Snow Camping

When: February 14-16, 2004

Where: Camp Hi-Sierra

The troop decided to experience snow camping at Hi-Sierra. Many of our scouts have spent at Hi-Sierra's summer camp. They wanted to see the camp during winter, where the dust was hidden beneath the snow and the weather was cold.  In preparation for the outing, we had some scouts attend Bear Paw winter survival training and they in turn taught our scouts how to properly dress, how to build snow caves and other factors in cold weather camping.

While at Hi-Sierra, scouts formed groups of 2-4 to build snow caves. We spent the most time amassing the snow since the snow depth was fairly low. We had use of the lodge for cooking and to dry out our clothes.

Info on building a snow cave:
http://boyslife.org/outdoors/outdoorarticles/2992/how-to-build-a-quinzee-snow-shelter/

We were fortunate that there was enough snow to build our caves. Most of the scouts spent both nights in the cave. The scouts also spent time snowshoeing, sledding, snow ball fighting and getting warm by the fire. We cooked as a group with the scouts preparing meals in the kitchen. For most, it was their first experience in cooking for over 20 people.