Snow Sports Merit Badge

The seven requirements, with the option choice drawn where it actually has to happen (ahead of the fitness and clothing requirements that name it), and the four options drawn out in full.

8 steps (55 parts inside them). 48 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Snow Sports Merit Badge

No questions answered

This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the question at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.

Which of this applies to you

You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering one question will take out the parts that are not for you.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 7

1 step

1. Hazards, and the injuries they cause Requirement

Two parts, both discussion with your counselor. Nothing here depends on which option you take.
2 parts
- 1(a). The hazards you are most likely to meet
- 1(b). First aid for cold-weather injuries

Stage 2 of 7

1 step

2. Being ready when somebody else is hurt Requirement

Two parts. This is about the accident that happens to another person.
2 parts
- 2(a). Why every participant should be ready to give first aid
- 2(b). How to report an accident

Stage 3 of 7

1 step

3. The international trail-marking system Task

Explain it. One step, and the one that makes the slope grades in Options A and C readable.

Stage 4 of 7

1 step

7. ONE of four options, and answer this before requirements 4 and 5 Often forgotten Decision

A and C need a lift-served ski area. B and D need a map and compass, and each states an adaptive alternative that A and C do not. D needs no ski area at all and is seven-tenths discussion. Requirements 4 and 5 both name this choice, so it has to be made ahead of them.

ANSWER THIS BEFORE REQUIREMENTS 4 AND 5, both of them name it. Beyond that, compare the four by what they cost to reach rather than by difficulty: A and C need a lift-served ski area and a ticket; B needs groomed trails and a 4-mile tour; D needs snow, snowshoes and a map. Only B and D state an adaptive alternative.
48 parts
- 7(A). Option A, Downhill (Alpine) skiing Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(1). Wax, maintain, and the DIN standard Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(2). The American Teaching System Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(3). Types of Alpine ski, and carrying them Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(4). Ride one lift, explain two more Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(5). Beginning manoeuvres on a gentle slope Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(6). Linked wedge turns Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(7). Five to 10 christies Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(8). A controlled run down an intermediate slope Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(9). Ski in varied conditions Optional May not apply
- 7(A)(10). The major US ski organisations Optional May not apply
- 7(B). Option B: Cross-country (Nordic) skiing Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(1). Select, use and maintain your equipment Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(2). The reasons behind the trail rules Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(3). Classic, skating, touring and telemark skis Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(4). Waxing for ski touring Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(5). Four kinds of skiing, distinguished Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(6). What you would take on a one-day tour Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(7). Topographic map and compass Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(8). Speed and direction on a gentle packed slope Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(9). Effective propulsion on a trail Optional May not apply
- 7(B)(10). A 4-mile tour in varied snow Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 7(B)(11). Steep hills and difficult conditions Optional May not apply
- 7(C). Option C, Snowboarding Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(1). Forward-fall injuries Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(2). Select the right equipment Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(3). Bindings and leashes Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(4). The four types of snowboard, and carrying one Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(5). Ride one lift, explain two more Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(6). Waxing a snowboard Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(7). Two slopes, both required Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(7)(a). Beginning manoeuvres on a gentle slope Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(7)(b). Traversing on steeper terrain Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(8). An ollie, a nose-end grab and a wheelie Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(9). A controlled run down an intermediate slope Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(10). Ride in varied conditions Optional May not apply
- 7(C)(11). The major US snowboarding organisations Optional May not apply
- 7(D). Option D, Snowshoeing Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 7(D)(1). Name the parts of a snowshoe Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(2). Choosing the correct size Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(3). Types of snowshoe and what they are for Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(4). Care and maintenance Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(5). What you would take on a one-day hike Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(6). Where to snowshoe, and the backcountry Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(7). The benefits of snowshoeing Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(8). Break trail, climb, descend, traverse Optional May not apply
- 7(D)(9). A 2-mile hike in varied snow Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 7(D)(10). Topographic map and compass Optional May not apply

Stage 5 of 7

2 steps

4. Get fit: for the option you have not picked yet Often forgotten Task

Discuss the importance of strength, endurance and flexibility, then demonstrate exercises for "the option you choose in requirement 7". Requirement 7 is three numbers further down the page. Pick the option before you start this.

Usually comes after 7. ONE of four options, and answer this before requirements 4 and 5.

THIS CANNOT BE DONE UNTIL YOU HAVE CHOSEN AN OPTION. The requirement says it itself: exercises "to get fit for the option you choose in requirement 7". Getting fit for a 4-mile cross-country tour is not getting fit for a snowboard. Requirement 7 is three numbers further down the page, and this is the first of two requirements that reach forward to it.
5. Turn up dressed: for the option you have not picked yet Often forgotten Task

Present yourself properly clothed and equipped for "the option you choose in requirement 7", and discuss how the clothing keeps you warm and protected. The second requirement on this badge that cannot be met until the option is chosen.

Usually comes after 7. ONE of four options, and answer this before requirements 4 and 5.

THE SAME FORWARD REFERENCE AGAIN: "properly clothed and equipped for the option you choose in requirement 7". What you turn up in for a day of snowshoeing is not what you would wear sitting on a lift. Pick the option first; this requirement is a presentation, so there is no way to bluff it.

Stage 6 of 7

1 step

6. Codes and avalanche safety, all three, whatever you chose Requirement

Three parts, all required regardless of option. Two of them are about places your option may never take you, and they are required anyway.
3 parts
- 6(a). Your Responsibility Code, where you are going Often forgotten
- 6(b). SMART Style
- 6(c). Avalanche safety

Stage 7 of 7

1 step

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 7(A). Option A, Downhill (Alpine) skiing, 7(B). Option B: Cross-country (Nordic) skiing and 2 others.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.