⛺🏞️ Boy Scouts Mountain Climb

Gear up, scouts! We’re conquering the project mountain together—let’s celebrate achievements, map tricky terrain, and clear out the obstacles. Raise your voices around our virtual campfire as we prepare for our next summit!
40–55 min
4-10 people
Based on: Glad, Sad, Mad
⛺🏞️ Boy Scouts Mountain Climb

Template Columns

🏕️ Campfire Cheers

Share the moments that made you proud or happy as we scaled the mountain together.

Base column: Glad
🏔️ Rocky Trails

Reflect on challenging or disappointing moments along our ascent to reach greater heights next time.

Base column: Sad
🐻 Bear Encounters

Call out frustrations or obstacles that blocked our path so we can tame them for our next adventure.

Base column: Mad

About this template

The Boy Scouts Mountain Climb retrospective uses a fun expedition theme to help your team celebrate wins, discuss setbacks, and tackle persistent obstacles together.

When to use this template

Use this retrospective after completing a major project phase, sprint, or milestone—especially when morale needs a boost and the team would benefit from collaborative problem-solving.

How to facilitate

1

Welcome the team and set the mountain climb theme, encouraging everyone to bring a spirit of adventure and openness.

2

Briefly explain each column: Campfire Cheers for successes, Rocky Trails for challenges, and Bear Encounters for obstacles and frustrations.

3

Give participants quiet time to add their thoughts to each column, encouraging honesty and humor where fitting.

4

Invite the team to share their cards, reading aloud and elaborating as needed to ensure shared understanding.

5

Cluster similar items and facilitate a discussion around emerging themes, focusing on patterns or surprises.

6

Guide the team to brainstorm concrete actions for overcoming the most impactful Bear Encounters and Rocky Trails.

7

Review and agree on a prioritized set of actions for the next climb (work phase), assigning ownership if possible.

8

Close the session by celebrating team progress and expressing appreciation for everyone’s contributions around the virtual campfire.

Pro Tips

Invite everyone to share a virtual background or icon related to camping or mountains to boost engagement and playfulness.

Use storytelling language to help participants see challenges and wins as shared adventures, not just isolated events.

Keep the focus on actionable problems—when discussing obstacles, always ask what the team can try or experiment with next.

Limit discussion tangents by gently guiding the group back to the main ‘trail’ when needed.

FAQ

What if the team has trouble sharing challenges or obstacles?

Start by modeling vulnerability yourself, and remind everyone that every climb has rocky patches—focus on learning, not blame.

How can I keep the campfire theme engaging without being distracting?

Introduce small thematic touches, like fun virtual backgrounds or scout lingo, but keep the main focus on meaningful discussion and outcomes.

What’s the best way to turn Bear Encounters into actionable steps?

Ask the team to suggest small experiments or changes for each obstacle, then pick one or two to try in the next iteration.

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At a glance

  • Duration

    40–55 min

  • Team Size

    4-10 people

  • Columns

    3 columns

  • Base Format

    Glad, Sad, Mad

Tags

team morale
reflection
problem-solving
action-oriented
engagement
themed retrospective

Ready to get started?

Use this template to run your next retrospective