Ideas for Teaching Cold Weather Camping

[pargolf44067]

It is coming up on the time for our older boys to be teaching how to cold weather camp, especially in preparation for our Polar Bear in February. My problem is that some of the "middle boys" for lack of a better term have said that it gets boring once they have heard it a few times.

 

The basics are important for everyone to know, especially our first year boys that are going. However, my question is does anyone have any ideas how to get the second and third year boys, many of whom have heard the same training over and over again, but are not leaders that will show younger kids what to do, to be interested in listening to the training?

 

I was trying to think of some "advanced" cold weather camping lessons that other older boys or adults could share with this group of boys so that they are not bored (their term not mine).

 

Any ideas would be helpful!

 

Thanks,

Bill

[Gunny2862]

Well, we're going Backpack camping this weekend. Taking some extra gear along in the trailer. Highs mid 50's, lows possibly, but not likely, breaking down into the upper 20's (Thus the extra gear)(Won't ever be more than 4 miles (Straight line)from the trailer)

 

I am nearly certain that I will see jeans, Cotton shirts and other hideously evil things for cold weather on this trip. To include a lack of layering. Even though we've had a couple of discussions on the topic. While preventing hypothermia(Thus the extra gear, again), a little suffering will go along ways towards reinforcing our classes next month on the topic.

 

I'm also planning a little practical application discussion at different parts of the day as we go thru the different layering conditions on this trip. Sometimes feeling it :)teaches better than just the classroom instruction. And makes it interesting when you hit them with it again in the classroom.

[SMEagle819]

Another idea is to have your "tweeners" bring their pack in packed with what they think they will need for a cold weather trip. This way, you can incorporate them into the teaching aspect by having them unpack their packs as the instructor goes thru the list of recommended items. It will also be a learning experience for them as they will see some items they may have missed when packing.

[LongHaul]

Look for an OKPIK course in your area. Have your "bin there done that" guys take the OKPIK course then the can teach your Cold Weather Camping program.

LongHaul

[raisinemright]

Gunny,

 

After five years (and counting) in Cubs, I'm kind of new to this Boy Scouting stuff. But, I'm pretty good outdoors through the virtue of my own mistakes.

 

We just did a backpack trip where the boys did 13 miles in one day in a cold, solid rain. Of the six Scouts, two had done one 15 mile trek before, the other four were on their first trip. Of the four dad's, one is very experienced, I'm OK, the other two were total novices.

 

All of them had pretty much the right gear. We drummed proper footwear and socks into them. What I think really made the difference is that their dad's were present at teh planing meeting where the experienced packer and I were sharing some horror stories of killer cotton and giving ideas where to get cheap gear.

 

I've become a fan of resale shops. Got my kid outfitted pretty cheap. Switchback pants are perfect for hikes and outdoors, especially with long john's. Nylon sweatpants for $2.99 at resale work as good as $40.00 hiking pants.

 

Wal-Mart now carries a good selection of polypropylene shirts and Poly underwear for kids and adults. About $9.00 each piece.

 

Again, I think it's a combo of training the parents as well as the Scouts, especially the newer year kids.

[insanescouter]

You can find helpful winter camping info at http://insanescouter.com/t276/files/wintercamping.html

 

As far as ideas go ...

 

- Do a winter wilderness survival situation

 

- Make snow caves & sleep in them

 

- Learn to snow shoe and cross country ski

 

- Join another unit for a winter adventure (such as a scoutmaster friend of mine who lives in Alaska)

 

Anyway just the wacky 2 cents of a desert rat ...

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

Helping leaders one resource at a time...

 

[Gold Winger]

With young'uns you can talk till you're blue in the face and they just won't hear it because they know everything.

 

Go camping and let them get cold. And wet. And miserable. Then when you leave, stop someplace warm and discuss it while it is still fresh in their little brains. Don't wait for the next meeting. Do it that day.

 

A few years back, I told the boys in my son's patrol to change into dry clothing before they went to bed. Okay, okay, they said. The next morning they crawled out of their tents still in their jeans and sweatshirts from the day before. "Boy that was cold!" was the common comment. Do you know why you were cold? For most it sank in.

 

At some point in our lives we learn to listen to those with experience at least most of the time. It takes experience to learn to listen.

 

 

[ASM915]

Hey Cleveland,

Hello from Canton. Check into Clinton Valley Council's site. They run an Okpik course over a couple of weekends, one in December, all indoor training, and one in earlier February, where they go out and do what they learned. They will build and sleep in the snow shelters and cook in the elements. The program may only take your older Sccouts, 16 and over. When they come back, take the rest over to Burton or Astabula. They should have plenty of snow to run the program.

 

Ideas:

- Have them bring a pack of their favorite Jello and a Nalgene. On Fri. night about 9PM, have them place the Jello in the Nalgene, add hot water, let cool a tad so they don't burn their tongues, and drink it while it's still hot. It will keep the internal furnace burning all night and help keep them warm.

 

- Have them bring a second Nalgene. After they have had their Jello drink, Have them, or someone responsible put really hot water in the two Nalgenes. If the kids want to, add hot chocolate or tea to the one bottle. Have them place each of the bottles in wool socks and toss into the bottom of their sleeping bags. Acts like an incubator. Plus they have something warm to drink in the middle of the night if they wake up. the second Nalgene with just water in it gives you unfrozen water in the morning when you start breakfast

 

- About proper clothing, last February when we first picked up our crossovers, my 20 year old had one of the firefighter/medics from the dept. we're on bring in a Thermal Imager. He then dressed in the appropriate cold weather gear and nad our friend fire up the imager so the kids could see what heat was escaping. The Dave took everything off, left on a longsleeve shirt and tossed on a coat that you typically see a young one running around in, no hat on and showed them how much heat they would be loosing.

 

Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

Eric

[pargolf44067]

Thanks for all the good ideas. Most of the boys I am talking about have been on these trips in the past, so hopefully they have learned their lessons in the wild, so to speak!

 

I like the idea of the jello and putting real hot water in nalgenes at the bottom of their sleeping bags. That is something I had not heard before. We will have to incorporate that in our training this year. The idea of the "tweeners" (a much better term than mine) bringing in their packs to use as a training tool is another good idea.

 

Believe it or not, in Northeast Ohio the last two years we have done our Polar Bear, we have not had enough snow on the ground (where we camp) to do snow huts.

 

Anyway, thanks for all the great ideas!

 

Bill

[MarkS]

pargolf44067 asked, "...does anyone have any ideas how to get the second and third year boys, many of whom have heard the same training over and over again, but are not leaders that will show younger kids what to do, to be interested in listening to the training?"

 

Have ***them*** lead the training. Make sure the training is hands on with packs, clothes, and examples. Make a model snow shelter out of cardboard boxes... Less talk, more doing during training.

 

Gold Winger said, "At some point in our lives we learn to listen to those with experience at least most of the time. It takes experience to learn to listen."

 

Yep, there's a saying I've heard used more than once in adult leader training classes, "Good Judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement."

[BrentAllen]

If you don't have copies, order these through ScoutStuff.org Pretty good info. They might have it at your Scout Shop as well.

 

Okpik: Cold-Weather Camping

 

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?ctlg=05NDC&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=BOOKS_LIT&c3=BCAMPING&c4=&lv=3&item=34040

[EagleInKY]

Here's some info we put together:

 

http://www.troop153bsa.org/Downloads/Winter%20Camping.pdf

[moxieman]

As others have said, have *them* lead the training.

 

However, one neat trick I've done in the past is set a bowl of water on the table where everyone can see it. I then pass around two strips of dry fabric--a strip of jeans cotton and a strip of wool (usually from a $3 thrift store pair of dress slacks). I then place the tips of these two strips into the bowl such that only the bottom tip of these strips is in the water. The rest of the strips are dangled over the edge of the bowl.

 

At the end of the presentation, I have a scout come up and pull the two strips of fabric out of the bowl. Guess which one is soaked through. A demonstration like this sinks in with the scouts and they get the idea that cotton is a no-no winter camping unless they *WANT* to be wet, cold, and miserable.

 

 

[ASM915]

Challenge them to start a fire with only using ice. See if they can figure it out.