Camp UPDATE

For all of your day-to-day Camp news visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/ymcacamp

Cabin Signs!

Remember coming to camp and seeing your name on all of the past cabin signs on the walls? We have photo-archived all of them to be put forever into our cabin books. Here is a taste of all of the cabin signs that we archived last weekend! Check out the rest on our facebook page. I hope that these cabin signs dig up some great memories! It's never too late to get back in touch with old friends from camp! Have a good one :)

Earth Services Awards a hit!

Over 80 people were in attendance last night at Camp for the annual earth service awards which recognizes Warren and Washington County teens for the leadership and stewardship for the environment. The winner of the $500 scholarship was Mel Steinberg from Greenwich Schools. Mel conducted a field study that analyzed the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on eastern red-spotted newts and northern green frogs in the Hudson River. She designed and planned all aspects of the field study, and is planning another study to examine zebra mussels, another invasive species.

We also honored a teacher of the year, Mr. Larry Deso from Corinth Elementary School. Mr. Deso has been a true advocate of exposing his students to the natural world through programs at Chingachgook over the years and was a perfect choice for the award.

Keynote speakers included Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward from the 113^th District, and Neil Woodworth, the Executive Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

They're here!

As many of you come to expect this time of year, our outdoor education staff have arrived at Camp, and officially began training for what figures to be the most enjoyable pre-summer season ever. Curious and interested in meeting these fine folks? Then register yourself for one of our many programs that take place between now and the start of summer camp!

Calling all GOLFERS!

On Monday, August 2, the Capital District YMCA will hold its 14th Annual Golf Classic at Wolferts Roost Country Club. As Camp helps plan for the event, we're hoping we can count on as many of you as possible to tee it up on our behalf. So, if you're interested in hitting the links for a good cause or for more information, contact Aimee Bouquet (abousquet@cdymca.org) to reserve your spot in a foursome!

Tune It Up at the 2010 Maintenance Conference

This week Camp hosts our second national conference of the month: The 2010 North American Camp Maintenance Conference. Over 80 professionals hailing from Iowa to Maryland to right here in the Adirondacks are gathering this Tuesday through Thursday to share ideas and learn from one another. These are the essential men and women camps rely on for new projects, facility repairs, and the countless day-to-day functions of running a camp. Below: High 5 inspector Todd fills participants in on ropes initatives standards.

Participants of the Conference attend presentations that range from tutorials on engine repair to discussions about new facility ideas and volunteer recruitment. Camp Consultant Gary Forster and engineer Rick Stryker are the keynote speakers, sharing their many years of experience and wisdom in the field. This conference is an opportunity for networking and a chance to see what's going on in camp maintenance across the country... and not to mention it's a great time!

Above, left to right: Chingachgook Maintenance Director Chris Thompson shows off parts (and materials) of the brand new barn over the climbing tower KYBO during a tour. Presenter and Ace Hardware expert Tom Ogle demonstrates the ins and outs of engine repair on an old mower.

Wait, is Camp really only...

104 Days Away!

Well, that's until Session One starts, staff training is even closer! In just 93 short days (well, not short, they're still 24 hours long) over 100 summer staff will start to show up at Camp to prepare Chingachgook for another epic summer on the lake! What are you looking forward to the most? Me? The lake of course! In addition to counting down the days until Camp starts, I am also counting down the days until I am able to jump off the rope swing for the first time! Maybe it's time to start a quick poll about the summer....yup, it is! Below you can find the entire Camp countdown for the summer!

Session One: 104 Days

Session Two: 118 Days

Session Three: 132 Days

Session Four: 146 Days

Session Five: 153 Days

Session Six: 160 Days

"Soup's On" at the 2010 Food Service Conference

This week Camp is in the middle of hosting the 2010 North American Camp Food Service Conference. Camp food service professionals from all over North America have gathered here on Lake George to talk about everyone's favorite part of Camp... food! The Conference features presentations on everything from vegan dishes to cheese steaks, not to mention the "food frenzy" creativity competition and mouthwatering vendor food show. Chingachgook is proud to host this forum for sharing ideas, recipes, and Camp stories from all over the country. Below Adventure Coordinator Madden Coghlan and Conference attendees enjoy the product of the Steak-Eze demonstration on Wednesday.

Inauguaral Adventure to the Pacific Northwest!!

Looming snow topped mountains, towering ancient pines, epic coastal cliff formations and one lucky group of Chingachgook campers! This summer, Chingachgook's Adventure Leadership Program will be heading to the great Pacific Northwest for two weeks of hiking, sea kayaking, wind surfing, playing and developing leadership skills in one of the most scenic regions of North America.

The inaugural Pacific Northwest Leadership Adventure will be a jam packed three weeks hitting some of the most unique places the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Here is a quick run down of the highlights of this exciting new program:

• 4 days of hiking and camping along the Pacific coast in Olympic National Park.



• 3 days with the awesome leaders from YMCA Camp Orkila sea kayaking around the serene San Juan Islands famous for thier concentration of Orca whales.




• All day trek to Camp Muir at on the face of Mt. Rainier at an elevation of 10,080 ft!





• 3 days of expert windsurfing instruction on the world famous waters of the Hood River Gorge!

For more information on this amazing trip, and all of our other exciting adventures contact Adventure Coordinator, Madden Coghlan at any time at 518-656-9462 x6646 or mcoghlan@cdymca.org

Walking in a Winter Chinga-land

Finally! After a long, dry month, Camp was covered with 16+ inches of white stuff between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Many have never seen Chingachgook under the cover of this much snow! Take a look at how deep it got in the parking lot and the covering on the rocks and cabins in Junior Boys. We've waited a long time for snow, and now that it looks like a true Adirondack winter at Camp, it's hard to believe that the Summer is less than 4 short months away!

The dedicated program team braved the elements on Wednesday to groom the tubing hill in the Junior Boys Unit and make some trails in the deep snow around Camp. As it turns out, not only is this snow great for tubing, but it's also perfect for making snowballs, snowmen, and all sorts of winter fun. Hope all of you in the Northeast are getting out and enjoying the fluffy stuff while you can!

Above: Madden Coghlan and Ken Stannard, respective Adventure Coordinator and Summer Camp Coordinator test the snowball conditions on the gazebo bridge. Outdoor Education Coordinator Heather Siegel assesses the tubing hill.

International Staff 2010

We have hired a number of staff from around the world to work here this summer! Camp is very excited to have a very diverse group of counselors for the upcoming summer. Here is a list of our International Staff and where they are coming from! Enjoy.

Australia:
Ashleigh Smith
Thomas Schell
Hanne Pederson

Germany:
Antje Herse South Africa:
Michael Botha
Gareth Taylor United Kingdom:
Victoria Reid
Rebecca White
Dominic Mcleod Israel:
David Akilov

New Zealand:
James Harvey

Canada:
Kali Coll

Camp is on Facebook!

(click the photo or the link below to go to our facebook page)

You heard right! Camp Chingachgook now has a fan page on Facebook. Hundreds of your old Camp friends have already joined. You can now connect with Chingachgook in a new way. See what we're up to throughout the year, leave us a message, or reconnect with some old camp buddies...the possibilities are endless! You can even look at Camp pictures from various events. What a great way to keep up with what's going on at Camp. Become a fan today!

Fundraising Gala is coming up!

Mark your calendars! February 19th at 5:00pm.

For the first time ever Chingachgook is hosting its first ever Fundraising Gala! A silent auction will be going on throughout the night for various items that will benefit our Reach Out For Youth campaign. There will be a performance by The Last of the Mohican's...Chief Chingachgook himself may make an appearance!!! You don't want to miss this great event for a great cause RSVP NOW!

$35 per person includes $15 donation to the YMCA Reach Out for Youth scholarship program, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and entertainment. Fort William Henry Resort and Conference Center is offering a discounted room rate of $79 for guests to spend the night (518-668-3081, mention YMCA when reserving).

Please R.S.V.P. to Aimee:
YMCA Camp Chingachgook • 1872 Pilot Knob Rd • Kattskill Bay, NY 12844
abousquet@cdymca.org phone: 518-656-9462, ext 6601

Here is the official flyer

Winter Women's Weekend

"Flashback to the 50's!"

This past weekend was our annual Winter Women's Weekend here at Chingachgook! Over 50 women from all over came for a relaxing getaway weekend here at Camp. Activities included a Zumba Gold dance session(pictured below), body sculpting, belly dance workshops, self-defense seminars, massages, beading, ice walks on Lake George, snowshoe hikes, as well as others. Yup, there was something for just about everyone! Our weekend was capped off by an amazing 50's themed sock hop on Saturday Night (pictured above!) The Pipekings provided some great live music as we danced the night away. It was a fantastic time had by all and we cannot wait for next year already!

Snowblast...is a BLAST!

As you might have guessed from the title, we had a great time when the Southern Saratoga Adventure Princesses visited Chingachgook for a day not too long ago. We had fun tubing, sledding, playing ice hockey (or just sliding on the ice), there were crazy crafts, fun winter hikes, and of course a dutch auction. But the smashing hit? It was our egg drop of course. The picture below was how my egg did...not too well huh? That makes four consecutive years my egg hasn't survived the drop from the dining hall....maybe next year!

You don't always see them

The number of staff on July 1 differs quite a bit from the number of staff on January 1 each year. Yesterday, we gathered the entire Chingachgook staff, 19 of us, for a group photo on the Veranda. To recap, January - 19 staff, July 180 staff. Quite a difference of numbers between the two months huh? For those of you wondering, it was a warm 11 degrees outside when we took this picture but we still managed to see smiles across the board from everyone. We're definitely counting down the days until we see some new faces and warmer weather at Camp!

Alumni Staff Reunion!

This past weekend, close to 100 of our past staff members met up together for a day of fun. It had been quite some time since many of us have seen each other, so it was a great day to catch up with old friends. Some older staff from years ago were in attendance as well as much of our current staff, which made for a nice mix of stories and memories!
Some went down our tubing hill, others played some broomball at the center green which was transformed into an ice rink, and still others gathered by the fire to chat and catch up.

At 3:00, the bravest of Chingachgook staff gathered for a polar bear plunge into icy Lake George! Of course, all participants had to recite the "We are the Polar Bears" song while they stood in the snow before they went for the dip. The rest of camp watched from the bay!

After the polar bear jump, everyone gathered for a great dinner up in the dining hall. We sang our dinnertime grace before digging in. The man of the hour, George Painter, addressed the exuberant staff in his annual "State of the Camp!" It was really a great gathering.

Thank you to all who attended this great reunion. It is always wonderful to see old friends. Remember to always keep in touch with your old camp friends and that you are truly always welcome back at camp! Take care!

A favorite skill class from last summer

New things don't often reach fast success at Camp, but our Guitar class quickly became a must-dp event at Camp. Armed with 14 brand new guitars, almost 100 campers learned to play guitars at Camp. The best part? The class was a roaming one. Sometimes the class was located right outside of Rotary Lodge, other times the class could be found near Rockewell, or perhaps down at the waterfront. For those of you who took part in Guitar class, what did you think? Is it a keeper?