The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful part of the world with mountains, thick forest and incredible wilderness destinations. It is also a dangerous place to become stranded, which happens to many each year. But with the proper preparation and training, you the reduce your risk and make it back to safety should you find yourself spending an unexpected night in the wilderness.
Our Wilderness Survival Program introduces scouts and scouters to the basics of Wilderness Survival. We discuss how to assess your situation, prioritize, take action and make it out alive.
Out team offers Summer, Winter and Virtual programs to introduce students to survival techniques in various environments and conditions. Our cadre include Scouters with decades of wilderness and instructor experience.
Wilderness Survival Module
For our overnight Wilderness First Aid courses, we offer an optional Wilderness Survival Module. We cover the basics of Wilderness Survival to include priorities of survival, what to pack, and the basics of each priority. Part of his module is a hands on session where participants work on advanced knife and fire starting skills.
Taught by our resident Green Beret Scouter, this program does not disappoint.
ADVENTURE WEEK
at Fire Mountain Scout Camp!
Adventure Week is set up for Individual Scouts interested in an adventure experience focused on our most popular programs:
Survival Adventure
Shooting Sports Adventure
Aquatics Adventure
COPE and Climbing Adventure
EagleQuest Adventure
Survival Adventure focuses on survival skills needed in an extended survival situation. We also cover the requirements for several merit badges including: Wilderness Survival, Archery, Fishing, Pioneering and Orienteering. Scouts leave camp with the skills and know how to survive in the backcountry.
Summer Wilderness Survival Course
Our summer program is open to all scouts and scouters. It takes place at camp for the course of a week. Scouts will be expected to build and sleep in their own wilderness shelter. This is very different from sleeping in a tent or cabin.
It should be warm, making it easy to work on and develop basic skills such as fire starting. And beyond the basics of wilderness survival, we will also work on basic bushcrafting, pioneering, archery, navigation and wilderness style fishing skills as time and conditions allow.
Winter Survival Course
Our winter course is a blend of virtual and in-person/hands-on learning. Phase one consists of online classes. Phase two is mostly hands-on practical exercises in the mountains. Scouts will be able to demonstrate their survival skills on snow and ice.
Students and accompanying adults must be 14 years of age or older and in excellent physical condition. Scouts will be expected to build and spend the night in their own snow shelter. This requires hard work for all involved. This course is NOT recommended for those new to camping.
Each unit attending the Winter Survival Course will need to arrive with at least 2 adults. It is highly recommended that adults accompanying scouts have taken this or the Winter Skills Adventure Program prior to attending this course as you will be sleeping out in the snow with your scouts.
Virtual Wilderness Survival Course
For those self-motivated scouts, we run virtual courses online. We cover the basics of wilderness survival, but it will be up the scouts to complete requirements on their own with assistance from unit leaders or their family. This is reasonable option for scouts interested in learning Wilderness Survival skills and planning to practice these skills at summer camp.
Course Topics
Course work covers all the requirements for the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge. Scouts will have ample opportunity and support in completing this merit badge at our Summer and Winter course.
Topics Covered:
- Wilderness Survival Basics
- Survival Priorities
- Wilderness Hazards in various Environments
- How to build a Survival Kit
- Bushcraft Knife Skills
- Basic Wilderness First Aid
- Wilderness Shelters (Winter Course will focus on Snow Shelters)
- Basic and Advanced Fire Starting
- Water Procurement and Treatment
- Signaling
- Food
