Troop 60 News

Winter Skills Adventure Program
Part 2 2024

Date: February 22-25, 2024

Our instructors headed out on Thursday to set up camp while the rest of Troop 60 arrived on Saturday to build shelters.

Troop 60 Staffers Arrive

Staffers headed up on Thursday and Friday to set up shelters and prep the area for the main event on Saturday and Sunday.

Making it up Cardiac Hill is always a feat. This is usually the hardest part of the trek into camp. This year, there was about 50% snowpack, so the regular route was significantly sloped past Cardiac Hill and our pulks flipped a LOT. We were able to create a better path for participants before they arrived, which also made the trek out a lot easier for everyone and with NO Flipping!

There is easy access to the campsite from the parking lot. It is only about a half mile with about 200 feet of elevation gain. That said, a lot of the elevation gain was on a single steep hill where crampons are needed if you are carrying a backpack or dragging a pulk. Once you get past that point, it's pretty easy to finish off the last bit.

In an emergency, we can use the Ski Resort facilities to dry off and to get a warm meal. There were also heated bathrooms at the lodge with plenty of toilet paper and hot water to wash your hands with.

The ski resort also has a dedicated ski patrol who are familiar with search and rescue, evacuating injured skiers and the best way to conduct a ground or air evacuation for the site. Our instructor cadre included licensed medical providers, EMTs and Wilderness First Aid Trained Adults and Scouts. We are able to take care of most injuries me might encounter and value the capabilities of the Ski Patrol should we need help in a true emergency.

The weather conditions on Thursday and Friday were excellent.

Temperature were warm and a jacket wasn't needed during the day.

Snow was "sticky", allowing us to easily mold and shape snow structures.

Surface snow as relatively dense and you could easily walk on it without snow shoes. This made it a lot easier to walk around camp and up and down the mountain.

The only downside was that snow blocks were really heavy this year. If you lacked upper body strength AND endurance, making a snow block shelter was going to be challenging.

We were able to get a lot done and really enjoy our time in on the mountain before the main group arrived on Saturday. This included some quality staff time at the lodge on Thursday and Friday evening.

Here is the base layer of an instructor Igloo.

Igloo complete

Working on A-Frames for other Staffers

Several adult staffers set up tents so they can focus on helping others set up snow shelters

Troop 60 Staffer Igloo

Igloo and Snow Shelter at night

Troop 60 Instructor Scout Igloo and Leader Tent

Troop 60 Arrives

Early Saturday Moring, Troop 60 Arrives on the Mountain.

Troop 60 arrives and starts stomping out their shelter areas

Troop 60 Scout Village

Our Scout Village was set up on the west side of a small meadow, adjacent to the Adult Village and Staffer Village.

Troop 60 Scout Area

The Block Quarry

Troop 60 Adult Village

Troop 60 Adult Leader Area

Eped Orion III Tent - purchased at REI
Selected for nice green color
Used by adult not able to build snow shelter

Cutting Blocks

Scoutmaster way ahead of everyone

WSAP Area

Our Winter Skills Adventure Area included about 60 Scouts and and Scouters from different units. Troop 60 was one of the bigger groups.

Staffers bringing up firewood and Swedish Torch

These scous are using a unique method for compacting snow

Digging begins

Scouts making mini snowgirl outside of igloo

WSAP T-Rex

T Rex is basically blind with fogged up Visor

Evening Events

After completion of snow shelters, we had a Fire Building Class lead by a Troop 60 Scout. After the fire class, we marched down to the Cracker Barrel for snacks, warm drinks and final announcements.

Setting up Fire Demo Class

Winter Campfire Class given by Troop 60 Scout
3 Fires Shown:
Portable Fire Pit, Swedish Torch, and Snow Raft
At this point, most of camp was at the Cracker Barrel
Mac was left behind to make sure the snow didn't catch on fire

The Cracker Barrel

Staffers getting special awards

At this point, most of the fire has burned down and most of camp was in their sleeping bags

Scouts Own

We traditionally have a Scouts Own Service on Sunday Morning. Volunteer Scouts lead the service and everyone is invited to share their thoughts. A lot of people really enjoyed this program and shared this with the group.

A small fire was set up at Scouts Own for ambiance and a little warmth.

Scouts Own Service

Snowshoe hike following Scouts Own

Avalanche Pit

Tearing Down and Naturalizing

As with all outings, the last thing we did before heading out was returning our camp areas back to their natural state. We tested our structures for strength by walking on top of them and then tore them down. Everything was flattened out and the only thing left behind were our tracks, which would be covered over in deep snow over the next few hours.