Camp Bighorn teaches survival

PARADISE – Jack Frost nipped at the fingers and toes of the students as they navigated the rough terrain. They always kept safety in mind and looked for potential dangers such as avalanches. The students slept in the snow and bonded over the shared experience.

Camp Bighorn, a non-profit Christian camp devoted to outdoor adventure, has continued to serve and educate their community and students since its founding in 1985. This past week the camp leaders began their winter program classes.

Seventeen students from Prairie Bible College traveled from Alberta in order to learn and acquire winter survival skills. Camp Bighorn Program Director Reuben Stratford described the winter program as wilderness, leadership and biblical training.

“Wilderness adventure allows us to build a community of students learning how to overcome challenges in the backcountry,” Stratford said. “This will enable them to deal with other challenges they will face in life.”

Camp Bighorn offers multiple programs year-round, but Stratford said the winter program is the most difficult.

“The winter program is the most challenging,” he said. “Sleeping in the snow is one thing, but learning to telemark ski is tricky and takes finesse.”

Telemark skiing is a combination of downhill and cross-country skiing. Stratford indicated the skiing they do within the program is more intense than what one might find at a resort due to the rough terrain.

In addition to telemark skiing, the students are taught avalanche awareness. They learn to be self-sufficient and survive in a winter environment. The students are taken out on multiple excursions with guides, usually two nights at a time.

At the end of the program, however, the guides will remain behind and the students will set out on their own for a four night expedition. Stratford said some have struggled with this in the past, but he has full confidence in the current group.

“From time to time we have had students struggle,” he said. “But this batch of students is very well prepared mentally and I think they are going to thrive.”

The camp utilizes the national forest land, primarily Lolo National Forest, for the expedition. That is where the students will spend approximately 14 nights over the next couple of months. It is Stratford’s hope that the experience is one that will stay with the students long-term.

“Many gain from this experience an appreciation for the outdoors and creation,” he said. “They gain habits and hobbies that they can carry through the rest of their lives and can share with other people.”

The students not only obtain wilderness experience and appreciation, many also find self-confidence.

“You gain confidence because you can look back on learning to build a shelter and take care of yourself,” Stratford said. “It is a reminder that you can survive and overcome life’s challenges.”

Many former Camp Bighorn students have returned for further wilderness adventure experiences. The camp offers a 21-day expedition in California’s Death Valley. Those students that went on to California returned with an Associate’s Degree in ministry and outdoor leadership.

Some students continue on with their four year degrees and go into the outdoor ministry as pastors.

“Several have gone on to be pastors, some become teachers, contractors or homemakers…whatever walk of life they are in they can look back and say their experience at Camp Bighorn was valuable,” Stratford said.