Okpik
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Okpik | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Location | Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases | ||
| Country | United States of America | ||
| Awarded for | Cold-weather camping | ||
|
| |||
47.989827, -91.49368422
Okpik, (Inuit language for snowy owl) pronounced as (OOk' pick) is the Scouting America cold-weather adventure program created by their Northern Tier High Adventure Bases at the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base in Ely, Minnesota.
As the result of Northern Tier's Cold Weather Training program that teaches leaders to develop their own cold-weather program there are similar programs named after and based on Okpik offered by Scouting America councils nationally. For example, Tahosa High Adventure Base located near Ward, Colorado offered a course based on the Okpik weekend program[1]; Camp William Hinds in Raymond, Maine offers a popular Okpik program as well. Philmont Scout Ranch, another National High Adventure Base, offers a similar cold weather camping program called Kanik. Several local councils of Scouting America have named their own local winter camping programs under the Okpik name, using the Okpik: Cold-Weather Camping manual, such as ones in Michigan, Buffalo, New York, the Blackhawk Area Council in Illinois and the Greater St. Louis Area Council in Missouri and the Potawatomi Area Council in Wisconsin.
Since the early 1970s, the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base has provided training in cold-weather camping and winter survival, while providing a place for cross-country skiing, ice-fishing, and other activities in the snow. In the early days, the Okpik program was teamed up with the United States Armed Forces who used the base during the week for cold weather survival training. On weekends, the Scouts would come to the base for a three-day camping experience.