sites

Any time the boys create, organize, plan, and do something that challenges their skills is high adventure. Any time the adults create, organize, plan and so something for the boys it is not. If a Tiger Cub comes up with the idea that his den should go to the museum and he calls up their museum for ticket prices and then calls his fellow scouts, he's on his way to high adventure.

 

Even if the boy doesn't call the museum, but dad does, he's still making a huge step of challenging his skills to think of the museum idea for a trip. Every simple stretch step makes it high adventure.

 

Stosh

Link to post
Share on other sites

Generally I'd agree with the notion that any activity that truely challenges the boys would be High Adventure, but...

 

I find myself agreeing with Hal again. I don't know for sure but I also suspect the question in the context of what the BSA believes is "High Adventure" for the purposes of applying the medical form.

 

I suspect any BSA base or council camp can decide for itself what activities it deems are "High Adventure". Lacking other guidance from national, perhaps any unit can decide for itself, that decision ultimately being up to the IH of the unit, but might be made by the PLC, Unit Committee or even the SM.

 

SA

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think what troop555Eaglescout is trying to find out is what does the BSA consider a "high adventure" activity from a standpoint of when do rules regarding High Adventure apply.

 

I think that definition is purposely subjective. It allows the host of the activity to dtermine the skill level and endurance required to do an activity within a reasonable degree of safety for a person of beginning or average skills.

 

For instance canoeing for a few hours on a local lake although adventurous for a young scout of average skills would likely not be considered "High Adventure" by BSA activity standards. But, a weekend of white water rafting in class 4 waters would be seen as "high adventure" because it requires a higher skill level, greater physical fitness, and has a naturally higher risk level.

 

Again it is the hosts decision. At a BSA National event, the BSA decides if it will institute high adventure rules. At a council event or on council property, it is the council that decides, and in a unit level activity it would be the unit that decides. As with most other aspects of unit program, the BSA relies on the maturity and integrity of the adult leadership to make good choices.

 

Some will, some won't.

 

Which again shows why careful selection of unit leaders is so vital to a quality scouting program.

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...