When is weather too extreme for Winter Camping?

[Beavah]

"Why were Webelos going to a Boy Scout Klondike?" They are encouraged to go up with Boy Scout Troops for Klondike and Pilgrimage by our Council.

 

Yah, I agree with you there. As a general guideline, webelos is too young to do the winter campin' thing in the North. There are kids who'd be fine with it; it's always OK to make intelligent exceptions, eh? But it shouldn't be the baseline expectation. Too many kids who weren't ready would get pushed into it.

 

Councils get to run the program in their area, same as CO's get to run the program in their units. It's OK to disagree respectfully, but it's their call. Just like it's your call in your unit, and they should respect that.

 

Seems like yeh made the right call, too. Good lesson for your older boys on judgment.

 

 

[EagleInKY]

We had a bad weather experience at Klondike with Webelos a few years ago. After that, we've decided to offer it more as a day visit for the Webelos (unless they really want to go and we feel confident in their skills). The district doesn't want us bringing Webelos, but we think it's a good chance for them to see something cool in Boy Scouts.

 

As for the decision, I believe you made the right one given your circumstances. We've pulled out a day early out of Klondike for four straight years - 3 of which were weather related. I put up with some of the other troops giving us grief, but I wasn't prepared to have our guys sleep in sub-zero temperatures given the fact that most boys in Kentucky don't have the gear or experience for it.

 

Also, I agree with the council decision. Your wise decision to cancel doesn't mean they owe you a refund. If you pulled the plug on a troop-sponsored campout where reservations had been made, you wouldn't go to the company and ask for your money back. Why should you expect council to do that?

 

Just my $0.02.