When I first joined the Scouts, I was lucky: the scoutmaster had served with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy during WW-II. He was interested in teaching us how to climb, ski tour and hike. The hiking and climbing parts were easy in Southern California, the ski touring was less so; Mt. Baldy a few times. There wasn't really too much emphasis on merit badges then; mostly it was outdoor activity. This lasted for a couple of years and then he left to take a job in Montana. His replacement was a real couch potato and I dropped out shortly after he started as scoutmaster.