A Klondike Derby is an annual event held by some Boy Scouts of America councils during the winter months, usually January. At a Klondike Derby, each troop within the council brings a dog sled, usually one that they have constructed as a troop project. The troop pulls their sled around the hosting campground, moving between stations, typically named after Alaskan towns, and demonstrates to the station-masters (also called 'mayors') their skill and knowledge on such topics as national history, ropework, knot-tying, proper use of tools, map-reading, and fire-building, and are awarded points based on their performance. At the end of the event, the troops with the highest point totals are recognized at an awards ceremony. To get a good idea of what the Klondike Derby is like for the average scout, imagine lugging a 150 pound sled around for 8 hours, completing mundane tasks from racing around as fast as you can after 7 hours of running around, or constructing a structure you can live in, usally in below freezing point tempature, without any food or water except for the twenty minutes you have to prepare a meal in the middle of the snow from scratch. Sleds in the Klondike Derby are made of anything from wood to piping.
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