2011 (September-December)
The 5th West Vancouver Scout Troop is reborn!
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Activities of members of the 5th West Vancouver Scout Troop.
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NOTE: Click on photos to see full size version.
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November 19-20, 2011 – Joffre Lake Provincial Park – Introduction to Winter Camping:
Mt. Matier: Lord of Joffre Lake Provincial Park.
Okay boys, this is going to be your home for the night. Let's stomp down all this powder snow and start setting up our tents.
This is going to take a whole lot of stompin'.
"Yeah, this looks like a good spot."
Put your backs into it boys, the sun is starting to go down!
"You want us to do what?!"
Let's move that snow, we've got to get this camp up pronto!
Mt. Matier is amused by our little intrusion into his domain.
And just like that: the sun goes down and Mt. Matier slams shut the door to the 'Hurt Locker".
Kestral 4000 Weather Meter: The rest of the story.
We're all in this together. Jumping jacks, dancing and group hug-a-thons to stay warm.
With everyone safe and warm in their beds, it's time to say goodnight.
Sure last night might have been a bit cold....but that was like a whole different day, baby! We're the 5th West Van Mountaineers and when it gets cold we break into dance!
Taking a leisurely morning stroll through downtown Ice Station Zebra.
Something hot for our bellies compliments of Scouters Maciej and Jason. Thanks guys!
And a little something for our feathered friends.
The boys enjoying themselves and just being boys!
A great experience in extreme conditions. Well done boys!
What a weekend! 2/3 of the boys had never camped in the snow before and those that had...well, not like this! I couldn't be more proud of this bunch of 11 and 12 year olds! They handled some extreme conditions like a boss!
November 11, 2011 – West Vancouver Remembrance Day Ceremony:
Ready to go!
Here come the 5th!
Looking sharp!
Scout Simon and his sister, Samantha, lay a wreath on behalf of their school.
Scouts Isaac and Tavish lay a wreath on behalf of West Vancouver Scouting.
Well done! You all proudly represented Scouting today. I heard that people in the crowd were saying, "Who are those well dressed boys?"
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November 8, 2011 – Monthly Night Hike on Cypress II: Over a foot of fresh snow + full moon = Winning!
The boys enjoying their hot chocolate in the Upper Warming Hut on Cypress. Photos by Scouter Maciej.
October 29, 2011 – Our 1st Annual Investiture Ceremony on the top of the Stawamus Chief:
Approaching our destination: the second largest granite monolith in the world (the largest is El Capitan in Yosemite National Park). These 700 metre massive cliffs tower over the town of Squamish on B.C.'s scenic Sea to Sky Highway.
Ready to go! These boys are going to earn their investiture today!
A brief rest and then back into the mist-shrouded Jurassic Park-like forest and the grinding trail upwards.
Out of the woods. Getting Closer. Getting more interesting.
A great father and son outing.
Making progress. This 2,000 foot monster isn't going to climb itself!
Destination in sight...
I've climbed a lot of mountains, but I've never seen THAT before! Gotta love it! Those flags will be visible for miles! We had other hikers ask to borrow the Canadian flag so they could have their pictures taken with it too.
We have arrived (with style)!
A golden moment frozen in time. What will these boys see when they look upon this picture years from now. I see: Pride well earned!
A little rest and some lunch before we do the investiture ceremony high above Howe Sound and the town of Squamish. Don't drop your apples boys; they'll roll off the edge and could hit climbers on the rock face below.
Four newly invested scouts. The 5th West Van Scout Troop is reborn! (our group's scarf will be different from these...we needed some "stand-ins" while our real ones are being made - thanks to ZoneWest for the loan - our real scarf will be burgundy & gold)
Now that's a handsome looking group of scouts.
Welcome to Scouts, Max!
Welcome to Scouts, Isaac!
Welcome to Scouts, Tavish!
Welcome to Scouts, Conner!
Let's not forget about our great Patrol Leaders: Simon & Wojtek!
Time to head home. We will be back with more new scouts for investiture next year. Now where do we go next? There's plenty of fresh snow throughout Garibaldi Park!
Well, as it turns out, a professional photographer was on the second peak of the Chief the day we were doing our investiture and captured some spectacular photographs of us from a distance.
Chris Christie (christie-images.com) has given us permission to publish these photos on our web site. These photos are so cool! Thanks Chris.
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October 16, 2011:
North Vancouver Scouter Ralph Rinke devised The Baden-Powell Trail Challenge to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its opening in 1971.
Challenge Accepted!
Part I: Horseshoe Bay straight up over Black Mountain to Cypress Provincial Park – COMPLETED.
“A steep but rewarding trail, with magnificent views over Howe Sound, leads to the alpine meadows and small lakes of the summit plateau. Although close to Vancouver and easily accessible, Black Mountain demands considerable expenditure of energy by those who ascend it from the west; the result, however, makes it worthwhile.” 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia, Mary & David Macaree.
7 hours. 3500 feet elevation gain. A “considerable expenditure of energy“…yeah, you might say that!
Nearing the top after 3 hours of "grinding".
Finally...Eagle Bluffs.
A tough trail "POWNED"!
The view from up here.
Earned!
Now we just have to hike another 4 hours to get back to the car that we left at the Nordic Ski Area parking lot on Cypress this morning.
Done! Now, when do we knock off the other three sections of the trail? We want that badge Scouter Ralph Rinke designed!
September 30-October 2, 2011:
Here’s a few photos from our camp this weekend at Alice Lake Provincial Park. We will do a slide show and share “glory stories’ during the first part of our next meeting. Parents are welcome to participate.
September 17, 2011:
The Pacific Coast Council (PCC) (Scouts Canada’s local governing body) held its 2011 Group Leadership Conference at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby all day today.
Scouter Ralph from the 18th Seymour has come up with a fantastic way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Baden-Powell Trail (built by scouts across the north shore and completed in 1971 – I remember working on the construction of the trail when I was a young cub and scout).
Scouter Ralph has created Baden-Powell Trail Challenge. He has broken the trail down into 4 segments. For each section of the trail that we hike in October, we get one piece of a crest that has been broken into 5 segments. When all 4 parts of the trail are hiked, a central diamond-shaped crest will be issued . The 4 semi-circular segments will form a donut shape with the diamond crest filling the middle (shown here and below). The completed crest will be huge: 7 inches! This will look pretty sharp on a campfire blanket.
Let’s see if we can hike the entire trail next month. We can do it all at once (it would take about 3 days) or we can do one section one day each weekend and get all four sections done by the end of the month. Let’s talk about this at our next meeting.
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September 10, 2011:
Scouter Jody and Scout Simon attend the annual North Shore Candlelight Tribute in honour of veterans. North Vancouver Cemetery. September 10, 2011.
Proud to be a part of such a moving tribute. September 10, 2011.
Scout Simon escorts a veteran to the grave of a fallen soldier and sets down a tribute candle. September 10, 2011.
Scout Simon and veteran salute the grave of a fallen soldier. September 10, 2011.
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Much more to come….
Scouter Jody
1st Mountaineers 
i am a scout from nigeria ; a paortl leader,and i wish could be there at the jamboree,but from all indications right now i can say that i am very impressed with the preparations taking place to ensure a successful jamboree,kudos!! to scouting world wide