Prospective meetings are usually held once a month for the Denver Group. These meetings feature informative and interesting videos and briefings on hiking skills and trip policies, and are strongly recommended for all new members. Signup is not required to attend, but preferred. All are welcome! Please see our calendar for the date and time of upcoming member meeting.
The Colorado Mountain Club is organized into local groups. When you join the CMC, you join one of the local Groups. Your local group will provide the majority of Club services that you receive. All activities of any group are open to all CMC members regardless of group affiliation. We also have a group for Young Adults called Alpine Start. You can find out more about our Groups here.
You can join any group in the CMC, regardless of where you live. Typically a member chooses the Group that is geographically closest to his or her home. No matter what group you join, you can always participate in any group’s activities.
Family Memberships are designed for family members living at the same address. Each member will have their own member number and membership card. If you want to transition your individual membership into a Family Membership, contact our State Membership Service team and we will get your family members added.
Rocky Mountain Over the Hill Gang is a group of hikers/bikers/skiers and, most importantly, friends over 50. In other words, a bunch of folks "of a certain age" (definitely NOT old) who love to get out and do and prove we don't have any feet in the grave yet! In addition, food ranks high on our priority list so most activities include eating one way or another. In the past we have sponsored everything from ethnic dinners to raft trips, to castle visits, as well as our outdoor activities.
CMC Trailblazers are a section of the Denver Group for members ages 21-40. Our purpose goes beyond the normal hiking and snow adventures of the club to create a network of peers who can be contacted for many different outdoor and social activities. In addition to monthly happy hours that attract many people per event, we have movie and dance nights, First Friday art walks, concerts, volleyball, BBQs, rafting trips, and much more.
Membership cards are not a necessity for all members to have! All of our member benefits can be acquired through online codes, emails, and specific links. For any in person benefit redemption, our partners also accept digital proof of membership.
If you still wish to have a membership card, it can be mailed to you upon request in either a digital or hard copy. Please reach out to office@cmc.org with your request.
Click on our Calendar to find all of our available trips, schools, events, and volunteer opportunities.
The CMC encourages all hikers to carry the following 10-essentials:
2 liters of water- don’t drink untreated stream or lake water
Lunch, plus extra food
Rain/wind parka and pants
Extra layers of clothing: wool or synthetic materials. Gloves, hat, extra socks.
Waterproof matches or lighter, plus fire starter
Sunglasses and/or goggles
Sunscreen and lip balm
Pocket knife
First Aid supplies
Flashlight or headlamp
Toilet paper and zip lock bag to carry out the used toilet paper.
While each group has their own guidelines, we strongly suggest the guidelines currently used by our largest Group, the Denver Group. The Denver Group allows carpool drivers to charge each passenger a mileage rate to defray expenses. The recommendation is 30-cents per mile per car, with all occupants, including the driver, sharing the mileage. However, so larger vehicles are more costly to operate and drivers are free to increase the rate as necessary.
Please call or e-mail Membership Services to add or delete a family member. Phone: (303) 279-3080 or E-Mail.
Classification is only applicable to the Denver Group. Please see this worksheet on how to change your classification.
When you log into the CMC website, you should see an icon entitled "My Membership" on your Member Dashboard. that is titled Personal Data. From here you can update your login information, address and emergency contact. Please be sure to keep all of this up-to-date as it helps ensure that we provide you with the best service.
The Denver Group has a classification system for members. These guidelines were to established ensure that participants on our trips are qualified and prepared to participate in the varying levels of difficulty on the wide range of trips offered. This helps ensure the safety, enjoyment, and success of our trips for all of our members.
Hikes (including some trips that require rock-climbing skills) are normally classified as A through D:
Backpacking Trip Classifications are assigned a rating for the entire trip based on the most difficult day of the trip:
Generally, pace is described as:
The CMC is not a professional guide service and our leaders are not professional guides. Our leaders are all volunteers who all have a minimum of basic first aid training and have completed the trip leader requirements set by the Group for which they lead trips.
All ages are welcome to be CMC members. We do ask that any member under 18 requires an adult and/or consulting the individual Trip Leader or School Director prior to sign-up.
Children under the age of 14 are not permitted on Denver Group trips or in its schools. However, children are welcome on other groups’ trips at the discretion of the leader.
The Colorado Wilderness Families Group welcomes you to participate in their family friendly activities.
Dogs are not permitted on most CMC hikes except when listed in the Activity Schedule as a “Doggie Hike.”
Colorado Mountain Club Adventure Travel Trips take members and guests to the world's most incredible destinations. You can see more of our current trips here.
Parking is free EVERY DAY in Golden. All on-street parking, the public parking lots, and TWO parking garages all provide FREE parking in Golden. The two garages are on Jackson Street–one between 11th and 12th Streets, and one between 12th and 13th. Check the Map of free parking in Golden
Login to your CMC account and visit Leader Resources for instructions.
You may lead trips based on your classification and training recorded in your CMC file. Each group has its own criteria. Check your Group Website for specifics. There are many options, these are the most common:
Scheduling any space at the AMC must be done through Membership Services. Please call them to schedule the climbing wall. Then, you will need to post the “Trip” for members to sign up on the CMC site under the Trip Type- “Climbing Wall”
These trip reports are audited yearly and are vital to our organization's funds received from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
How to Complete a trip report
Go To The “Roster”
Check off people who no-showed
Add other people who came – including Guests
Select “Save Roster”
Complete the boxes:
Total Activity Hours- you must fill in the box
Trailhead location or Activity Site- optional
Describe Access Problems- optional
Use the Navex Ethicspoint reporting tool to officially report unethical behavior or misconduct.
Make an anonymous report online at: coloradomountainclub.ethicspoint.com
Mobile: coloradomountainclubmobile.ethicspoint.com
Phone: 844-929-4258
Ask questions… Make informed decisions
Types of issues to report: Our Hotline allows volunteers, members, or employees to confidentially ask questions or report concerns without the fear of retaliation.
• Discrimination or harassment
• Code violations
• Conflicts of interest
• Theft/fraud/bribery
• Environmental/safety
• Accounting/financial
• Policy violations
Online: coloradomountainclub.ethicspoint.com
Why do we have a hotline?
It’s not enough to encourage members and volunteers to act ethically – we must give them the tools and resources they need to make good decisions and speak up with confidence about any actual, potential or suspected misconduct. That is why we have a hotline – as a resource members, staff, and volunteers can use to speak up about concerns when they don’t feel comfortable speaking to their trip leaders, school director, or staff leadership. Making a report also makes the complaint official. After making a report you will be contacted about follow-up actions and there will be a record of the behavior reported.
Mobile:
coloradomountainclubmobile.ethicspoint.com
Online:
coloradomountainclub.ethicspoint.com
Call Toll-free:
844-929-4258
Working together, we can prevent unethical, illegal or unsafe activity before it causes harm. Thank you for your commitment and your cooperation.
How does the hotline work?
When someone contacts the hotline:
Our success as an organization is built on a foundation of ethical decision-making and a commitment by every employee and volunteer to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct on the job and in the field. The best way to sustain an ethical culture is for each of us to act with integrity every day – doing the right thing when it comes to our own behavior, being aware of what’s going on around us, being willing to learn from mistakes, and being willing to speak up when we see or suspect activity that could harm our organization.
Help us put integrity in action – your role is to speak up if you know of or suspect any unethical behavior. Our role is to listen. Report any violations or get more information by contacting the hotline.
Click on our Calendar to find all of our available trips, classes, events, and volunteer opportunities
Yes, CMC classes are a benefit of membership and you must be a member to participate.
Yes, additional fees do apply, but cost is often much lower than our competitors. The fee is to cover the actual costs of running the class.
Denver, Boulder, Pikes Peak and Fort Collins groups currently offer classes. Members from all groups are welcome to attend.
The CMC has a small and dedicated staff, but the overwhelming majority of its activities,courses, trips and benefits are the product of unpaid volunteers who do so purely out of their love for the Colorado mountains and the CMC . We are always looking for more volunteers to help the CMC meet its challenging mission.
Would you like to lead a trip, teach a course, work on a trial project, belay kids on the climbing wall, work on a newsletter, perform a research project, design marketing materials, volunteer at a CMC event or perform other fun and challenging service?
Please contact the appropriate volunteer coordinator and get connected with a volunteer opportunity right for you.
Event Volunteer
Youth Education Volunteer
Stewardship Project Volunteer
Marketing/Design Volunteer
Denver Newsletter
Trip Leaders are the heart and soul of the Colorado Mountain Club! Volunteer leaders provide safe, fun, and challenging mountain adventures to CMC members and guests.
Although each Group has different procedures for becoming a trip leader, all CMC leaders must follow CMC’s policies and procedures and use the State Safety and Leadership Manual as a guide for leading trips. Please click here for more information about trip leader requirements for your group.
Each Group has its own method of recruiting, process, and training school instructors. Please contact the Group's School Director for more information.
Once a summit register is turned into the office it is stored in the archives for safe keeping. We do not currently have the manpower to file and organize the peak registers. If you are interested in volunteering for this project, please contact the office.
Summit Completion forms are due October 15th of each year.
Summit completion form is printed every year in the Winter edition of Trail & Timberline. The winter edition is published in December.
Anyone who has met the summit completion requirements can be included in the summit completion register. You do not have to be a member to be included.
Have you completed the fourteeners? Click here for the completion form.