CARIBOU — Young Scouts entered a competition of wilderness skills during last weekend’s Winterama, an all-day series of outdoors events.
Due to the recent trend of rain and warmer weather, the shelter building aspect of the competition had to be cancelled, as it was likely that the frozen forts would melt.
“One troop went down and tried to build a shelter,” said Vaughn Keaton, Scoutmaster of Caribou’s Troop 184, “it was about five feet tall and could maybe fit five boys in it. Then the rain hit and shrunk it down to about three feet. Plus, all the other banks in that area were frozen like a rock. They disbanded that project and we said we didn’t want to see anybody else go through that either.”
Keaton has been Scoutmaster over 40 years, and says that, for several years, Loring Air Force Base hosted Winterama. The Scouts recently acquired a new hall on 71 Aldrich Drive in Caribou. This is the second year they have held Winterama at the new location, which is close to several outdoor trails that are well-suited for Scout events and competitions.
Instead, Saturday’s Winterama focused on the Klondike Derby races and the outdoor cooking competition. The Klondike Derby involves Scouts loading up a sled with useful materials such as snowshoes, ropes for knot-tying, first aid materials, and fire building materials. One boy pushes the sled while the others pull, and they walk a trail with four stations where their performance is graded. The winning troop is awarded the Wink Larsen trophy, which will have each member’s name engraved on the front and stay in their Scout Hall until the next Winterama. Keaton says they are not giving out the trophy this year because of the weather conditions.
The fifth station is where the cooking takes place. Scouts unpack their materials, make a fire, and start preparing meals on a small road near the Caribou Scout Lodge. Each group cooks enough food for all of its members and are then judged by Troop Committee Member Dave Belyea.
“I start with how they build their fire, and look at their menu, or if they made it themselves as opposed to coming out of a can. I’m also looking for hot liquids, presentation, and taste. I also grade them on their pickup and cleanup. I’m also looking at their Scout spirit and how they work together as a team,” he said.
Belyea says has been working with the Boy Scouts for 35 years and helping with the Winterama competition for roughly the same amount of time. He adds that there have been several changes since the Scouts stopped holding Winterama at Loring Air Force Base.
“Loring hosted a gigantic event where they had tours, fed us in the mess hall, and bussed us around. I really miss that. They had strong troops over there. Of course, we had colder winters back then too, so it was easier to build shelters.”
Keaton and Belyea have been working together with the Scouts since the 1980s.
“We’d like to keep the Winterama going,” concluded Belyea. “There are so many indoor activities now, and it can be hard to get kids outside. It’s a great tradition, and kids really should learn outdoor skills.”
