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Category: Newsletter

2/10 Meeting @ Abiding Hope Nature School (AHNS)

Hello Troop! Tomorrow we will be doing first aid and E-prep. We will be taking this time to work on your first aid skill. See you there! If you have a first aid kit feel free to bring it.

Luke H – SPL

Klondike Derby 2025

On the evening of February 7th a patrol of nine scouts from Troop 640 ascended into the snowy darkness of Golden Gate Canyon State Park for a weekend of good, cold fun at the annual Klondike Derby with over 500 other scouts and scouters from the Alpine, Frontier, and Valley Districts of the Greater Colorado Council.  

Saturday morning began with delicious and hearty breakfast burritos (no one went hungry this weekend!) and then off to the opening flag ceremony.  There was just enough snow overnight for the sleds to slide on the paved roads that had been dry the day before.  Next it was off to compete in the Klondike Events.

Yeti Bag Toss
Get the 10 essentials into a bag and then get that bag hung over a high rope strung between two trees, to keep them out of reach of the pesky yeti that were roaming the camp.

Yeti Search
This patrol had to find a person sitting silently in the snow, the catch was that the whole patrol was blinded either by pulled down hats or buckets on their heads.

Stretcher
Make a stretcher from a tarp and two poles, then carry one of your buddies through an obstacle course.

Avalanche Bombing
You get 16 tennis balls, and your goal is to get one of them into a bucket.  Unfortunately, the bucket is ten feet away and you have to do it with a tarp.  And you can’t get any closer to the bucket.  And there was a tennis racket, for some reason.  Anyway, it only took this patrol 18 seconds.

Sled Race
Pretty simple, pull your sled with a load (human or baggage) around a loop of campsites as fast as you can.  Somehow this patrol talked themselves into a situation where they ended up having to pull their sled with the adult volunteer running the race sitting in it.  They were fast.  So fast that they tipped the guy out on the first turn.  He gave them a chance to re-run the course with one of their own as passenger and they shaved 22 seconds off their time — but not without a couple of minor casualties.  Sled racing is a rough and tumble sport.

Obstacle Course
Three members of the patrol were blindfolded and had to be guided through a series of obstacles by shouted instructions from the rest.  This mostly involved wriggling on the ground, but that seemed to work.

There was a lunch break here, with plenty of hot dogs generously cooked up by Mr. Hanson.

Lashing Challenge
This three-part challenge required the demonstration of four different knots, tying a rope around a rather large log and dragging it out around a pole and back, and using a two-man crosscut saw to cut a “cookie” off the end of a four-inch log.  Note: the so-called cookie was NOT edible.  I checked.  This patrol completed the challenge in 1min 39s — which earned them a Third Place ribbon for the event.

Fire Starting
All the materials were provided: wood of various sizes and tinder.  Each patrol needed to provide an ignition source, and build a fire with flames that lasted at least two minutes.  This patrol strategized for a few moments, then broke out the ferro rod and had a fire started in a very respectable 27 seconds.

Orienteering
Each patrol was given a map and sent out on a course to find up to five different waypoint stations.  Each station had a custom paper punch to prove you actually found it.  This patrol went running through the snow dodging random yeti and stray AOL scouts to find all five stations.

Yeti Ski
Two long boards, four loops of rope tied on each, stick the toes of your boots in the loops and go for an easy graceful glide through the snow with three of your pals.  Okay, so it’s not exactly graceful.  And it’s more of an awkward shuffle than a glide.  And it’s really hard, especially trying to cross a slippery, snow-packed hillside.

Broom Hockey
The problem with broom hockey is the brooms.  The ball?  It can go all day.  The cones marking the goals?  Indestructible.  But the poor brooms just can’t handle hundreds of vigorous scouts.  By the time this patrol got to the event the brooms had been reduced to splinters, so they got to play Broomless Broom Hockey – which is basically soccer in the snow.  Still fun though.

At this point, the lure of the Gaga Pit was too compelling to avoid so they played that until it was time for dinner.

As the sun set the campfire was relit and cheeseburgers were griddled to perfection on the Camp Chef, followed by pineapple-upside-down cake baked in a dutch oven.

When Sunday morning dawned the scouts mostly avoided the planned cold cereal in favor of instant oatmeal, while Mr. Hanson made biscuits and gravy for the adults.  After packing up it was off to the Scouts Own Service and the awards ceremony where the patrol received their 3rd place ribbon for the Lashing Challenge.  Mr. Hileman returned (with donuts!) to help drive us all back home.

Scouts:
Alexander R.
Bjorn B.
Cooper P.
Dalton M.
Elijah W.
Luke H.
Nash W.
Patrick H.
Quentin M.

Adults:
Mr. Hanson
Mr. Prebynski
And Mr. Hileman helped get us all there and back

Photos located at https://www.bsatroop640.com/photos/

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Merit Badge Opportunity

Attention all Scouts, The Centennial District is hosting a Merit Badge College on March 1st.  Scouts can earn up to four Merit Badges in one day.  Here is the link to sign up.  

https://denverboyscouts.doubleknot.com/event/3094237

One of the requirements is that you get a signed Blue Card for each Merit Badge before you start, so after you sign up see Mr. Strous for a Blue Card.  

The last day to sign up is 2/28. 

2/3 Court of Honor @ Abiding Hope Nature School (AHNS)

Hello Troop! Tomorrow we will be having our Court of Honor! Join us to celebrate everything we have accomplished within the last couple months. Make sure to wear your class A.

Check out a sneak peek of the program here or click on the QR code below:

Luke H – SPL

Klondike This Weekend!

Don’t forget that Klondike is this coming weekend! As a reminder, please plan to be at AHNS at 5:00pm for a planned departure time of 5:30pm!

Todd Prebynski
SMiC

INVESTMENT IN CHARACTER

Troop 640 Families,

During our Court of Honor this Monday, February 3rd, I will be giving a presentation about Investment in Character. The Investment in Character Campaign is an important opportunity for all of us to support the Greater Colorado Council and is the primary way the Council raises funds for operations such as the Council Service Center, data entry, camp improvements, and more.

We would like 100% of our families to make a donation of any size and help us reach our goal for Scouting. Please consider your donation thoughtfully before our presentation. You will have the opportunity to give at the presentation, make a pledge, or give online at www.scoutingcolorado.org/give. Be sure to select Alpine District and add a note for Troop 640. Families who make a gift of $180 (or $15/month) will receive a limited-edition Council Shoulder Patch as a thank you gift! Other giving levels include other great recognition items.

Thank you,

Keel

Nash’s and Nik’s Big Spin

On Wednesday Night Nash and Nik got to go to Council headquarters and participate in their Big Spin event.  Nash and Nik earned this opportunity by being a top-50 popcorn seller in the Council.

Nash earned 4 spins and won 2 Tents, a Football, and a Pizza Blanket.

Nik earned 2 spins and won a Tent and a backpack.

Great Job Nash and Nik! Way to represent Troop 640.

1/27 Meeting @ Abiding Hope Nature School (AHNS)

Hello Troop! Tomorrow we are going to be planning for the Klondike camping trip! Finish up any merit badges and ranks by the end of the week as we have our Court of Honor coming up!

Luke H – SPL

2025 Ice Climbing Recap & Photos

As I re-read the 2024 Ice Climbing Recap, I debated just copying it and changing the dates. So much was similar to our now-annual Ice Climbing adventure – in the best sense! Once again, we had a phenomenal time on this trip, however the weather was quite a bit different, but that didn’t change the outcome at all.

We departed the church around 5:45pm this time and pulled into camp just before 8pm. We quickly checked in and unloaded our trailer to Bunkhouse #4, #5, and #6. We set up camp but decided against fires Friday night and simply retreated to our cabins to enjoy cracker barrel with the temps hovering in the high teens.

After getting up at 6am, we cooked our respective breakfasts; the adults learned that Mr. Bielkiewicz struggles to cook breakfast in the cold – let’s just say that we were fueled by extra “carbon” Saturday. We promptly began the 2nd annual scaling of the beautiful ice wall at Camp A at 8am with the guides recognizing several of us as repeat customers. Once again, the Scouts impressed everyone, including the guides, with their deft abilities to climb the ice. Almost everyone summited at least one route – several were able to summit multiple routes! The lead guide later told me “he can tell when a Troop is prepared and ours was one of the best he’s worked with.” This year there was a steady but light snowfall throughout the climbing and the day started at 7 degrees – but no one was deterred or complained of being too cold. Clearly our boys know what it means to Be Prepared! Check out the amazing photos!

After climbing we quickly cleaned up breakfast and made our way back to the lake where hockey was once again played for several hours while Mr. Naber set up his ice fishing shanty. Snow fell on and off all day, but again we were successful fishing as 10 were snagged this time around, including several large trout and one huge one that Jaivon pulled! Even Mr. Bielkiewicz caught his first fish since the 1980’s (although Andrew did all the hard work). Once the boys were finally tired out from “hockey” (which included avoiding the defensive prowess of Mr. Bahr and Mr. Borstad), we packed up and headed back to camp for dinner.

Each patrol and the adults cooked up great meals – Cheeseburgers, homemade chili mac and dutch-oven cornbread, and pasta carbonara (which the adults made and shared with the climbing leaders) rounded out the menus this weekend. After cleaning up the dishes and site in preparation for another chilly overnight, we got 2 large fires blazing to accommodate all 20+ attendees and everyone stayed warm and outside until it was finally time to retire for the evening to the cozy cabins.

We awoke at 7am Sunday to 10 degree temps and quickly packed our gear, loaded up the trailer and cars, cleaned up camp, and did our Roses and Thorns before heading back home. We didn’t get on the road until around 9:45am which put us back to the church at just past noon. It was amazing to have such a large group have such a good time in spite of the temperatures and frequent snowfall – us adults are really proud of our Scouts and how prepared they are. It just goes to show that when you are prepared, you can have fun in any conditions!

Klondike is up next – should be a breeze for everyone no matter the weather so sign up now!

Here are the attendees:

Zack B. (SPL) (2nd year attending)
Nash W. (2nd year attending)
Andrew N. (2nd year attending)
Damon B. (2nd year attending)
Eli S. (2nd year attending)
Bjorn B. (2nd year attending)
Caleb G.
Jaivon B.
Caleb M.
Quentin M.
Patrick H.
Carter T.
Luke H.
Dalton M.
Jackson D.
Elijah W.
Davis M.

Adults:
Chris Naber (2nd year attending)
Brett Borstad (2nd year attending)
Mike Bielkiewicz (2nd year attending)
Cameron Bahr

Ski Day Trips – Adults Needed!

For those who noticed, the boys had planned a monthly ski day throughout the ski season during our annual planning last year. And the first one was supposed to be this past weekend, however it snuck up on everyone and we neglected to fully plan it. For this to happen, we need at least 2 adult volunteers willing to lead these trips. Our thinking was that we would cycle through various ski areas to give Scouts who might have passes to different areas a chance to go and minimize cost. My gut is that we’d only have one – maybe two cars max attending each week and the trips would be geared to Scouts comfortable enough to navigate the mountain whilst skiing with a buddy (or buddies). We need volunteers for each of our remaining weekends and keep in mind that the weekends can be somewhat flexible – keeping in mind our other planned outings. As of right now, we have February 1st, March 1st, and April 5th planned as ski days. Please reach out to me or another adult leader at a meeting or via email with your preferred date(s) and ski area(s) you’d be willing to go to. Thanks!

-Mike Bielkiewicz
ASM of Snow Sliding

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