16.1 THE SNOW SNAKE GAME
  
   Native American winter game, reached highest levels of sophistication
   among the nations and tribes near the Great Lakes. Seneca tribe of the
   Iroquois Nation called it Gawasa, I believe. (Also the name of the
   oldest winter training program in the BSA I believe, now well over 50.
   In the Land of the Oneidas council upstate New York)
   
   On a long, 1/4 mile or more , level surface, build a long pile of
   snow, 2 feet high, 2 feet wide. This will occupy a winter camporee of
   about 100 scouts for an hour or so. Make a V shaped trough in the
   pile, smooth and ice it thoroughly.
   
   All contestants have previously carved a snow snake. It should be 5 to
   7 feet long, about 1 1/2 inches high at the 2 to 4 inch long head. The
   eyes of the snake are where it is weighted. The snake should never be
   wider than 3/4 inch and is usually only a 1/2 inch high, behind the
   head. The bottom is rounded, the top, behind the head is flat. The
   underside of the head should curve up like a ski. Decorations and
   carvings should be done on the non-sliding surfaces.
   
   The snow snake is held in the throwing hand with the index finger at
   the end of the snake, like a sling. The snake is supported with the
   non throwing hand during a running head start. The arm movement is a
   crass between a baseball side-arm pitch and a bowling delivery.
   
   Using these directions, at the defunct Iroquois Council's 1973 Gawasa,
   a 14 year old scout threw a snow snake more than 1/4 mile down the
   trough. I have seen the Huron Nation build troughs on Lake Michigan
   over 3 miles long, and one year saw a television report of a Huron
   throwing a snow snake over 2 miles down a trough (about 1978).
   
   The younger scouts get really impressed when they see what they are
   capable of.
   
  16.2 MORE WINTER GAMES
  
   I have seen all sorts of things done at winter camps, and while I have
   no specific suggestions as to games, there are variations you can use
   on other sports/games, such as: Golf (use tennis balls coffee cans and
   expect to lose a few balls), volleyball (careful, the ball gets quite
   hard, but playing this game knee or waist deep in powder is not to be
   missed.), campfire building and so on. As I type this I remember
   building kitchen areas with tables and seats by digging into the snow.
   Wide games are a lot of fun in the snow (see other thread) and I
   imagine "stalker" would be trickier on snowshoes... One winter camp
   here in BC (Rovent for you BC'ers who have seen a lot of this before)
   also features a gateway contest and snow-sculpture contest.
   
   In general I think that you can do a lot of things at a winter camp
   that you can do in the summer, you just have to remember to stay dry.
   One final note, Hot Chocolate tastes GREAT at -20 C!!! Enjoy!