Cold Weather Survival and Winter Camping, with Cabin

When and Where

When: January 2-4, 2026 , 8:00 am — 5:00 pm
Nights: 2

Location: Massawepie Scout Camps, Keymel Lodge, Adirondacks

Overview

Troop 23 is launching a winter skills weekend designed to remove the mystery from cold weather outdoor life. This is a hands on winter program focused on learning how the body behaves in cold conditions, how to regulate heat and energy, how to operate safely in snow, and how to make winter camping comfortable and fun.

This is not a backpacking trip. We are not hauling full packs deep into the woods to sleep wherever we land. This is a cold weather survival and winter campcraft program, with structured instruction, deliberate practice, and access to a cabin for safety, recovery, and warm regrouping.

The event is led by Mr. Steven Magnus, a Troop 23 alumnus, Cub Pack Leader, and a long time outdoor mentor with deep experience and real enthusiasm for winter travel and cold weather systems. Adirondack winter conditions will give us real snow and real lessons, and the program is planned to keep everything safe, controlled, and highly educational.

What This Trip Is About

This event is not a backpacking trip and not a traditional car campout. It is a cold weather survival and winter skills experience built around a cabin based winter base camp, with extensive outdoor activities conducted throughout the day.

We will use a heated cabin at Massawepie Scout Camp as a safe and reliable base of operations, but cold weather gear and proper preparation are still required at all times. The cabin does not replace winter readiness. It supports learning, recovery, and safety while allowing us to fully engage in cold weather activities outside.

Over the course of the weekend, scouts will move from classroom style instruction into hands on application in snow covered terrain. The goal is to eliminate fear of cold environments, replace uncertainty with knowledge, and build confidence through experience.

This event focuses on understanding how the human body functions in cold conditions, how to regulate temperature, how to operate safely, and how to enjoy winter environments rather than simply endure them.

What to expect

This weekend blends instruction, skills sessions, and winter activities that require teamwork and patrol execution.

You should expect a mix of:

• Cold weather science and practical technique
• Layering systems and nutrition strategy
• Winter sleep system and long night planning
• Outdoor fire building in snow and cold
• Snow shelter concepts and real shelter builds
• Snow travel skills, potentially including snowshoe hiking
• Patrol cooking projects, including Dutch oven
• Fun cold weather experiments, including outdoor ice cream making

And yes, we will have access to a cabin.

Training plan before the trip

Over five weeks beginning 11 17 2026, Mr. Magnus will attend our regular meetings to prepare participants. These sessions are a major part of the program and they matter as much as the weekend itself.

Session 1, Winter equipment considerations

A complete overview of what makes a winter trip successful, from head to toe and from shelter to stove. This includes clothing systems, boots and gaiters, hand systems, face protection, eyewear, pack organization, water management, and the reality of gear performance in snow.

Photo block, Gear layout and examples

Session 2, Regulating body temperature

How heat is generated, how it is lost, and how you control it. This session focuses on layering logic, sweat management, pacing, wind strategy, and nutrition. Winter is a system, and food is part of the system.

Photo block, Layering demonstrations and nutrition planning

Session 3, The sleep system

How to prepare and get through a long winter night. This includes bag ratings and what they really mean, pad strategy, heat retention, moisture control, nighttime routines, and what to do when you get cold.

Photo block, Sleep systems, pads, and cabin comparison shots

Session 4, Snow shelters and the winter camp

Pros and cons of tents and various snow shelters. This includes site selection, snow quality, ventilation principles, and realistic decision making, when to build, when not to build, and how to use the cabin as the safe baseline.

Photo block, Shelter building sequence

Session 5, Winter weather and snow safety

Wind chill, frozen lake awareness, basic avalanche awareness, and cold related injuries. The purpose is not to scare anyone, it is to teach what to watch for, what decisions prevent problems, and what early action looks like.

When and where

Meeting point

Our Lady of Angels, Brooklyn
Meet time 8 00 AM

Destination

Massawepie Scout Camps, Keymel Lodge
Adirondacks, New York

Notes on schedule

This is a winter event, travel time is meaningful, and weather can shift plans. We will operate with a clear plan but keep flexibility in case conditions require adjustments.

Friday: Travel, History, and Arrival

The trip begins with an early morning departure from Our Lady of Angels. Traveling north as a group, we will transition from city logistics into historical and environmental context before reaching camp.

Our first major stop will be Fort William Henry, where scouts will explore one of the most significant frontier military sites in early American history. Located at the southern end of Lake George, the fort played a key role during the French and Indian War and serves as an excellent case study in cold weather military operations, supply chains, winter movement, and survival on the edge of civilization.

Lunch on Friday will be a brown bag lunch. There will be no time allocated for food purchases during this stop, so scouts must bring their own prepared meal.

After visiting the fort, we will continue to Massawepie Scout Camp for check in and site orientation. Upon arrival, scouts will settle into the cabin environment and prepare for evening activities.

In the evening, the troop will visit The Wild Center, an Adirondack science and nature museum that focuses on ecology, climate, wildlife, and human interaction with the natural environment. This visit provides a scientific foundation for the winter skills we will practice throughout the weekend.

Dinner on Friday evening will be prepared and served in the cabin, allowing everyone to warm up, hydrate, and reset after a long travel day.

Fort William Henry

Fort William Henry connects Adirondack region travel with early American military history, frontier logistics, and cold weather realities of earlier centuries. A scavenger hunt format can make the visit active and Scout friendly while still keeping the experience historic and educational.

Official site: https://www.fwhmuseum.com/

Massawepie Scout Camps and Keymel Lodge

What it is

Massawepie Scout Camps is a long established Scout property in the Adirondacks, built for year round outdoor program delivery. The Adirondacks are one of the most important outdoor regions in the United States, known for deep winter conditions, heavy snow years, and a long legacy of winter travel culture.

Keymel Lodge provides a solid winter basecamp environment. It includes a wood burning stove for heat and an accessible kitchen stove for meal preparation. While the cabin offers warmth and shelter, scouts must still be prepared to operate outdoors in winter conditions throughout the day. Cold weather clothing, proper layering, and winter rated sleep systems are required.

The surrounding camp area offers open snow fields, wooded zones, and trails that support snow shelter construction, fire building, snowshoe travel, and patrol level activities. This balance of accessibility and authentic winter conditions makes Massawepie an ideal location for a high quality winter training experience.

Why it matters for this program

The Adirondacks are the right environment for this kind of learning because snow conditions create real constraints and real feedback. Many cold weather skills do not fully make sense until you have snow under your boots and freezing air in your lungs. That is why this venue was chosen.

Official site: https://scoutsroc.org/camps/massawepie-scout-camp

The Wild Center

The Wild Center is a major Adirondack education institution focused on ecology, wildlife, and the natural systems of the region. It is a strong complement to a winter skills weekend because it connects our cold weather practice to the broader environment we are operating in.

A potential highlight is a night light show style experience, which could work well as a Friday night program element if logistics align.

Official site: https://www.wildcenter.org/

Saturday: Core Winter Skills Immersion

Saturday is the core instructional and experiential day of the trip. All activities are conducted with patrol structure, shared responsibility, and progressive skill building.

The morning begins with patrol executed breakfast and full KP under winter conditions. Cooking, cleanup, and water management in cold environments are intentionally emphasized as part of the learning process.

Winter Shelter Building

Scouts will work together to construct snow shelters, focusing primarily on quinzee construction. This includes snow piling, shaping, settling, and interior excavation. Instruction will cover shelter design, structural integrity, insulation properties, and safety considerations. Scouts will compare snow shelters to tents and discuss advantages and limitations of each system.

Hot chocolate breaks will be scheduled throughout the morning. Scouts should bring their own insulated double wall cup.

Cold Weather Campcraft

Following shelter work, scouts will focus on fire building in cold and snowy conditions. This includes preparing fire kits, sourcing or producing dry wood, preparing the fire surface, and understanding how winter weather affects combustion. Fire building will culminate in a patrol based competition emphasizing preparation, safety, and efficiency.

Totin Chit instruction will be integrated directly into this block, reinforcing tool responsibility through real application rather than classroom demonstration.

Winter Movement and Activity

After patrol lunch and KP, scouts will participate in snowshoe travel. Snowshoes will be provided by the camp and must be treated with the same respect as troop and personal equipment. Instruction will cover movement efficiency, pacing, and energy management in snow.

Additional structured activities include a fire building competition and a patrol designed catapult build and launch challenge, emphasizing teamwork, creativity, and engineering under winter constraints.

Evening Operations

Saturday evening includes patrol cooked dinner with full KP, followed by outdoor ice cream making. Each patrol will develop its own formula, turning winter temperatures into a practical advantage.

The day concludes with a pre twilight campfire, scheduled intentionally to manage cold exposure while still preserving the traditional campfire experience.

Fire building in cold weather

Fire building in winter requires preparation, patience, and planning. Scouts are expected to bring a well stocked personal fire kit and understand that success begins long before the first spark.

Instruction covers identifying or producing dry wood in snowy environments, proper wood preparation using Totin Chit skills, surface preparation in snow, and fire placement considerations for safety and efficiency. The camp provides firewood, but scouts will learn why relying solely on provided wood is often insufficient in winter conditions.

Fire building activities will conclude with a friendly patrol competition, emphasizing teamwork, planning, and safe execution rather than speed alone.

Snowshoe Travel

Snowshoeing allows efficient travel across deep snow while reducing energy expenditure and improving safety. Massawepie Scout Camp will provide snowshoes for this activity.

Scouts will learn proper use, movement techniques, and trail etiquette. Respect for loaned equipment is expected at all times, consistent with how we treat troop and personal gear.

Snowshoe travel reinforces winter mobility concepts and helps scouts understand how terrain and snow conditions influence route choice and pacing.

Shelter building, quinzee

A quinzee is a classic snow shelter built from piled snow that is later hollowed out. It is not quick, and that is exactly why it is educational. It teaches snow structure, ventilation awareness, and the difference between warm looking and safe.

Key ideas we will cover
Snow selection and timing
Ventilation and safety
Tool handling and roles
When a quinzee makes sense, and when it does not

Shelter building, trench shelter

A trench shelter is simpler and can be fast, depending on snow conditions. It is a useful model for emergency thinking, because it forces scouts to focus on insulation, wind control, and basic survival logic.

Key ideas we will cover
Site selection, wind, drift, and exposure
Roof strategy and collapse awareness
Ground insulation and heat retention
The difference between shelter and comfort

Winter camp systems

This module is about the camp as an operating system.

Topics include
Camp layout and traffic flow
Keeping gear dry, keeping gloves functional
Managing water, thermos strategy, freezing prevention
Stove use in cold weather, including stove pads and stability
Hands and face management, preventing numbness and injury

Patrol cooking blocks

Cold weather cooking is a skill and a morale multiplier. We will lean into it.

Dutch oven cooking

A winter feast built around one pot meals and dessert, executed as patrols. Patrols will plan menus, execute cooking, and share results.

Key ideas we will cover
Heat management in winter
Clean execution, especially when water is limited
Meal planning that supports warmth and energy
Patrol roles, leadership, timing discipline

Ice cream making outdoors

This is fun, but it is also a learning lab. Patrols will develop their own formula and learn how temperature, salt, and timing affect results.

Key ideas we will cover
Patrol experimentation and iteration
Cleanliness and food safety
Learning through controlled trial

Sunday: Wrap Up and Winter Reality Check

Sunday begins with a warm pancake breakfast prepared by adult leaders, giving scouts a chance to refuel after a demanding weekend.

Following breakfast, all participants will fully pack personal and patrol gear, focusing on organization and efficiency in cold conditions.

Those who choose to participate will then travel to a dog sled experience on a first come, first serve basis. Due to demand and timing constraints, arrival before 9:00 AM is required to ensure access.

Afterward, the troop will begin the drive back to Brooklyn, completing a full winter weekend that balances challenge, safety, education, and enjoyment.

Dog sled ride

If feasible, a dog sled experience can be an unforgettable way to connect winter travel history with modern outdoor recreation. If we do it, we will frame it as a winter movement lesson, not just a thrill ride.

Lake Placid Olympic Museum

Lake Placid is one of the most iconic winter sports locations in the United States, with deep Olympic history and a culture built around snow, ice, and endurance. A museum visit can anchor the weekend with a broader story of winter mastery, showing how training, discipline, and technique turn harsh conditions into performance environments.

Packing list for the brave explorers

Touring setup

Wicking layer top and bottom
Upper body layers, insulating, 2 to 4
Lower body layer, insulating, 1
Wind shirt and pants
Warm hat
Neck gaiter
Glove or mittens, shelled
Sunglasses and sunscreen
Socks
Boots
Gaiters
Daypack
Shortie pad
Water bottle and Thermos
Food
First aid, emergency gear
Map(s)
Goggles

Camp setup

Heavy parka
Insulated pants
Extra socks, 2 to 3
Extra gloves and mitts, 1 to 2 each
Bootie system, optional
Overboots or mukluks, optional
Brush for snow, optional
Sleep bag rated zero degrees
Ensolite pads, Therm a Rest, 2
Stove and stove pad
Lighters and matches
Pot and pot pad
Fry pan
Utensils
Cup, bowl, spoon
Food bag
Fuel
Headlamp
Candles
Pack and shed
Tarp and tent
Beefed up repair and first aid kit
Toothbrush etc
Ziplock bag for organization
Lantern
Extra hat
Pee bottle

Safety and expectations

All activities will be safe, supervised, and operated with winter specific awareness. Winter is not dangerous when you respect it and prepare correctly, it becomes dangerous when you improvise.

• Expectations for participants
• Attend the training sessions
• Bring required gear, do not guess
• Listen to instructions, winter mistakes are preventable
• Operate as a patrol, winter success is teamwork
• Ask questions, this weekend is designed for learning

Locations Featured in This Trip

This trip includes multiple locations, each contributing a unique educational and experiential component:

• Fort William Henry, Lake George, NY
• The Wild Center, Adirondack Region
• Massawepie Scout Camp, Keymel Lodge
• Snow shelter construction zones
• Fire building and outdoor skills areas
• Snowshoe trails
• Dog sled staging area

Each location reinforces the historical, scientific, and practical foundations of cold weather living and survival.