Taking Scouting to the Next Level: Immortals and Venture Crew
As an outgrowth of our Junior leadership Training Program, we developed a something special for Scouts who want to push harder and discover new capabilities. They are known as the “Immortals” and are our most advanced Scouts, who have learned and developed extensive survival and wilderness skills taught by our adult leaders. They wear special patches on their uniforms, are given black Machetes at their induction into the group and participate in extreme outings. Their motto is: "to Learn, to Teach, to Serve, and to Lead". They operate without tents, choosing on every trip to build shelters, and they never start a fire with matches, using only flint and steel. They move very quickly through the woods, and improvise almost everything they need from their surroundings .
We were proud when our group of “Immortals” were invited to visit the US Army Mountain Warfare School by its Commander, and to train with the Special Operation Groups that were learning winter mountaineering and avalanche skills. We constantly work to invent new challenges to test their skills and maximize what they can learn from difficult situations. Last year, we blindfolded the group and drove them 3 hours into the Vermont countryside where they were dropped off on the backside of a mountain in a rainstorm with no maps, no radios, no GPS, no tents, some food, water, and instructions to find the largest lake in the area (about 4 miles away, but they didn’t know that). The goal was for the scouts to get a water sample and return it to the drop off in 48 hours. At the next Troop meeting, we presented the same challenge to the younger scouts and asked how they would accomplish this challenge. By the way, like in all of our Scout programs adults were present at all times for safety.
This last year, the Immortals took on a new challenge - they hiked the entire White Mountain Presidential Range – 9 peaks , 8,500 vertical feet, 19 miles - all in 13 hours.
The Ultimate Adventure – International Expedition Trips
Each summer, Troop 175 provides an opportunity for its most experienced Scouts to go on an
International/Domestic Expedition Trip.
Kilimanjaro - In 2007, nine of our Scouts and their parents traveled to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro. A
trip in the planning for over two years, it was an extraordinary adventure. We spent five days climbing the largest freestanding volcano mountain in the world. In the process we went through five climatic zones. Our group of 24 had 76 Tanzanian support Staff as everything has to be carried up the mountain. Our Tanzanian Guides were the best on the mountain and each two-climber team had a guide. On day six we started our final assault at Midnight from 15,500 feet, climbing up the Crater wall. The temperature was 15 degrees; the oxygen level less than half at sea level. We climbed for six hours with four, five-minute breaks. The crater wall was steep and in the dark under a full moon the group slowly moved to the summit. At 6 Am we reached the first summit at Gillmans Point. Water bottles were frozen, and fingers and toes had lost most feeling, but after a brief regroup it was on another two hours around the crater to the final summit at Uhuru Peak at 19,341 - the rooftop of Africa. Our group took a round of pictures and then went back down the crater wall and eventually down to 12,000 feet by 5 PM that afternoon. Everyone agreed that it was the longest – but most memorable day – of their life.
We will return to Kilimanjaro in July 2012.
Amazon Jungle – In 2008, we took eleven of our Scouts and Leaders deep into the Amazon Jungle.
We flew to Lima, Peru and then into Iquitos, a city on the Amazon River that is the largest city in the
world that is inaccessible by road. After a journey up the river of 110 miles we went through jungle
training for 3 days with local Indian guides and then departed with a full expedition into a part of the
Amazon that had rarely seen humans. Under the auspices of Dr. Paul Beaver and the Amazon
Research Center, we observed and cataloged rare species of Monkeys. Along the way we had to deal
with tarantulas, poisonous snakes, deep mud, wild boars and incessant rain. It was an extraordinary experience.
Philmont Scout Ranch –Every two years the troop sends a crew of 12 to Cimarron New Mexico for an unforgettable 2 week backpacking adventure in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range. Philmont was donated to the Boy Scouts in 1947 consisting of 220 square miles of high altitude terrain.
Most recently, our 2011 crew hiked 82 miles carrying fully loaded backs enabling us to be self sufficient for our 2 week stay. We climbed one of the highest peaks, Mount Phillips at elevation 11,711’. Later that afternoon we cooked our dinner while watching the sunset behind the valley below. Our crew finished their experience by starting at 3am to climb another peak to watch the sunrise.
Philmont is a wonderful experience not only for the outdoor adventure, but the wilderness and leadership skills each scout mastered along the way.
North to Alaska –In 2010 we took 38 members of our troop for a two week adventure in Alaska. We rented 8 RV vehicles to act as mobile bases and climbed in the Wrangell St Elias range, (home to some of the tallest mountains in the world), fished in the Kenai for Salmon and Halibut and went Whitewater Rafting in one of the toughest rivers in the world with all Class 4 and Class 5 Whitewater. We went kayaking in Glacier Bay with the otter and seals, followed the gold rush route down the Yukon River to Dawson City and spent many a night in the pristine wilderness around large campfires.
Caribbean Expedition – In 2011 we took 18 Scouts and parent in two 47Ft Ocean Catamarans on one week sailing expedition in the Caribbean. Departing from St. Martin we sailed, fished, swam and explored the islands south and north. We had high winds and great sailing and all the Scouts got to learn the skills of navigating, piloting, and operating a serious sailing machine.
In 2012 we will return to the Caribbean over April vacation to sail in the British Virgin Islands.
