About CMC Boulder Group Trips

Searching for Trips

There are several ways to search for trips:

• The State CMC Online Activity Schedule: This has the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on CMC trips. You may search for trips offered in both the Boulder Group and other CMC groups. Go to www.cmc.org. Login with your member number. Click on Trip Signup in the left margin. Enter your search criteria.

• The Boulder Group Monthly Compass Newsletter: This publication is postal mailed or emailed to Boulder Group members monthly. The Compass lists Boulder Group trips for the month of the publication. It also provides instructions on how to access the state CMC online Activity Schedule. To view the current Compass online, go to www.cmcboulder.org/compass/currentIssue.pdf.

• The Boulder Group Weekly GPS e-Newsletter: The GPS is emailed weekly to those who have signed up to receive it. This lists a subset of the upcoming trips in the Boulder Group only and provides a link to the state CMC online Activity Schedule. To view the current GPS online, go to www.cmcboulder.org/gps/CurrentGPS.htm.

• The Boulder Group Website: This lists a subset of the upcoming trips in the Boulder Group only. Go to www.cmcboulder.org/. Click on the Upcoming Trips button.

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Signing Up for Trips

• Boulder Group Trips: To sign up for Boulder Group trips, contact the trip leader directly. Contact them at least 3 days before, but no more than 4 weeks prior to the trip date. Phone call only between the hours of 9am and 9pm. This applies to all trip types including rock climbing trips. You do not need to be certified to sign up for Boulder Group trips. If the leader does not know you and your abilities, they may ask about your experience and ask for references. At the leader's discretion, non-CMC members may sign up for trips, but they must sign the CMC Waiver of Liability form. Participants should inform the leader at the time of signup of any medical condition which is relevant.

• Denver Group Trips: Boulder Group members are welcome to participate in Denver Group trips but will have to contact the leader directly rather than use their online sign-up process.

• Other CMC Group Trips: Contact the trip leaders for other CMC Groups.

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Trip Participation

The following are guidelines for trip participants:

• Pre-trip Preparation: Sign up for trips that are well within your abilities. Don't sign up for an intermediate ski tour if you're really a beginner. For the safety and enjoyment of the rest of the group, it's better to underestimate rather than overestimate your abilities.

• Carpooling: Carpooling is recommended. Drivers customarily charge each passenger up to ten cents per mile to defray expenses. The actual rate may differ slightly. Please remember that for official purposes, CMC trips begin and end at the trailhead. Carpooling is a voluntary service offered by and accepted by trip participants as private individuals.

• Carry the Ten Essentials: This includes map & compass for navigation, sun protection, extra clothing, illumination, first-aid supplies, fire starter, repair kit & tools, food, water and an emergency shelter. For more info, see the printed Activity Schedule.

• Let the Leader Lead: The leader or co-leader is always the first one in the party, unless he or she has specifically stated otherwise. The rear leader should be the last. Ask permission or notify the leader if you need to take a break for any reason.

• Speak Up: If you're feeling ill or if the trip pace is too fast, tell the leader so that they can adjust the trip as soon as possible.

• Evacuation: If you are injured or incapacitated on a trip, the leader may determine that you require evacuation and will arrange for the appropriate assistance. The CMC will not be liable for any associated costs.

• Give Feedback: The Safety Committee, the Outings Committee, the Mountaineering School, and the Boulder Group Council welcome hearing from you about your trip experience.

• Leaving the Group: It is not advisable to leave the group once the trip has begun. If you insist on leaving the group against the leader's advice, you may be asked to sign the roster, indicating your understanding that you are no longer part of the CMC trip and assume the risk for leaving the group.

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Trip Rules General

• Rules and Regulations: CMC trips must follow all applicable regulations enacted by governmental agencies or private land owners. Trip leaders should contact the Outings Chair at [protected email address] to obtain permits required for locations such as the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

• Guests: All guests must sign the CMC Waiver of Liability form.

• Size: The group must be no fewer than 4 and no more than 10 persons.

• Leader: Every trip must have a leader who is at least 18 years old, a CMC member, and formally approved by the Boulder Group.

• Co-leader: Every trip must have a co-leader who is at least 18 years old and a CMC member. The function of the co-leader is to share responsibility with the leader. The co-leader must be capable of taking charge in case the leader becomes unable to continue.

• Minors: No person under 14 is allowed on a trip unless accompanied by a parent. No person between ages 14 and 18 is allowed on a trip unless accompanied by a parent, or with written parental consent. Leaders may decide whether to allow any person under age of 18 on a trip.

• Participant List: The trip leader must maintain a written list of participants.

• Trip Changes: If the original destination of a trip is found to be impractical immediately before the trip, the leader may select a new destination and route. The new trip plan must be similar in type and difficulty to the original plan and the leader must leave a message on the CMC Boulder Clubroom telephone (303 554-7688) indicating the new destination and route.

• Accident Reports: The leader must report accidents to the Boulder Group Chair, Vice-Chair, or Safety-Committee Chair within 24 hours, and provide a written report of the accident to the Safety committee within 10 days. The Accident Report can also be filled out online at the state website, cmc.org, by the trip leader. To do so: login with your normal CMC login. Then click the "Leader" link at the top of the page (next to other links "Search" and "Logout"). This takes you to a page listing your leader trips. Find your trip on which the accident occurred, and click the "Roster" link, which takes you to a Roster listing with other input fields for an Activity Report (used by the Denver group). Locate and click the "Incident/Activity" checkbox; this causes a new link to appear beside the checkbox, "Incident/Accident Report Form." Click on this link, and a fillable pdf form will appear. Input your information, which can then be printed out BY PRESSING CTRL-P ON YOUR KEYBOARD (these instructions do NOT appear in the window). Note that you can save your input session by clicking the Save button, and finish your input at later time.

• Leave at Home: The following items are prohibited on CMC trips:

  1. Firearms of any type

  2. Portable entertainment devices, such as games, radios, music and video players, etc

  3. Pets, with the following exception: Dogs may be allowed at discretion of trip leader so long as land use regulations are met and the trip description clearly states that the trip is a dog trip.

  4. Mobile phones may be carried, but must be turned off at the trailhead and may be used in case of emergency only.

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Trip Rules Rock Climbs

Boulder Group rock climbing trips have these additional rules:

• Helmets: The trip leader, co-leader(s) and participants are all required to wear CE / UIAA certified climbing helmets.

• Set-up and Take-down of Anchors: Only the trip leader and trip co-leader(s) may set up and take down anchors used during climbs. This applies to all levels of rock climbing trips.

• Only Trip Leaders and Co-leaders on the Sharp End Only the trip leader and trip co-leader(s) may be on the sharp end of the rope or, in other words, may lead-climb during the trip. The participants of the trip must always be top-belayed.

• Checking Out Equipment from the Clubroom: Climbing equipment that belongs to the Boulder Group -- helmets, ropes and gear -- may be used for Boulder Group trips. Go to the clubroom during clubroom hours to pick up and return the equipment. There are "Check Out" and "Check In" forms that must be filled out. If you have any questions about the equipment in the clubroom, contact the BMS Equipment Manager at [protected email address]. Once the equipment has been used for the trip, it must be returned to the clubroom promptly and in the same condition as when it was checked out.

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Scheduling Trips

• Online at the State Website: Trips may be submitted online at the state website, www.cmc.org, by approved trip leaders. You must login using your CMC member number. Then, click on the Leader link at the upper right-hand corner. Click on Schedule a Trip. Boulder Group trips submitted on the state website first go into a Suggested status. The Outings Committee reviews each trip and changes the status to approved to indicate final approval.

• Contact the Trip Coordinator: For those members who prefer to not submit their trips through the state website, you may contact the appropriate Trip Coordinator directly. Each trip type has a Trip Coordinator volunteer who is involved in scheduling and approving trips. You may send email to or call the Trip Coordinator with the list of trips that you'd like to submit. The Outings Committee will periodically post announcements or articles in the Compass newsletter and GPS e-newsletter requesting trip submissions. This will include the Trip Coordinators' names and contact information. If you are unsure of which Trip Coordinator to send your list of trips to, please send it to the Outings Chair at [protected email address]. The Outings Chair will forward your request to the appropriate Trip Coordinator.

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Trip Types

The following are the trip types most commonly used by the Boulder Group. This page also describes the requirements for being approved as a trip leader for the different trip types.

Permits are required for leading trips in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area. Only one trip per day per zone is allowed. After submitting a trip for this area, the Outings Committee will contact the US Forest Service to secure a permit (usually this is not an issue) as part of the trip approval process. The permit will be mailed out to the trip leader to attach to their backpack in a visible manner. For future reference, the phone contact for permits is 303-541-2500. The written address for the US Forest Service is 2140 Yarmouth Ave., Boulder, 80301.

• Hiking: Within each of the letter classifications, hikes are also described subjectively as Easy, Moderate and Difficult in comparison to other trips in the same classification. If you also see the letter E after the classification (such as C-E or D-E), the trip involves exposure (i.e., risk of falling) and may require advanced climbing skills. For the Boulder Group, trip leaders are approved to lead A/B hikes or C/D hikes or both. Approval as a trip leader for any trip type automatically includes approval to lead A/B hikes. (Note: for Boulder Group trip leader approval purposes, these classifications also apply to snowshoe and backpacking trips.)

  • Class A: Up to 8 miles round trip and 1,200 foot elevation gain. (Prior hiking experience is usually not necessary. For Boulder Group trip leader approval purposes, includes snowshoe trips.)

  • Class B: Up to 12 miles round trip and 2,500 ft elevation gain. (Moderate to strenuous physical activity. Prior training and experience is beneficial. For Boulder Group trip leader approval purposes, includes snowshoe trips.)

  • Class C: Up to 15 miles round trip and 3,500 ft elevation gain. (Strenuous to very strenuous physical activity. Prior training and experience is beneficial. Snow climbing skills and protection techniques, including the proper use of an ice axe, may be required. Most snow climbs will include the letter E descriptor.)

  • Class D: Over 15 miles round trip or 3,500 ft elevation gain. (Very strenuous physical activity often including exposure or requiring use of technical skills, including snow climbing skills and protection techniques. Knowledge based on prior experience and training is highly beneficial.)

• Rock Climbing: The Boulder Group offers the following types of rock climbing trips:

  • Top Roping: Rock climbs located in a particular climbing area will be set up for top-roped climbing only; the range of climbing difficulty encountered will vary from one trip to another.

  • Area Climb: Multiple rock climbs located in a particular climbing area will be available for climbing, and either followed or top-roped by participants, depending on the trip and climb; the range of climbing difficulty encountered will vary from one trip to another.

  • Group I Rock Climb: Single-pitch or multi-pitch rock climb rated 5.5 or below.

  • Group II Rock Climb: Single-pitch or multi-pitch rock climb rated 5.6 or 5.7.

  • Group III Rock Climb: Single-pitch or multi-pitch rock climb rated 5.8 or above.

Rock climb trip leaders are approved in the following categories: Top Roping Only, Group I, Group II, and Group III. A prospective rock leader may be approved for whatever category they are initially qualified for, in terms of their experience and technical ability, without first being approved for lower levels of difficulty. Please note the following regarding the trip types that each category of rock climb trip leaders are approved to lead:

• Top Roping Only trip leaders (or "Top Roping leaders" for short) are approved only to lead Top Roping trips, i.e., where all climbs will be protected using pre-set overhead top-rope anchors. Further, all top-rope anchors must be reached and set up by non-technical means, e.g. without doing any leading of climbs from the ground up. Thus, members who wish to be approved as Top Roping leaders, while not required to demonstrate proficiency as lead climbers, must demonstrate competency with setting up secure multi-point anchors, using natural and/or artificial protection, that are suitable for top-roping.

• Group I, II, or III leaders may lead Rock Climbing trips that are at the level of difficulty defined for their Group or below (e.g., a Group III leader may lead Group I, II, or III Rock Climb trips, and a Group II leader may lead Group I or II trips). They may also lead Top Roping or Area Climb trips, provided that the maximum difficulty of climbs to be led (if any) is at the level of difficulty defined for their Group or below.

• Ski Touring: Ski tours are classified according to the required skills and stamina. Boulder Group trip leaders are approved to lead the general trip type of Ski Touring.

  • Easy: Up to 8 miles and elevation gain up to 800 feet. Easy Ski Tours are further divided into levels I, II and III.

  • Moderate: Up to 10 miles and elevation gain up to 1,800 feet and may include fairly difficult terrain. Moderate Ski Tours are further divided into levels I, II and III.

  • Advanced: Over 10 miles and more than 1,800 feet elevation gain, which can involve very difficult terrain and overnight camping. Difficult Ski Tours are further divided into levels I and II.

• Ice Climbing: For the Boulder Group, trip leaders are approved to lead the general trip type of Ice Climbing. The specific level of difficulty is at the leader's discretion.

• Ski Mountaineering: For the Boulder Group, trip leaders are approved to lead the general trip type of Ski Mountaineering. The specific level of difficulty is at the leader's discretion. This trip type requires considerable experience in route-finding, trail-breaking and winter camping.

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Becoming a Trip Co-Leader

• A trip co-leader must be a CMC member (from any CMC group) and must agree to follow CMC rules and procedures. A set of rules and procedures shall be provided to each trip co-leader who is not also an approved Boulder Group trip leader. Click here for a list of General Rules. Click here for a list of Rules for Rock Climbs.

• Trip co-leaders do not need to be on an approved co-leader list. Note, for instance, that this means that a strong climber (who is not an approved trip leader) may co-lead a Group III rock climb at the discretion of the trip leader. It is one of the responsibilities of a trip leader to select an appropriate co-leader for each trip and provide them with the set of rules and procedures.

• Trip leaders agree to find co-leader(s) prior to the outing and not just pick someone who shows up that day.

• In order to find trips to co-lead so that you may apply to become a trip leader, please feel welcome to contact any leader of an upcoming trip of the type you wish to lead and explain that you are working on becoming a leader. Most likely, they'll be glad to hear from you! You are also welcome to contact them well in advance of the normal 1-month sign-up. Or, be more proactive and simply ask a current leader if they would be open to scheduling a new trip that you may co-lead.

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Becoming a Trip Leader

We encourage our members to volunteer to become Boulder Group trip leaders! Here's the information on how to accomplish that.

General Requirements:

The Trip Leader Approval Process:

Steps to be performed by the Applicant -

1. Determine if the general requirements are met.

2. Obtain the Trip Leader Application cover letter, Trip Leader Application form and Trip Leader Reference form from the clubroom or from www.cmcboulder.org/bms/leadership/LeaderApp.pdf.

3. Send the completed Trip Leader application form to the Outings Chair, as directed on the form.

4. Send a Trip Leader Reference form to each of the Boulder Group trip leaders, as noted in the general requirements.

5. Follow up with the references to confirm that they've completed the Trip Leader Reference form and sent them to the Outings Chair as directed on the form.

Steps to be performed by the Outings Chair -

1. Note the date of the receipt of the application on the form.

2. Within no more than 2 weeks after receipt of the application, acknowledge to the prospective trip leader the receipt of their application form and note that on the form. Provide updates to applicant as appropriate, but no less than every 2 weeks. Inform the applicant of the expected timeframe for a decision.

3. Verify receipt of the reference forms from the two Boulder Group trip leaders. Note that on the application form.

4. Consult with the applicant's references, if necessary, to obtain additional information about the applicant's performance on the two trip co-leads.

5. Consult with the Safety Chair, if appropriate, to determine if there have been any past safety issues with the applicant.

6. Consult with any person familiar with relevant aspects of the applicant's background, skills, knowledge, safety attitude, and familiarity with CMC safety and other procedures, as deemed necessary to fully evaluate the applicant's fitness to be a Boulder Group trip leader.

7. Conduct a final review within the Outings Committee of the applicant's qualifications. Based on the review, complete the Trip Leader Evaluation form to either accept or decline the applicant as a trip leader. Note on the form the reason for the decision.

8. Notify the applicant of the decision. Include a reminder to lead trips well within their abilities.

9. Notify the state CMC of the member's new trip leader status.

10. Update the Boulder Group's trip leader list for the specific trip type.

11. Submit a notice to the Compass newsletter announcing the member's new trip leader status.

12. File all application papers in an Outings Committee notebook, maintained by the Outings Chair, for future reference.

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How to File Trip Reports Online

Once you have successfully scheduled your trip (see above), it will be published on the state website (cmc.org), the GPS and the Compass. Hopefully you, as the trip leader, will then begin to get CMC members who want to go on your trip, contacting you per your information in your trip description. Now you are ready to create your Roster online!

Creating your roster

Note: an “official” CMC trip must have at least four members, including the Leader, and must not be in a “cancelled” state; otherwise, the system will not let you save it, and you'll have to cancel it as an “official” CMC trip.

1. Sign in to the state website, and click on the small “Leader” link at the top of the page.
2. Locate your trip by setting the Group, Status and Date Range, and click “Search.” (This assumes your trip was previously scheduled; if not, you will have to enter it.)
3. Select your trip and click “roster.”
4. To add a trip member, click on 'Roster'. Then find the 'Add member to the roster' box near the top center, and click on the 'Lookup' button
5. A window called 'CMC - Admin Panel' appears, with a Name input field. Enter your trip member's name. Click Search.
6. Any people found will appear in a list below, with names and addresses. If no one is found, no list will appear and there is no error message. You must try again. The search will still work if just enter part of the name, allowing you to peruse the list of names found that partially match what you entered.
7. If you find the member in this list, then JUST CLICK ON THE NAME of the member, which will be a blue-colored link. (NOT one of the buttons below the list!) This will bring you back to the Trip Roster screen, where the person's name you clicked on will appear to the right of the 'Lookup' button.

   NOTE: They are NOT yet added to the Wait List! To do so, you must click on the 'Add Member' button.

8. Once you click on the 'Add Member' button, their name and contact info will pop over to the lower part of the screen, under the 'Wait List' section.
9. Click 'Save'. You can add or delete members to the Wait List as often as necessary.
10. Make sure the Roster is correct. If you need to add your trip members, use the “Lookup” button, which allows you to search for members by name. (If you cannot find a trip member, then either they are not a member, or they are in the database under a different name.)
11. Fill out the other trip data. (Including end date.)
12. Click “Save” to save this immediate data. (You can 'save' as often as necessary; this does not close the trip.)

AFTER you've scheduled your trip, you can

• add CMC members to your wait list
• move people from the wait list to your roster.

So until the trip occurs, you are working with the 'wait list.' Note the following handy features:

1. you can email everyone on your Roster at once from the CMC website by using the 'Email to all' button
2. you can print your Roster by clicking the 'Export Roster' button. This will download a Word doc of your trip roster to your desktop, which you can then print from your computer. This is highly recommended to do right before your trip!

How to complete your trip report

1. Note: you cannot complete your trip report until the day after your trip occurs! If you try to complete your trip on the day your trip occurs, you will not see a 'Save' or 'Submit the Trip' button at the bottom of your Roster page.
2. Log into the state website, and find your trip in your 'Leader' section (per instructions above).
3. Click on the 'roster' link for the trip; the roster Wait List appears.
4. Move all members who went on the trip from the Wait List to the Roster, if you have not already done so.
5. Fill in the fields that allow you to report on details of your trip.
6. At the bottom of the screen, you should see 'Save' and 'Submit the Trip' buttons. You can repeatedly 'Save' your trip, until you are sure your report is complete.
7. Once you have completed filling in the details of your trip, click the button 'Submit the Trip'. This cannot be undone, so don't click this until you're sure all information is correct.
8. Once you've submitted the trip, it should appear in your Leader section as a 'Completed' trip.
9. If you wish to receive a Neptune's coupon after completing your trip report online, call the clubroom at 303-554-7688 and leave a message to request one. Indicate whether you'd like the coupon mailed to you or you will pick it up in the clubroom yourself.

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