Easingwold District Scouts
- 38 young members and 10 leaders
- Kandersteg International Scout Centre, Switzerland
- 10 days, 9 nights
- By coach and ferry
Easingwold District Scouts ventured to Switzerland, KISC this summer and their experience was nothing short of spectacular!
The camaraderie was captivating, the energy was electric, and we were fortunate enough to receive their Scout Leader’s camp report (thank you Kevin) that details the WHOLE thing!
We couldn’t have captured it better ourselves. The international campfire flickering brightly through Swiss starry nights, welcoming Scouts from every corner of the globe. The incredible cultural exchange of silly stories, exciting experiences, and the tackling of team challenges. Every moment embraced in the great outdoors – gleaming glaciers, cascading waterfalls, magnificent mountain tops…
We just had to share their experience with you – read on…
Kevin’s Camp Report
What an adventure! It seems an age since we had our early morning load up of the coach and eons since I launched the trip. Many, many hours of planning and meetings, hundreds of telephone calls, and thousands of emails over a two year build up finally come to a crunch point when we collect passports to depart. It’s all worth it though because what follows are days which rank amongst the best in my life. We crammed so much brilliant stuff into it, the young people were just amazing, and the leader team was fantastic.
Our first day was spent settling into camp and orientating ourselves. The Scouts who are Kandersteg veterans were busy showing the newbies around the site and the village, with many opting for an afternoon in the lovely outdoor pool in the village. A reasonably quiet day to recover from the long journey and get ready for the week ahead.
This started on day two with everyone up, breakfasted and in full uniform, ready to attend the international flag break and games morning. Our Scouts were straight into the thick of it with Daniel readily volunteering for the honour of reciting our Scout Promise in front of the hundreds of Scouts present. Ceremonies over, the camp staff, the ‘Pinkies’, led mass games aimed at mixing up the groups from the UK, Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Catalunya, Ireland, Poland and many more. I’m always amazed by the spectacle of this. Not only do they all have cultural differences and language barriers but there are Scouts present of all ages. It matters not one jot, they listen, organise themselves into huge teams and work together. If only the rest of the world did this! A mass game of Rock, Paper, Scissors ended with our very own Arwen, on her first big trip and just ten years old emerging as overall champion. Several others were very quick to volunteer to walk the Human Rope Bridge. This completed the group split for the first time, half of them staying for the sports afternoon and the others on their way to Gfellalp mountain hut for an overnight stay.
Gfellalp sits at an elevation of 1847m. It’s a stiff and steep climb to get to its isolated location but the effort of doing so, climbing from the Gasternal valley floor, up through the trees beside the cascading waterfalls is so worth it. Dumping our rucksacks we carried on another 200m uphill to a beautiful mountain pasture full of wildflowers, surrounded by mountains, waterfalls, snow, and with a great view of the glacier. Back at the hut, dinner was prepared and eaten and we sat out on the balcony surveying the amazing scenery and the astonishing starfield. Snugged down in the dormitories for the night we listened to the waterfalls and the cowbells…. bliss!
The following morning, we were up early and back down to the road to cross over with the second group on their way to the hut. The first hurried back down the valley to take the cable car to their rock-climbing activity, whilst the older group set off to hike up the Gasternal valley admiring the flowers, cows, goats and even eagles along the way.
We snacked on wild raspberries and strawberries before arriving at the rope bridge over the Kander River. This is an experience in itself. A one at a time crossing over the powerful river on a wobbly and clattery bridge. Safely across we walked down the valley on the other bank, refreshed ourselves with ice cream and climbed to the hut and pasture as the other group had done before eating dinner watching the amazing lightning storm all around us and tucking up in the cosy dorms.
Next day, as group one were in camp, getting on with crate stacking and team challenges, the group at the hut split again. Half taking the option to hoof it at maximum pace back down the 8-mile route to KISC to go rock climbing and the second half taking our time, stopping to see the amazing ‘face in the cliff’, have another ice cream, listen to the cow bells, and eat more wild fruit. We made it down in good time to join in the afternoon activities of crate stacking and team challenges. This is a feat of balance and no small amount of bravery that definitely favours the smaller, lighter Scouts. 24 crates mean standing on a pile of bottle crates that you stack as you go to a height of 8 meters or so. As you might imagine, this is very wobbly!
As the groups rotated around the activities there was more crate stacking, Jacob’s ladder, climbing and zip lines the following day as we prepared ourselves for the next keynote…. mountain tubing! The first group arrived to find the locals getting in a bit of ski jumping practice but were soon hurtling down the slopes themselves. This is an unusual activity, a mixture of terror and exhilaration such as you might get on a big roller coaster but so much more interesting. The groups swapped over, and both had time in town to shop and peruse the picturesque surrounding of the village before dinner and getting stuck into the Kander Challenge evening which this year was focused on thinking about sustainable development.
The following morning, we were all on the train through the mountain to Brig and walking to Brigerbad thermal pools. Here they spent three hours on the water obstacle course, big slides, lazy river and soaking up the sun on what was a glorious day. Back in camp we had dinner and once changed into uniform, took part in the International Camp Fire. Well over 1000 Scouts sang, danced, listened, supported, and totally accepted each other. It’s just brilliant to see and ended as always with an incredibly moving and beautiful mass singing of Kum by Yah. The whole evening is a celebration of our shared values and our solidarity as Scouts. 1000 young people choosing to celebrate peace and friendship together.
We were up early on Saturday to strike camp and head off up the cable car to Oeschinensee where many Scouts took the unique opportunity, despite the drizzle and the mist, to swim in the stunning mountain lake. Two hiking routes down were available, one more challenging than the other before we all arrived safely back in the village to stuff ourselves with pizza at a local restaurant. Duly fed we piled everything into the coach to begin the long journey home.
I think everyone has had an amazing week. The Scouts have stepped up to a full and tiring programme, got stuck into it all with great aplomb, fantastic good humour, and no small amount of extending themselves. Very importantly, I think they have realised what being a Scout really means. A very mixed group gelled very quickly into a team, new friendships have been made and there have been many examples of peer support and great care for each other. What an incredible group of capable, kind, confident, considerate, and amazing people they are.
These trips are truly some of the best weeks of our lives. We are Scouts just like the young people are and we love it. It is heartening to see as KISC moves into its second century that Scouting is as relevant and as valuable today as Baden Powell knew it would be.
There will be another trip, I have two in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Kevin Wilson
Easingwold District Scouts
Acting District Commissioner / Group Scout Leader / Scout Section Leader / District Nights Away Adviser
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