trekking, adventure, strenuous activities - change in rules?

[LauraT7]

I heard / read somewhere that BSA was going to or had reviewed or changed some of the regs regarding strenuous activities, like mountain biking, trekking, backpacking, etc, due to some of the serious accidents and even deaths that had happend in recent years on Scout trips.

 

Is there any truth to this? What has anyboy heard, if anything?

 

We had a boy die in our council a few years ago on a mountain biking trip - don't know the details - but apparently he became dehydrated too fast, got disoriented and lost. they found him alive, but he didn't recover.

 

I had a question in another post about class III med forms - I'm wondering what other things we need to be aware of when planning our own trips. Things are pretty clear if you go to a high adventure base - their health forms, requirements, etc are pretty clear cut. I think the problem lies when troops plan their own trips, and are perhaps not thinking they are really that dangerous or are not covering all the bases in their planning.

 

Anyone know anything further?

 

[Bob White]

If you read the appropriate chapter in Guide to Safe Scouting and follow the steps of the Sweet 16 of Safety you'll be fine.

Bob White

[Compass]

Every time we plan a week-long Appalachian Trail trip, invariably I hear the 'Eagle Scout who died on the trail' story where, ten years ago and still compelling, an Eagle Scout died from injuries and exposure on the trail. I explain the circumstance of that story (winter time frame, carelessness, not following the rules, unsafe behavior on the part of the boy, etc.), and I talk about the safety procedures that we follow (Guide to Safe Scouting, buddy system, etc.).

 

Like BW says, follow the rules, be careful, and you'll do fine and have the time of your life.

[eisely]

The only change that I see is evolutionary in that BSA seems to be more demanding in ensuring that adult leaders are properly trained for the event they are leading. Thus one sees more types of training syllabi being created and more training being offered at the council and district level. "Climb on Safely" comes to mind. Units were engaging in rock climbing for several years before BSA caught on to this and began to create a training requirement. Tour permits are also more specific in requiring that the trained adults be identified by name. Personally I think this is a good thing.

 

Concerning Class III forms, no amount of training can substitute for good judgment. Training will help people identify those situations where Class III is required. I don't know if there is an accepted definition of strenuous. One should consider distances to be covered, loads to be carried, altitudes at which people will be working, the season of the year, the difficulty of the terrain, water temperatures, weather, and anything else that may make one activity more strenuous than another.

[johnmbowen]

Eisley has it correct concerning good judgement and training, especially with the adult leaders.

 

In addition, I would like to include outdoor experience in that catagory. Too many BSA groups from Venture on down have gone on trips way above their experience level (or as we ought to put it, "not prepaired"). Too few adult leaders, and even fewer youth leaders even have adequate first aid experiences and training, including WFA, WFR, ie more than CPR (and remember "CPR is done to keep a dead body viable...and hope EMS gets there soon).

 

I actually know of no easy to access BSA program that offers training on trips of this kind, though I have heard of one expensive one offered on one or the other coast. Therefore, find a willing expert, and even better, go with them without the kids and learn yourself. Don't forget First Aid, and remember...prevention is 9/10ths of the game.

 

We have exclusively done our Scouting outings in the list first addressed, but have done it with what we call our "Specialist ASMs" a non-existant designation where we deliberately seek out people with the expertise needed for a particular type of trip. They fill a function similar to (but predating by ~ 5 years) the "Venture Consultant."

 

Though I have read where some Scouters state that this is a bad idea, it has always worked. We "bug" our 'specialists' only when we ask them to help train the group for the trip, and then ask them to go on it to monitor our group (quality control).

 

It works well for our Troop. We have no problems with retention, and are a very active if small group. We have never had any injuries (outside of scrapes and bruises), much less fatalites! Using this method, our trips have even taken some of us to climb internationally as a Troop (Boy's Life, Oct. 2000).