The Colorado Mountain Club | |
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Abbreviation | CMC |
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Formation | 1912 |
Type | Nonprofit |
84-0410760 | |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
Headquarters | Golden, Colorado |
Region | Colorado |
Membership | ~7,500 [1] |
Board President | Peter Hamilton |
Chief Executive Officer | Madeline Bachner Lane |
Website | https://www.cmc.org/ |
The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), formed in 1912, [2] is a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) outdoor education organization based in Golden, Colorado that gathers and disseminates information regarding Colorado's mountains in the areas of art, science, literature and recreation. The club advocates for the preservation of the alpine regions, and was instrumental in the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park. [3] The CMC has its own press with over 30 published titles.
From 25 charter members in 1912, the club rapidly grew to 200 members barely a year later, when the CMC became a nonprofit corporation. Charter members included such notable historic figures as Enos Mills, Roger Toll, and Carl Blaurock. [4]
In 1914, the club published a resolution endorsing a congressional bill for the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park. [5]
In 1919, the club began a campaign for the elimination of advertising signs and billboards in the Denver Mountain Park system. [6]
In 1921, the club established a new official branch in Fort Collins. At this point, the club had about one thousand members, with membership dues set at $4 per year. [7]
In 1974, the club purchased its first permanent home in Denver, Colorado. In 1993, the CMC partnered with the American Alpine Club to found the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, Colorado. [8] The building houses the largest mountaineering library in the world, as well as a state-of-the-art museum, which opened in February, 2008, and is named for famed mountaineer Henry Bradford Washburn Jr.
In September 2024, the club announced that the American Mountaineering Center was being sold and the organization would relocate. [9] . The new CMC Basecamp is still located in Golden.
The CMC has a state-level organization along with 12 local groups, serving communities such as Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Roaring Fork. [10]
The club first ventured into education by forming a mountaineering school in 1939. Today, the club offers classes in a variety of subjects, including wilderness trekking, nature photography, mountaineering, climbing, wilderness first aid, fly fishing, and leadership. Classes are taught by volunteers and often involve lectures and field days.
Members of the club are able to sign up for trips, most of which take place within the state of Colorado. Trips are led by volunteer trip leaders who handle the planning and organization as well as the execution. Trips may include such activities as hiking, climbing, fishing, and photography and are offered at various levels of difficulty. The club's adventure travel program also provides international travel opportunities.
The CMC has a conservation committee that is active in representing hiker interests in the state of Colorado. It also conducts volunteer trail work throughout the state to help maintain and build hiking trails.
The CMC is the official repository for summit registers on Colorado's popular fourteeners. It also maintains the comprehensive list of each person who has climbed all 53 of these high peaks. It also provides a free online system called mySummits for hikers to report summits of Colorado's 100 highest peaks.