Venture Crew 412 loves high adventure! We are a brand new scouting unit, serving the greater Pittsburgh area. We aim to provide opportunities for older youth and young adults (ages 14-20) to learn outdoor and leadership skills and plan their own big adventures!

Interested? Email us at PittsburghCrew412@gmail.com or fill out our Google form!

We’re going backpacking!

Our next trip is a weekend backpacking on the Laurel Highlands Trail!
When: Oct 11-13th
Where: Two segments of the LHT: from the campsite at SR 654 to the end of the trail in Ohio Pyle!

Questions and Answers: For Participants

What is venturing? Venturing is a co-ed scouting program for older scouts (ages 14-20). Learn more at Venturing.org

Is Crew 412 for me? Are you aged 14-20 and want more opportunities for high adventure? Are you interested in planning your own trips and going further with your outdoor skills? Want to push yourself a little? Then Crew 412 is for you!

How does it work? The crew will be planning one long backpacking trip per year (a week or more) plus other outings to learn skills and build strength for our big trips. We are committed to taking a crew to Philmont within the next three years.

We will be meeting one Sunday evening per month at the First Unitarian Church in Pittsburgh’s East End. By meeting at that time and only once a month, we hope to make venturing compatible with busy lives, including home troop meetings and weekend outings. Our goal is for participants in Crew 412 to take what they learn back to their home troop and plan adventures for their fellow scouts!

How do I get more information? Email us at PittsburghCrew412@gmail.com or fill out our Google form. Hope to hear from you!

Questions and Answers: For Scoutmasters

What is venturing? Venturing is a co-ed scouting program for older scouts (ages 14-20). Learn more at Venturing.org

What is Crew 412? Venturing is a program for older, more experienced scouts. Our crew specifically is focused on high adventure backpacking trips. Our scouts will be planning at least one long trip per year (at least a week in length), and we are committed to taking a crew to Philmont in the next three years. We are chartered out of the First Unitarian Church in Pittsburgh’s East End. We will be meeting just one Sunday night a month.

Because venturing includes participants up to age 21, scouts can participate even after they have aged out of their troop. For scouts under 18, our intent is for this to be a supplementary program, providing opportunities in addition to those provided by home troops.

Why does Crew 412 meet only once a month? Older scouts are a vital part of troop life, so we want to do everything possible to make participation in the Crew compatible with continued troop leadership. In fact, our goal is for scouts to take the skills they learn in the Crew back to their home troop and plan new outings for younger scouts. We put our meeting on Sunday evening because it is unlikely to interfere with troop meetings or weekend outings.

How would my scouts register? Scouts currently registered with a troop can maintain their current troop as their primary registration. Crew 412 will be a secondary registration, and require no further payment. Participants who are not currently part of a troop or who are over 18 can register with Crew 412 as their primary registration. Participants ages 18-20 will need to submit clearances as young adults.

How can I help? We are actively seeking adults to serve as committee members, attend outings, and spread the word about venturing! If you are interested in helping out, or have any questions about the crew, please let us know!

What is next? We are going to decide on next summer’s big adventure on Oct 13, at the end of our weekend backpacking trip, and are happy to add new crew members at any time. If you’d like to have our crew visit your troop to discuss high adventure, please let us know! For more information, please contact us at PittsburghCrew412@gmail.com