New Climbing Site program at Pere Marquette State Park
Effective Jan. 1, 2010
Thanks to a memorial gift by the Ken Owens family our council has secured climbing and rappelling gear to be used by our units at the Pere Marquette Illinois State Park. This climbing area is adjacent to the Illinois River and close to the Brussels Ferry that crosses that river. No additional training of Climbing Instructors is needed in order to reserve and use the Pere Marquette Climbing/Rappelling gear and site. The program uses the same gear and procedures that we use for the Pine Ridge Scout Camp climbing at Giant City State Park with one minor exception. Cost to reserve the gear is $60 for a weekend which will be stored and checked out from the Beaumont Scout Reservation. See the Pere Marquette Climbing tab on the right side of this site to download all the forms and information about this new program. Thanks again to the Ken Owens family for this memorial gift of climbing gear that allows our council to have another dynamic climbing program.
New Medical form required for Challenge Courses and Climbing programs, effective Jan. 1, 2010
Starting Jan. 1, 2010 all participants that use any of our Challenge Courses or Climbing programs must use the new Annual Health and Medical Form. This new form from the National Council replaces all the old Medical Forms, 1, 2 and 3. Participants must have sections A and C filled out and signed. A medical exam, section B, is not required for weekend events. Instructions are on the form which is available on the Forms section of this website and at all of our council service centers. Ranger staff will ask to see the new Annual Health and Medical Form and will no longer accept the Class 1, 2 or 3 Medical forms from units when checking out gear for our programs. Section C is a new requirement and requires signatures that were not required in the past. Make sure you have the forms completely filled out before going to any of our camps to participate in a Challenge Course or Climbing event.
Request for E-Mail addresses of Challenge Course and Climbing Instructors
The Challenge Course/Climbing Committee is creating a data base of all trained instructors that will include all the information that we currently have on the original white training record card. We record all your certification dates on that card and have that information. We want to gather everyone’s e-mail address so we can do the following: invite you to be a belayer at ScoutQuest 100’s climbing programs and give us a better method to inform Instructors of program changes and training events. Please e mail the following information to ccunningham@stlbsa.org:
- Name and best e-mail address (only 1 please)
- Best phone number to contact you – home, work or cell
- Program trained for – Challenge, Climbing or both.
New patches and pin for Challenge Courses and Climbing
The new patches shown above have been available to units for some time and cost $3. For those who are repeat participants at a Challenge Course or Climbing and don’t need another patch we now have a pin that can be given to recognize their participation. The pin is shaped like a carabiner and can also be used as a hat pin, cost is $2.75. A sample of the patches and pin is displayed in the equipment lockers of all the Challenge Courses and Climbing programs except for the climbing towers.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
At least one person must be currently trained in basic first aid with CPR when using the Challenge Course or Climbing/Rappelling programs.
This is a National policy, effective Oct. 15, 2007. Units will provide proof of training when checking out the gear at the Camp Ranger's office. The individual may be an adult or youth.
CLIMBING TOWER
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to climb to the top of a mountain, or rappel down a rope from the heights of treetops? The skills that you will learn here are the basics that every expert climber had to master when they first started to climb and rappel. Towers are available to Scouts, Venturers and Explorers at Beaumont Scout Reservation and Camp Lewallen. The Beaumont tower is also lit for night climbing and is available for evenings during the week and weekend. The troop, crew or post provides its own certified Climbing Instructors.
Use fee is $40 per session. All tower participants and group leaders must follow safety guidelines presented by your climbing directors and instructors.
CHALLENGE COURSES
Our council has two Challenge Courses, one each at S bar F Scout Ranch and Beaumont Scout Reservation. The Challenge Course is a Boy Scouts of America program for youths and adults that includes a series of outdoor challenges -- beginning with basic group initiative games and progressing to more complicated low-course and high-course activities. Some of these events involve a group effort while others test individual skills and agility. Participants climb, swing, balance, jump and think through solutions to a variety of challenges. Most participants find that they can do much more than they initially thought they could.
There are eight major goals of the Challenge Course:
- Leadership development
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Self-esteem
- Trust
- Decision-making
- Teamwork
- Have FUN!
These low courses and exciting high courses are a team-building and self-esteem boost!
The low course consists of group initiative games and events, which help participants learn to work together using communication and trust to achieve their goals. While individual coordination and strength are helpful, participants accomplish the low-course events with the support and combined efforts of their team.
The high course is an individual exercise and builds self-esteem. It is conducted 30 feet in the trees and allows the participant to challenge him/herself to become more aware of individual strengths and limitations. Every participant on the course wears a harness connected to a safety line.
Our Challenge Courses provide an opportunity for each participant to achieve success as an individual and as a member of a patrol or team. The events are not designed to be competitive or to be races against time. The more important objectives include building confidence, developing leadership skills and attaining a sense of common cooperation among team members. The courses are designed to build more self-confidence in a shorter length of time than anything most people have ever experienced.
Your unit provides the trained Challenge Course Instructors for each group of 13 maximum. Two trained leaders are required to lead the group. See the Challenge Course Instructor Training brochure and Challenge Course Reservation Instructions for more detailed information.
ROCK CLIMBING & RAPPELLING
Overcoming fear, instilling confidence, peering over the edge or staring up the cliffs of Freedom, Ranger Falls, Collarbone or Baby Snake at S bar F Scout Ranch or the dramatic sculpted cliffs of Giant City State Park near Pine Ridge Scout Camp in Southern Illinois is a highlight for many troops, crews and posts. Camping sites are available on top of cliffs along the Little St. Francis River or near Castle Rock at S bar F. Camping at Pine Ridge Scout Camp is just a few minutes away from Giant City State Park.
Climbing equipment is available for units with trained rock-climbing instructors at both facilities. S bar F has two sets of equipment for each day and Pine Ridge has one set of equipment; fee is $60 per day per set of equipment. See the Rock Climbing Instructor Training brochure and Rock Climbing Reservation Instructions for more detailed information.