43
ONWARD and UPWARD
Photo
Stephen Scannell, 11, a Tenderfoot with Troop 22 repels down a door as Robert Zedaker, Scoutmaster with Troopp 44, and Kyle O'Brien, 12, a Scout also with Troop 22 looks on during instuction on the climbing merit badge at Camp Stambaugh in Canfield on Saturday afternoon.
Scouts reach new heights with merit-badge course
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD — For those whose rock-climbing plans feature simply scoping out an ideal location, bringing rope, harnesses and a lot of desire, and being aware of basic safety, the Boy Scouts have a message: You need to reach a lot higher.
“Climbing is serious business. It’s great fun, as long as you take it seriously,” explained Byron Harnishfeger, a leader of Boy Scout Troop 60 of Boardman.
That was a key theme Harnishfeger zeroed in on while conducting a Climbing Merit Badge course to about 25 Scouts on Saturday at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
Hosting the four-hour required course was the Greater Western Reserve Council Boy Scouts of America. The council serves Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Mahoning and Trumbull counties as well as the eastern part of Portage County.
Harnishfeger, a merit-badge counselor, stressed that knowledge of first aid is vital before starting out on such expeditions. Scouts need to know what to do if they or others with them suffer snakebites, sprains, dehydration, fractures and other hazards, he noted.
Participants broke into and rotated from three stations to learn more about first aid, types of ropes, equipment, climbs and commands, and five kinds of knots.
Richie Wilson, 16, of Youngstown-based Troop 22 said he wants to take his appreciation for climbing a bit higher than occasionally tackling man-made climbing walls.
“I know a little but want to learn about the sport,” he said.
Richie, who’s been in Scouting about 10 years, added that he has always had an interest in climbing and has little fear of taking on (or safely going off) a cliff.
Also conducting the course was Robert Zedaker, a leader of Troop 44 of Poland, who urged the boys to take into account a variety of other considerations before setting off. They include seeking permission from a landowner, checking the weather, having a qualified instructor on hand and using only dry ropes. Also, it’s important to discard ropes more than 5 years old because they tend to disintegrate, Zedaker continued.
Scouts must also travel on durable surfaces, respect wildlife and dispose of waste properly, the leaders told their audience.
At their stations, the Scouts got a hands-on look at how to tie five knots, including two figure-eight variations.
They also learned the functions of equipment such as a gri-gri, a device that looks similar to a large pocketknife in which rope is fed through before being hooked to a harness. It’s often used for rescues and rapelling (going over a cliff backward), Zedaker noted.
Several Boy Scout camps, such as Camps Beaumont and McKinley near Warren and Lisbon, respectively, offer climbing, as does McConnell’s Mill State Park in Butler County, Pa., he said.
Preceding the climbing course was a Citizenship of the World Merit Badge offering, given and led by counselor Ted Lyda.
To earn their citizenship badge, Scouts must fulfill requirements such as explaining how national and international law differ from each other; selecting and describing the roles of seven organizations, including the United Nations; and naming five types of governments as well as countries that use them, according to the Boy Scouts of America Merit Badge series.
The Boy Scouts offers about 125 merit badges; of those, 21 — including Citizenship of the World — are required to earn an Eagle Scout rank, Zedaker noted.