Powder Horn
Calling all Scouters who want to help their Scouts find high adventure!
What is Powder Horn?
Powder Horn is a six-day skills resource course. You will be connected with expert consultants in some 20 high-adventure areas. Each course is slightly different, but you can expect to see sports ranging from aquatics to mountain biking to mountain climbing to first aid to SCUBA to shooting sports to kayaking to - well, you get the picture. The consultants introduce their sport, discuss the needed skills and certifications, supply local resource information, and in many cases even offer a taste of the sport to all Powder Horn participants. You will come away with a better understanding of how you can offer high adventure to your unit that will be safe, meaningful, and enjoyable, and you will have had a great time learning.
What you will get from the training
When and where is the next Powder Horn?
Two three-day weekends:
Aug 27-29, 2010 (Fri-Sun) at El Rancho Cima, near Wimberly, Texas
and Sep 24-26, 2010 (Fri-Sun) at Camp Strake, Conroe, Texas
How much does it cost? The total cost is $225. This includes two meals on Fridays, all meals on Saturdays and two meals on Sundays. It also includes all fees for expendables (e.g., shotgun shells and clays, and SCUBA fees) and a course t-shirt. A minimum deposit of $50 is required to reserve a space. All participants are to be fully paid up before August 1, 2010.
Partial scholarships may be available, based on need and available funds. For more information on scholarship opportunities, please contact Thomas Franklin directly by email to thomas.franklin@shac.org or by phone to 713-756-3387.
Why take Powder Horn training?
Scouting leaders often face the dilemma of having a strong desire to provide challenging and fun outdoor programs to meet the needs of their older youth members, while lacking the knowledge and/or resources to do so. Powder Horn is a training opportunity that exposes Boy Scout, Varsity and Venturing adult leaders to a wide range of outdoor and high adventure activities. More importantly, Powder Horn provides participants with valuable resources and contacts to assist them in delivering the promise of Scouting’s high adventure to youth.
The Powder Horn course is based on the requirements for Venturing’s prestigious Ranger Award, which requires demonstrated proficiency in a challenging set of core and elective high adventure topics ranging from aquatics to winter sports with twenty more in between. During the two weekends of Powder Horn, presentations are made by expert certified consultants who demonstrate the skills required and explain where to obtain resources, such as equipment, facilities, guides, instructors, and certifications locally. Most presentations will involve actual hands-on experience by the participants – you’ll get to sample many of the activities yourself so you will know how much fun your crew, team, ship, or troop will be able to have. We have recruited an all-star staff of experienced Scouters from all over the council to guide you through the adventure!
Don’t dismiss Powder Horn as being “only for Venturing leaders” – the reality is that it is every bit as valuable for Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters and Varsity Coaches as it is for Venturing Advisors! In fact, if you expect to become a Scoutmaster in the next couple of years, you will find this course ideal preparation! And if you, like many of us, find that retaining your older Scouts is a challenge, this course will provide you with many options for running more exciting outings that will appeal to them. It will also help you understand the Venturing program so that you can see how it relates to Boy Scouting – both the commonality and the differences.
What you need to do to be a participant
Click here to download a registration form
Find our Facebook group at SHAC POWDER HORN 2010, or follow us on http://twitter.com/SHACPH2010 – don’t worry, we won’t flood you with updates, just the good stuff! You can also email for more information to SHACPH2010@ballou.cx
