Skiing in New York, January 2004

by Bob Daley, ASM

We had a great trip. The most prominent feature of this trip was the weather. It was intense. But I'm getting ahead of the story.

First, thanks to Steve Vasse-Hansel for showing up Friday night to pull Propane, hoses, the First-Aid Kit, and other gear for the trip. Especially since neither he or Hunter were coming on this trip. Second, a big thank you to Jim Carlson. Dan MacDonald's van began sputtering before he reached Ashtabula. He called Jim, who had been available as an alternate driver before we left the church parking lot. Jim drove his van out and switched vehicles with Dan for the weekend.

So Friday night, Greg Donley gets to the camp about 10 minutes after I do, and we still don't know about MacDonald's van. The temperature is below zero, and there was 30 inches of fresh snow on the ground. The Scouts started digging in and setting up tents. Just as we were finishing up Don Nash arrives with news of MacDonald. A couple more tents start going up, and the extra Scouts begin digging spaces for the late arrivals. Eventually, MacDonald, Hoban, and Plumb arrive. Setting up some of the tents was tough. I don't know whether it was the tent material or the poles that lost their flexibility in the cold, but it was tough to make the grommet meet the pole. Finally, the late arrivals, Geoff and Eric Wilson made it to camp before midnight. Their tent partners had already pitched the tents, so they only needed to unload and stow their gear. Andy called wake-up for 8:00am since it was so late, and the departure time was looking like 9:30AM.

Saturday morning was still cold. The temperature was below zero. Fortunately, there wasn't much wind, and the air was crisp and clear. Breakfast went well, there were pancakes, eggs & sausage, hot chocolate, and such. Everybody had a hot filling meal. The Troop then split in two-directions. Skiers took to the cars while the Tuber's hung around camp for another hour. Mr. Daley's sense of direction is something to marvel at, he knew almost immediately every time he took a wrong turn, how unfortunate he was leading the convoy. Three wrong turns later, we pulled into the Cockaigne Ski Area. Andy took charge of keeping everyone organized and setting the schedule for the day. lift tickets were distributed and the Scouts were sent to get their rental ski's. The older scouts took quickly to the slopes, getting their skis on, and getting on the chairlifts. Mr. Hoban went with the younger boys to take a ski lesson. The boys quickly got the hang of moving, turning, and stopping with skis on. Jan, the instructor, told the boys how to identify the slopes difficulty level, and sent them off to practice. The boys ate the lunches they brought or picked something up in the chalet, and took to the mountain again.

Meanwhile the Tubers had left camp. A decision was made to extend the 2-hour tubing session to 3-hours and to eat lunch at the tubing site.

When the skier's arrived back at camp, the tubers were sledding about the camp. Soon everyone was having fun with sleds.

It got dark very quickly after the skier's returned. Lanterns and lamps to light up the pavilion were in short supply. And the temperature, which had been about 5 or 6 degrees in the middle of the afternoon, was plummeting again. Although the Crows were able to get their chili & cornbread going, they proposed a departure from the norm, and the boys were told there was going to be a dinner surprise. Some of the boys noticed some unusual lights in the sky above the camp. A hike was quickly organized to investigate. The hike went down to the lake, and the lights turned out to be a large Job Corp facility. When the Scouts returned to camp, everyone piled in the vehicles for the "dinner surprise." Unfortunately, the local pizza joint couldn't handle a crowd our size, but a nearby Pizza Hut was soon reconnoitered. The manager managed to find tables for us all together. Dinner was pleasant, there was hot food, a warm room, and liquids to hydrate. The conversation revolved around the slopes, the snow, the camp, and the pizza. To say the Scouts deported themselves well, would be giving them less praise than they deserve. I think it's a compliment that none of the patrons surrounding our tables got up to leave, or even asked to be relocated.

After dinner, we headed back to the camp and to bed. Wakeup was set for 7:00AM. Sunday started off at a balmy -1 degrees, the warmest it had been in camp. Gear was packed, and tents came down quickly. Scouts hooked up with their rides and everything was stowed for the ride home. A sweep of the camp, left everything in good shape, and an evaluation meeting was quickly gathered.