Two Saturdays ago, Troop 1916 tried something new and did an overnight "campout" at Sportrock Climbing Gym in Alexandria, Virginia. 31 Scouts attended the outing that evening, climbing the massive walls, and bouldering on shorter walls. 12 of the Scouts participated in the Climbing Merit Badge, taught by the manager of the gym. The night went great with everyone having fun on the walls.
The Climbing Merit Badge started at 6:45 PM, so, the Scouts doing it had to arrive at the facility 15 minutes before everyone else. The staff assisted in teaching crucial knots for climbing like the Retraced Figure 8 knot and the backup knot with it. After a thorough lesson on safety and belaying, the Scouts were able to tie into the rope, as well as belay a partner as they were climbing the wall.
The Merit Badge also had a requirement where you needed to rappel down 3 routes to complete the badge. You started by climbing up the wall, and when at the top, you would transfer to your ATC (belay device), and belay yourself down the wall at a controlled pace. After everyone was informed with the safety precautions of climbing, they were able to proceed to climb any route they wanted (see photo of massive walls).
When climbing on the big walls, you always needed a belayer and a “safety officer” who checked your knots before you climbed, as well as holding onto the rope in case of an emergency. Scouts climbed until about midnight when they closed the big walls and only left the bouldering walls open.
When bouldering, you could choose your routes on rocks and walls placed around the gym. There was double padding so you didn’t need a harness when doing it. The walls for bouldering were very enjoyable because you could set your own pace, and take your time, strategizing every move.
Following midnight, many of the boys decided to go to sleep and brought their sleeping bags on the mats surrounding the walls. The rest of the night was quiet, except for the occasional “thump” from someone falling off of a bouldering wall and hitting the mats under the walls. The bouldering walls were open all night so you could go on them at any time.
As the night grew to morning, a couple of “all-nighter” Scouts bouldered on the walls with the employees, with one Scout ordering Uber Eats from IHOPS at 2:30 in the morning, which was pretty amusing. The morning was fast, a quick police line across the building, with roses, buds, and thorns, and we all were out of there and back in Falls Church by 9:00 am. Overall, this trip was super easy to pull off and very fun to do, (as well as no injuries) and I believe that many of the scouts would definitely love to do the trip again!
Please check out the pictures over here.