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While
Onteora was primarily a summer camp, it was also available for other
camping events as well. Troops could go up there on their own outside of
the regular camping season, and in fact, that's the main use of the
property today. There were also two Order of the Arrow weekends each year,
one in Spring and one in Fall, so the OA campers could help with Onteora's
maintenance. The most unusual use of Onteora, though, had to be the annual
Winter outings named Operation Igloo.
Held in February, when the Catskill
Mountains had to be just about the coldest place in the Northeast United
States, if not the world, Operation Igloo re-opened Onteora for a weekend
of fun in the ice and snow. Troops traveled up to Onteora on a Friday and
pitched tents along Sprague Brook - in fact, many campers set up right on
the ice, as it was nice and smooth, and thus more comfortable to sleep on
than the just-as-cold frozen ground. After a fitful night's sleep, in
which anyone who woke up needing a bathroom break would change their mind
just as soon as they poked their nose out of the sleeping bag, it was time
for some fun while trying to stay warm.
Right after cooking breakfast at the
campsite, Scouts would rush off for a variety of winter sports. With
Orchard Lake frozen solid, ice skating was a popular pastime. Snow shoeing
was definitely a different way to spend a day, and was found to be more
strenuous than expected. Cross country skiing didn't seem to have caught
on yet, so those looking for fun on the hills had to turn to sleds and
toboggans.
As mentioned elsewhere on these pages,
there are several good-sized hills at Onteora, and these became the center
of Operation Igloo. While many Scouts kept busy on the road up to Chief's
Camp, the best hill was the one leading down from the Ranger's House to
the main parking lot. Sure, it was a long walk up each time, but that's
how you stayed warm. The downhill run more than made up for it, for you
could pick up some incredible speed. With luck, you could even stay on the
road and not fly off into the woods. It became a challenge to make it all
the way down without having to stop, either for a crash or just by running
out of speed.
Most of the years I was there, the daytime
temperature for Operation Igloo was around 10-20 degrees. You might think
that a warm winter would have made the weekend a little easier to bear,
but in truth, you wanted it cold. One year it was about 40 degrees, and
the snow on the roads quickly melted. Without the fun of riding sleds and
the resultant need to hike back up the hill several times a day, there
wasn't much to do but stand around. I quickly discovered you could stay a
lot warmer hiking at 10 degrees than standing around at 40.
Speaking of hiking, Operation Igloo was a
wonderful way to see Onteora without the crowds and noise of summer. A
pair of snow shoes was needed, but this would let you hike deep into the
camp, away from even the hardy few down at the lake. I can remember hiking
all the way back to the Teddy Roosevelt Shelter, where I spent many a
Summer, and meeting up with a semi-trained deer we used to feed. I was
glad to see the hunters who snuck onto the property hadn't met up with
him!
In the evening, the Council House was
opened and a full dinner served. As good as the food was, one of the best
features of the night was a huge fire burning away in the dining hall
fireplace. Then, after another night on the ice, there was time for some
more sledding and skating before heading back to Long Island.
|
Click here
for a collection of patches from Operation Igloo. |
Here's an article about Operation Igloo
from the February 1965 issue of The Nassau Charger, the
Council's newsletter:
| Expect Record
Crowd at Igloo
The second of two "Igloo"
orientation sessions was completed January 27. Attendance at the two
sessions indicates that Igloo '65 will be the biggest ever with an
anticipated 1200 Explorers, Senior Scouts and Leaders.
The 10th edition of this most
popular, but challenging, event will take place at Onteora over the
Washington Birthday weekend, February 20, 21 and 22. To commemorate
the anniversary a special patch has been designed which will have
lasting significance over the years.
Stan Drupieski, Chairman of the
Operations sub committee of the Council Camping Committee, is the
man in charge of Igloo. Serving with Stan are Dr. Robert Rudolf, Art
Garbade and Sid Schwartz in charge of First Aid, Herb Carr and the
Meadowbrook District Commissioners staff in the registration and
general administration slot and Jim Hammond and members of the 1964
Camp Staff in charge of feeding. One half of the contingent will be
fed in the dining hall on Saturday night and the other half Sunday
night.
Ken Heim, Director of Camping and
Advisor to Igloo, reminds all leaders that arrival is restricted to
daylight hours, check-in will be at the new Health Lodge. Unit
campsite assignments will be made there. |
Operation Igloo began in 1956, back before
there was even a regular summer camping program at Onteora. I'm not sure
when, but it was dropped for a few years, and then was eventually replaced
by two programs known as Snowball and Blue Nose. These are District
events, with Snowball in January, sponsored by the Rough Rider District,
and Blue Nose in February, sponsored by Iroquois District, instead of the
massive expeditions of the past.
Blue Nose had originally been held at Camp
Wauwepex, and moved to Onteora in 1993. The Rough Rider District began
their winter campout, Snowball, in 1986. After several years of successful
operation under that name, the District changed the name of their event
back to Operation Igloo. The renaming is a great tribute to a great tradition. Future troops
will now be able to follow in our footsteps by freezing in the Land in the
Sky!
|
Click here
for patches from Blue Nose and Snowball. |
Feel cold just reading about Operation
Igloo? Head back then to the main Onteora page. |
