Colorado Mountain Club

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rayers1001
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by rayers1001 »

globreal wrote:
rayers1001 wrote:Hey folks,

I'm relatively new to Colorado and I've been considering buying a membership to CMC. What are your opinions of the membership benefits? Worth it? Thanks in advance for your feedback and experience.
I thought I would chime in here. The reason being, the threads that Bill posted are all pretty old conversations....the latest being a 2013 thread and going back to 2008. Some things have changed.

First, my reason for joining. I had already climbed all of the 14ers...ranked and unranked. And I had climbed the Centennials along with many other 13ers. And I have done a fair amount of winter climbing and even now do rock climbing. So some would ask, with that much experience, why join the CMC? Well, I am now climbing the state highpoints, and so I wanted to get glacier travel &crevasse rescue experience for Rainier and Denali. So, I wanted to take the CMC HAMS (High Altitude Mountaineering School) class. It was excellent and I highly recommend HAMS.

So, for me the CMC is totally worth getting involved with because of their classes alone. They are very affordable and way less than a guide service. I would rather learn the skills and knowledge, than to check my brain at the trailhead and to rely on a guide to think for me. (Go to CMC.org to see all the different types of classes. There are tons of them.)

The club is no longer an 'old fart" club. I believe there are over 6,000 members across the state and the last couple of years, most of the growth was the under 30 age group. I believe this is due primarily to the new membership rates. Here is the current annual cost to join:
Individual $70 yearly ($125 2-year)
Family $115 yearly ($215 2-year)
Under 30 $30 yearly

There has been a lot of comments about the ratings of climbs and climbers. That has been relaxed somewhat from what I can tell. At least down here in the Pikes Peak Group. I wouldn't let your fear of a "rating system" be a deterrent from joining the club or trying to go on a trip. Usually you can just talk to the trip leader and if you are in reasonable shape, you should be good to go on most trips. There are some exceptions on more dangerous climbs where skills are required.

And lastly, one of the best things about the CMC is making new friends. I climb a lot with the people I've met in the club primarily because they are doing some of the same type of climbs I am doing. It seems to me like a lot of the people on this .com site join to climb the 14ers. Once they have completed "the list", many of those people then fade away. While I've got loads of 14er.com friends, it seems like I've stayed in closer touch with many of my CMC climbing friends.

My suggestion to anyone considering the CMC....try it for a year. Take a class or two...I guarantee you'll learn something. And then see if you want to renew your membership the next year. All you've got to loose is a few bucks, but you'll gain knowledge and friends and that's will be worth what you spent for a one year membership.

Climb on....and Onwards!
Thanks for that information and for your thoughtful response. I sent an email over to PPG address asking about prospective member sessions. Hopefully, they check their email regularly. I'd like to meet some of the folks involved.
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rayers1001
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by rayers1001 »

TallGrass wrote:
rayers1001 wrote:I'm relatively new to Colorado and I've been considering buying a membership to CMC. What are your opinions of the membership benefits? Worth it?
What are you looking to do, goals? What do you want to learn? What ways of learning (book, class, hands on, solo, one-on-one, group, comes naturally, takes some practice, weeks of patience, ...) have suited you best? What things attract you and which would you sacrifice for others if you had to?
In my 3ish years here, I have done a handful of the Colorado 14ers and Whitney in California. The most challenging summits I have completed are Longs Peak and the Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans combo. I only know a few experienced folks and I don't believe they are going to push me beyond what I have already completed. So, I'm looking to get formal training to supplement my existing experience and give me confidence to continue increasing my mountaineering skill set. Hands-on learning within a small group is usually the most successful way for me to learn.

If I can meet some new climbing buddies, that will definitely be welcomed and it will be icing on the cake.

I live in Castle Rock. So, I'm leaning toward checking out the Pikes Peak group.
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SurfNTurf
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by SurfNTurf »

Disclaimer: I work full time as marketing manager for the CMC.

In addition to what's already been said, I'd just like to reiterate that the Club has made great strides in the past five years to grow the young member base, increase the perks and incentives, and offer more fun events that celebrate and bring together the local climbing community. It's a great place to learn new skills and meet fellow adventurers. Or, if you're more on the practical side, your membership comes with about 100 pro deals on major outdoor brands through Experticity (like Iman said). It's not hard to find ways to make your registration more than worth it.

Feel free to PM me here or e-mail jeffgolden@cmc.org if you have any questions.
“There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” - Alex Lowe

"There have been joys too great to describe in words, and there have been griefs upon which I cannot dare to dwell; and with those in mind I say, 'Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.'" - Edward Whymper
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by I Man »

SurfNTurf wrote:Disclaimer: I work full time as marketing manager for the CMC.

In addition to what's already been said, I'd just like to reiterate that the Club has made great strides in the past five years to grow the young member base, increase the perks and incentives, and offer more fun events that celebrate and bring together the local climbing community. It's a great place to learn new skills and meet fellow adventurers. Or, if you're more on the practical side, your membership comes with about 100 pro deals on major outdoor brands through Experticity (like Iman said). It's not hard to find ways to make your registration more than worth it.

Feel free to PM me here or e-mail jeffgolden@cmc.org if you have any questions.
I would echo what Jeff said about a younger crowd and making great strides to remain relevant. I know many friends who have shy'd away from the CMC, despite interest, because they were too damned experienced to start at the beginning. I know for myself, both CMC Denver and Boulder groups waived all requirements and let me step into an instructor/leadership role on day 1. I have met some great people and gotten exactly what I wanted, the opportunity to share my love of big mountain climbers with others - both people who have done more than I have, and those who are just starting out and don't know where to begin. The group is not 14er focused, which is really nice since a forum like this greatly diminishes the importance of rock, ice, snow, glacier travel skills etc...
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+Gravy
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by +Gravy »

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Last edited by +Gravy on Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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coopereitel
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by coopereitel »

The pro deal you get by being a member paid for my membership right away.

I'm also in their Wilderness Trekking School and have done a couple of trips which is cool.
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by Alpinefroggy »

+Gravy wrote: Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:10 am Resurrecting this one.
I have some more questions about CMC, including specific q's about meeting pre-reqs (for example, am I really just hosed from now until Fall that there arent anymore basic climbing waiver classes?), is anyone on here still involved?
I'd get in contact with some of the folks in the club. I am a member and in their intro to snow climbing courses and stuff. Waivers are pretty instructor dependent. In the sense that if you can demonstrate either with a list of climbs, a specific appointment to meet them in their climbing wall for an appointment etc. It is quite possible to demonstrate your abilities and get out of taking BMS. Unfortunately if you cannot do that yeah you're hosed on all their instruction being out of reach until you do that.

But I would get in contact with the instructor for the class you're interested in and ask about waivers. They may be able to work with you.

I bypassed their WTS this way. Since I demonstrated that I had plenty of experiences outside backpacking and hiking and stuff and was able to get into BMS in September and then take their ACS modules this year.
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by +Gravy »

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Last edited by +Gravy on Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ltlFish99
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by ltlFish99 »

I think the CMC is absolutely wonderful.
I joined in 1987 after I got tired of friends doing nothing but talk about hiking, etc.
All the friends would do is talk, talk, talk, then create some lame excuse for canceling out on any actual trips.
At the orientation talk, they gave me the schedule with 3,000 trips in it. I was so excited. I was completely new to hiking and took as many of thier classes as soon as I could.
I became hooked, and went on cmc trips constantly.
I met a lot of wonderful people interested in the same things.
I met a few people in june of 1990, and by December of 1990, we were in Ecuador.
The following year we went to Bolivia.
I hiked Rainier in August of 1988 with people I met in the cmc.
In Feburary of 1999, 20 of us from the CMC went to the selkirks in Canada for a week of skinning mountains to ski them.
Plus as others have mentioned, the discounts on equipment paid for more than my fees, especially in the beginning when I was buying more gear.

I know I sound a little zealous about the club, but I completely recommend it.
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by cottonmountaineering »

im personally not a member, but every time i've encountered them (even in canada!) the group members have been competent and nice
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by jbealer »

I joined the club back in 2018 to take my AIARE 1 course, i then took the quick knot tying class and took the HAMS class 2020 which we will finish up this yr. With experience and a good resume along with friends in the club that vouched for me i was able to bypass some of the classes to get into HAMS. It has been a great experience.
I also became a trip leader this past fall and lead more of the tougher class 3 and 13er/14er peaks since we know there is a demand for that. I am helping with a group of others to from the new High Peaks section for the club to promote more trips for the taller/harder mountains here in CO.
Everyone else that has chimed in have also given other great reasons to join the club, we were/still are kind of stuck with Covid issues but are doing our best to work with what we have. most classes are running on line with field day meetings outside.
you are welcome to do some things as a guest if you want to see what it is all about before joining as well.
and as most have stated the discount on gear pays for the membership!
send me a message if you have any questions, i am in the denver group.
No Mountain too steep, No trail too long....
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Re: Colorado Mountain Club

Post by Scott P »

rayers1001 wrote: Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:49 pm What are your opinions of the membership benefits? Worth it?
I think it is worth it if the club has an active chapter in the area where you live. If not, I don't know if it is worth it. I let my membership expire a few years after I moved to Craig. Most trips were on the Front Range and in popular areas. If you live on the Front Range it's great. If you live in Craig, not so much.

This isn't a complaint, and I think highly of the CMC, but the CMC is more of a Front Range Mountaineering Club than a Colorado Mountaineering Club.

I used to be a very active member when I lived in Fruita and led a lot of trips. I'm back in Grand Junction, but that chapter isn't so active anymore. I think the one thing that killed it is that they started to require that all trip leaders had to be officially certified (at least for anything that wasn't just a hike). While this is actually a really good idea, the downside was that all the certifications had to be done in Golden or around Denver. A lot of them were one hour evening classes in Golden for the space of a couple weeks (I don't know if it is still like that). This effectively reduced the amount of trip leaders in the outlying areas. If you didn't live in the area, you would have to take two weeks off work and find two weeks of lodging just to attend a one hour seminar in the evening for a couple weeks. Plus take the other classes on the Front Range.

Maybe things have changed and you can do them online. I don't know. I haven't been a member for several years now. Maybe when the kids move away (not that far away) I'll join again since I will have lost my long term outdoor partners.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
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