Mecklenburg County Boy Scouts of America

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Southern Region Area 5 and the Mecklenburg Scout Reservation hosted the inaugural National Camp School COPE & Climbing Program Trainer course the weekend of Oct 30th to Nov 1st, 2020. Thirteen COPE and Climbing Directors completed the training, beginning a new era of high quality COPE & Climbing training programs for the BSA.

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The Climbing Level I (natural rock) course that was rained out in October has been rescheduled to Sunday, November 15th. Please visit the Training tab for a course flyer with additional details.

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We scampered around the rocks at Rocky Face Mountain Recreation Area this Saturday learning the basics of site selection and anchor setup. A fun day getting up close and personal with the cliff!

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We enjoyed a warm early summer weekend at Belk Scout Camp practicing social distancing and COVID-19 mitigation measures to train the latest batch of new COPE & Climbing instructors. Everyone is looking forward to getting outdoors and enjoying camp this summer.

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The spring COPE & Climbing Foundations Level I course has been rescheduled to June 12-14, 2020. Please visit the Training tab for an updated course flyer.

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If you were registered for the original course in May and have any questions please contact Rob Seate or Sasha Timkovich.

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The scouts of troop and crew 13 enjoyed a day of exciting, adrenaline-pumping adventure climbing and rappelling at Rocky Face. They mastered multiple routes, rappelled almost 50 feet from the cliff top and squeezed in a bit of instruction on lead climbing.

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This past weekend several instructors took the next step up to become lead instructors for the COPE & Climbing program in Mecklenburg County Council. They learned the skills and techniques to open the towers at Belk and MSR for climbing and rappelling.

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We welcomed 8 new and 3 returning COPE & Climbing instructors to the program this past weekend. We had a great weekend learning the ropes, setting goals and challenging each other to new heights.

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Troop 33 braved the heat of summer to climb and rappel from the cliffs at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area. They scaled numerous routes on the cliffs and managed to get in a few quick rappells before being chased off the rock by afternoon thunderstorms.

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Two days ago this scout suffered an unfortunate accident and broke his wrist at Cub Scout Day Camp. Today all of camp heard this Bear's roar as he climbed to the top of the Belk Scout Camp climbing tower.

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What will be this scout's next conquest?

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The motto of the Boy Scouts - Be Prepared - applies to all aspects of scouting in our council including COPE & Climbing. Seven instructors participated in a weekend course designed to prepare us to resolve incidents at the tower or COPE course should the need arise. We learned to manage scenarios involving climbing, rappelling and high angle rescues.

Be safe, have fun and rock on!

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The Powderhorn training weekend at MSR was well attended with many scouts and scouters experiencing the COPE & Climbing program. We even broke out the milk crates and established a new stacking record for MSR.

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BSA has released an update to the Age Appropriate Guidelines for Scouting Activities yellow chart. There is now a column for the Lions program and many of the activity categories have been reorganized. Lions may boulder and climb on an age appropriate man made facility.

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What does this mean for your Lions? They may climb on the towers at both Belk Scout Camp and Camp Grimes.

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The crowd gathered, necks strained upward. Camera phones ready. One more crate went up on the extension pole. Greg continued up the ever growing stack of milk crates to set a new camp record during staff fun night at Webelos Adventure Camp.

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Over the last several weeks the climbing tower at Belk has undergone significant maintenance. All of the holds were removed, the tower was pressure washed and rotted wood replaced. The tower was then restrained and all of the climbing routes were rest with new patterns and holds.

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We welcomed six new Climbing instructors to the program this past weekend. We had a great weekend learning the ropes, setting goals and challenging each other to new heights.

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Do your scouts love the climbing tower at camp? Would you like to become an instructor? You're in luck. The next instructor training course will be held September 7th-9th, 2018 at Belk Scout Camp.

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Please visit the Training page for more details.

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Major construction is now complete on the practice rappel stand at Belk Scout Camp. The stand will allow scouts to become comfortable with the essential aspects of rappelling while only a few feet off the ground.

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Would you like to take your instructor skills to the next level? Get off the tower and onto some real rock? Join our Level I Natural Rock training course this spring.

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Do you have equipment that hes reached its useful lifespan? Here's a quick and easy way to retire it.

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Experience the speed of the zip line at Belk Scout camp.

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Do your scouts love the climbing tower at camp? Would you like to become an instructor? You're in luck. The next instructor training course will be held May 4th-6th, 2018 at Belk Scout Camp.

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Please visit the Training page for more details.

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We have received several questions about Lions participation in the COPE & Climbing program. Here is the response from the National Director of Cub Scouting:

No COPE or Climbing. The goal of the Lions Pilot and eventually when it becomes part of Cub Scout program is to keep it an introductory level experience, not to incorporate them like we did with Tiger Cubs. There are several items Lions will not do so it is easier to outline what they are allowed to do. It is safer to say that if we are silent on activity for Lions it’s because they are not allowed to do it.

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We all have our own "walls" in life. Don't let others decide you can't climb them. Read the story of one determined scout - he was going to climb that wall despite what others may have thought.

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This just in... There is a new addition to Belk Scout Camp in time for summer fun. The climbing program has added a bouldering wall to the camp facilities. Located just behind the climbing tower this new structure is open to scouts and scouters of all ages, sizes and skill levels. The bouldering wall is open year round, any time of the day. Please be sure to swing by on your next visit to Belk and unleash your inner monkey.

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A special thanks to the Catawba Lodge for financial support, Cliff Hangers Climbing for their technical expertise and everyone who contributed to making this a reality.

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Rock on!

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We completed our spring Climbing Instructor Level I training on May 14th, 2017. 10 new climbing instructors have been added to our staff group.

The next training will be offered at Belk Scout Camp the weekend of Sept. 8-10, 2017. Please visit the Training page for more details.

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The BSA National Task Force has released new updates to the Climb On Safely program as well as published new guidelines for Cave Safely, Cave Softly and Canyoneering Safely. Please be sure to review this new material before engaging in any of these activities. 

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As an organization, we talk a lot about life changing moments. You've heard me speak clearly about the pillars of our organization; Duty to God, Duty to Country, Servant Leadership. Today, I want to share with you the story of a young boy finding his own Inner Strength, that raw combination of physical and mental toughness. It's discovering the grit that's deep inside to accomplish something great.

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What's it like to flyover the Belk climbing tower? Get a bird's eye view from this video.

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Mecklenburg County Council is pleased to announce “Winter Camp,” modeled on Summer Camp at MSR and on Winter Camp programs sponsored by Councils in Charleston and Nashville. Winter Camp offers all Scouts the opportunity to work on merit badges and on service projects. The Climbing merit badge will be offered as part of this event. Please refer to the event flyer for more details.

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The climbing tower at Belk now has internal lighting. Running lights have been installed along the handrails inside the tower. This will provide a safer ascent of the stairs during low light conditions and hopefully provide a better experience for many of our scouts.

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Join the COPE & Climbing fun at Venturing Legacy 4.0 to be held Sept. 16-18, 2016 at Camp Grimes. We will have all of the COPE & Climbing elements open that weekend - the indoor wall., the tower for climbing and rappelling, the zip line, the high COPE course and the low COPE course.

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Troops 13 and 3 combined for a day of climbing at Crowders Mountain State Park. They spent several hours climbing and rappelling in warm, but great weather.