Trip Leader School - Boulder

Training for CMC members interested in becoming a Boulder Group Trip Leader

Course Schedule Overview:

• Involves Online Study (Google Classroom)-opens TBD
• Online Meeting (Zoom), evening
•  Field Day (Boulder Open Space & Mountain Park)
• Online Meeting (zoom) practice managing trips on the new cmc.org website (zoom link will be sent out to registered students.  field day location will be discussed during an evening class.)

54CMC Trip Leaders. Planning and leading an outdoor trip is a great way to get to do the trips you are most interested in.  If you want to hike a certain peak, there are others who want to join you. The CMC depends on volunteer trip leaders to support its mission and vision.​
The Boulder Group CMC Trip Leader School (TLS) provides a self-paced online curriculum (Google Classroom), an evening online meeting (Zoom), and a full-day Leader-In-Training field trip to review important trip leader topics such as trip planning, group dynamics, situational awareness, communication skills, leadership, CMC policies, and leader liability considerations. All training is based on the current CMC Trip Leader Manual and Policies. The TLS is the first step to certification as a CMC Trip Leader.

To become a trip leader – you must:
1. Be a CMC member at least 18 years of age and have been a participant on at least five CMC trips.
2. Satisfactorily complete the Trip Leader School Program (including practice “co-leading” two trips, as stated below).
3. Have a current Wilderness First Aid (WFA) certification or higher.

4. have technical outdoor skills sufficient for the trips you want to lead

5. have fitness sufficient for the trips you want to lead.

Program Delivery. Three (3) Events
-Online Study. The online curriculum leads students through the CMC Trip Leader manual with an emphasis on the important role trip leaders play in ensuring a fun and safe outdoor trips while understanding the responsibilities trip leaders have and the CMC resources available. The self-paced study includes reading the Trip Leader Manual, knowledge checks, trip planning, group dynamics and leadership, trip leader liability protection, and how to manage trips on the cmc.org site (permissions given when certification is complete). 

-Online Meeting. The Zoom meeting highlights and reviews the online curriculum provides a forum for addressing questions and gets the student ready for the field day – which includes practicing as if the student was the trip leader.

-Field Day. The Leader-In-Training (LIT) hike is a full-day field trip conducted on local Open Space hiking trails where candidates will engage in fact-finding, problem-solving, and human dynamics.

Leader - Jill Yarger outings@cmcboulder.org or jill.yarger@prodigy.net