Boy Scouts and Webelos communed for special winter events at the Trexler Scout Reservation in Jonas on Saturday, focusing on outdoorsman skills, and more importantly, teamwork.

"Snowbound is an outdoor experience in which the kids' skills are tested," Slatington Troop 66 assistant Scoutmaster Eric Brady said. "It's also a teambuilding exercise. The groups will go through the evolution of team construction, which is storming, norming and performing."Storming refers to early interaction in which the group members may disagree with one another, each wanting their own way. 'Norming comes about when each member recognizes a strength or specialty in one another, becoming a tighter unit.Performing is the endgame, where the Scouts can work effectively as a team.Scouts were organized in small teams and provided with a wooden sled, which they filled to the brim with supplies for the day's Robin Hood-themed activities. While this made transportation a bit difficult in the morning, it did help to unite the guys in an effort to transport the weighty supplies from spot to spot.Standard skills like rope-tying, navigating and first-aid served to reinforce the basics for the young adventurers, providing some outdoorsy practice for potentially lifesaving lessons. One of the more amusing - but nonetheless important - stations had one Scout act as if he had fallen through thin ice. The remaining members had to develop a strategy using on-hand materials to rescue the victim in under 2 minutes.New Tripoli Troop 89 Scout Sam Millhein, 12, carefully scooted out on the "ice," carrying a blanket bound between two branches to rescue the sinking teammate."Well, I went unconscious out there, so they did take a little long, but they got out and rescued me. They did the right things, and I think it went well," said Jacob Kerchner, 15, of Troop 79 of Whitehall.Snowbound highlights included the blindfolded obstacle course, where each Scout on a team had to navigate the maze and retrieve bags of gold. The manner in which they got through the labyrinth was up to them. Some had all but one member blindfolded at once, with the remaining Scout leading them along."It was a little bit difficult, because you couldn't tell where you were going. Brandon helped us, I asked him a few questions, like if I should keep going forward, if I should stop," said Scout Karl Schmidt Jr. of Neffs Troop 57, acknowledging the assistance of his fellow troop member.Following the maze, the team had to guide a blindfolded Scout at an archery station, using vocal cues to help align a good shot. For each bag of gold collected in the course, the team received one arrow.At the lashing station, team members had to construct a sturdy ladder from thick branches and rope to reach a clutch of arrows attached to a high point on a tree. Each Scout had to climb the ladder at least once, making it imperative that the tool was well-made."We used teamwork, our strengths with knot-tying and lashings," said Jacob Auger, 16, of Troop 33 of Bath."Then we held it safely while each person went up the ladder."