Boy Scouts test themselves against cold, snow
 

Scouts test themselves against cold, snow

By Hilary Costa - Idaho Statesman
Edition Date: 02/11/07

For a self-described outdoorsy kid like Mitchell Sotto, the northern wilds of Canada's Klondike territory are as close to Shangri-La as it gets.

"One thing about snow camping is if you're not prepared and if you get cold you're going to be miserable," Sotto said.

"If you prepare, you're going to have the best time possible."

On Friday and Saturday, Sotto and 200 other Boise Boy Scouts immersed themselves in the trials and triumphs of Gold Rush-era frontiersmen for a Klondike Derby, the Boy Scouts' annual cold-weather camping trip and skills competition in Idaho City.

After a campfire Friday night, 30 troops split into teams Saturday morning to compete against one another in skill tests such as knot-tying, building a stretcher of sticks and building fires.

The highlight for some Scouts, including Sotto, was a breakfast of Scout-made pancakes that had to be flipped over a string and caught before a boy could sink his teeth in.

Never mind how many times it fell into the snow first.

"It was good," Sotto said. "Probably my favorite."

Organizers weren't sure what they would find when they arrived Friday afternoon at the Idaho City airport. Scant precipitation and unseasonably warm weather threatened to put them into "punt mode" to find activities that would work on bare ground.

But they arrived to find about six inches of snow covering the airstrip and temperatures that made long johns a must, allowing the main-event sled races � on dog sleds, the Scouts made themselves � to go ahead as planned.

"We had some ideas in place in case there was no snow, but it turned out that we didn't even have to go to plan B," said Jeff Wood, the event's organizer.

The boys scored points at each of eight activities for their ability, teamwork and leadership skills. When it was over, Troop 36 took first place, Troop 49 won second and Sotto's Troop 32 placed third.

The top 10 teams had their pick of prizes, including a GPS unit, tents, backpacks and pocket knives donated by local businesses.

Troop 32 chose a tent, which they plan to take camping next month.

The Cascade District of Boy Scouts also held its Klondike Derby this weekend, and the Meridian District will hold its event next weekend in Garden Valley.

:smokin: Sign your boy up for the Scouts. WTSHTF he will thank you.

Re: Boy Scouts test themselves against cold, snow
 

I was never in the Boy Scouts, but I did join up with Venture Scouts, which were a sort of offshoot of the Boy Scouts, for high-school age kids. We didn't wear uniforms, and pretty much just went on backpacking and the like trips once every couple months. Didn't wear uniforms or anything... it was pretty informal.:bear_cool:

Anyway, very first trip I went on with that group was on a snow backpacking trip. We hiked about four miles out into the middle of nowhere and then went way, way up a mountainside and made camp. Flattened out big spots for tents, and even tried making igloos by compacting the snow then cutting blocks out using snow saws. Sure was a fun time.

Overnight, it snowed at least a foot. In my tent were myself and two friends. I was in my 15* North Face mummy bag, on my Mountain Hardwear cold climate sleeping pad, wearing long underwear, sweat pants, about three shirts, thick socks, fleece jacket, windproof fleece beanie, and had my bag closed up so just my nose poked out, and I was still cold, even with three of us in a little tent.:bear_unsure:

In the middle of the night, I woke up and realized I was having a hard time breathing... I was starting to worry and didn't know what was wrong with me, so I nudged my buddy who I realized was also awake, as was my other friend. All three of us were having a hard time breathing. We opened the tent up and breathed at the open doorway and quickly started to breathe easily. I got out and looked at the tent and realized that it had been snowing heavily, and the tent had about a foot of snow all around the base, going up its walls. The snow blocked the space between the cover and the underside of the tent, so no air could get up in and through the mesh. We basically were using up our oxygen and running out of air.:bear_cry: So, we cleared out the snow from around the base of the tent and slept the rest of the night breathing just fine, albeit still freezing cold.:haha:

The next day's hike out was TOUGH. The pathway we had cleared that was waist-height the previous day was now almost completely filled with snow, and all we could see was a slight dimpled line along. We had snow shoes, of course, but the snow was crazy deep and thick. We had to plow right through it, and the walls we left on either side of our pathway were about chest-height. When the leader in the line would tire (quickly, every time), he'd step to the side, let the line pass, then step into the rear (the easiest spot as the snow had been well-packed by then). We made it back fine but it was damn hard work and we were exhausted by the time we made it back to the cars. Definitely one of the toughest trips I've been on, just from the physical exertion of going through that snow with our packs. Sure was fun, though.:cool2: :banana:

Re: Boy Scouts test themselves against cold, snow
 

I was in the Sea Scouts south of San Francisco at age 16. The Coast Guard donated a very clean forty-footer and it was fun and educational:

Seattle

England

If your boy lives near the Coast consider the Sea Scouts too. They are all over the World.