Powder Horn is a 6-day course on high adventure resources.  It is not a personal development course like Wood Badge or even a skills course.  It will let you experience many high adventure skills, learn where to get the resources to support high adventure programs, and how to offer those programs in such an exciting, out-of-the-box way that teens will keep coming back to meetings and activities.

The course is designed to introduce and expose Venturing and Boy Scouting adult unit leaders to the activities and resources necessary to operate a successful outdoor/high adventure unit-level program.  It is based on the eight core and eighteen electives found in the Venturing Ranger program.  It is intended to help adult leaders get out of the box in finding and using resources and in the way they lead their unit-level high adventure programs.  No high adventure skills are taught in this course.  It is designed to have some disciplines introduced with a hands-on segment.  Example: For scuba if a pool is available, it is suggested to do a Discover Scuba (PADI) session where participants get into a shallow pool and wear scuba gear.  It is not scuba certification.  Participants will not learn how to rock climb or shoot a skeet course, but will learn where to go to find those who can teach these skills to Boy Scouts and Venturers.

The format of the Powder Horn course is usually two 3-day weekends (Friday morning through Sunday evening), separated by one, two or three weeks.  The course often has participants from other nearby councils, which gives participants the opportunity to discuss a broader range of activity sites and resources.  The course is sometimes sponsored jointly with other councils.

The course is designed to help unit-level adult leaders to:
        1.  Find the resources necessary for a high adventure program.
        2.  Understand what is involved in different high adventure disciplines.
        3.  Run a high adventure program safely.

Learning Objectives:
        1.  Learn what resources are available to support a high adventure program.
        2.  Learn where to find the resources.
        3.  Learn how to use the resources.
        4.  Learn how to safely do a high adventure program.
        5.  Learn what is involved with different high adventure disciplines.

Requirements:
        1.  Be a registered BSA adult.
        2.  Have completed the basic training for your Scouting position.
        3.  Have a current BSA Class III medical form (doctor's exam required).
        4.  Have Scout Executive approval (obtained after the application is submitted).

Schedule for Upcoming Courses, Registration forms & Links

A course sponsored by the Sam Houston Area Council is scheduled for August 27-29 and September 24-26, 2010.
The first weekend will be at El Rancho Cima, near Wimberly. The second weekend will be at Camp Strake, near Conroe.
For information, click the following link:  http://www.shacventuring.org/powderhorn.php,
or contact Troxel or Kelia Ballou, the course directors, at shacph2010@ballou.cx.