Ascending Hikes Section
Who we are. The Colorado Mountain Club's Ascending Hike Section (AHS) serves two purposes:
1) AHS helps new and inexperienced CMC members learn to choose hikes suitable for them, improve hiking fitness, understand trip expectations, make new friends, become familiar with Colorado's backcountry, and develop outdoor skills.
2) AHS helps all CMC members improve hiking fitness by gradually increasing the distance, elevation, and difficulty of hikes throughout the hiking season.
There is no cost, fee, or scheduling commitment. There are no dues or elections. Section members do receive an occasional AHS newsletter but you don't have to be a section member to join an AHS hike.
How it works. CMC trip leaders offer AHS-labeled trips all year, usually on Fridays, Saturdays, and/or Sundays. We try to include some high peak climbs and long hikes at the end of the primary hiking season, mid-May through September.
Trip Leaders. If you are a Trip Leader and want to lead Ascending Hikes, please contact us at CMCAscendingHikes@gmail.com to make sure you are on our distribution list and get access to appropriate AHS Activity titles. Five leads gets you the AHS Leader Badge.
Trips designed for different needs. Due to the overwhelming success of the program and the variety of CMC member-needs, in 2025 we are segmenting AHS trips into four types. Different area groups may participate in some or all types. Note: Trip titles may be abbreviated in the calendar due to space considerations but these are the concepts. Read the trip title and summary carefully before you sign up for an AHS trip to make sure you are getting the trip type you want:
"Ascending Hikes - New Members." (for first- and second-year members ONLY). Trip Leaders concentrate on skill-building, new experiences, and education about CMC ways. After their second-year anniversary, members are considered “experienced.”
"Ascending Hikes - Seasonal Fitness" (for all CMC members). Most Trip Leaders offer this kind of trip. No teaching component unless needed, just longer and higher trips as the season progresses. If you want to be notified of other groups’ AHS trips, sign up for that in your profile.
“Ascending Hikes - Endurance" (for CMC all members). The “Endurance Clinic” training program teaches the “new alpinism” method of building up stamina through heart rate monitoring. This is a clinic plus a short trip.
"Ascending Hikes - Walking Wounded" (low-key trips for hikers building up their fitness from ground zero). The “Walking Wounded” program offers the AHS concept to members starting back after illness or injury.
For members, the overall experience is expected to be self-guided, so we hope you take advantage of the entire CMC trip calendar. A typical member chooses comfortable hikes to start and then gradually progresses in trip length, highest elevation reached, moving speed, and difficulty. If you are consistent, you will be ready to tackle major new challenges by the end of summer.
Once the spring/summer/fall hiking season is over, we switch to AH snowshoe and spike-hike trips. This is the best way to keep up your conditioning and enthusiasm over the winter. Never snowshoed? Your trip leaders run a FREE CMC members-only one-day Beginner Snowshoe School during the winter season. We even supply the equipment and teach you about selecting your own equipment, clothing, etc.
Read the Guide. We have prepared a 2025 Member Guide To Ascending Hikes. It is all about hiking skills, technique, and pace in the CMC, which relates to the fitness you are trying to achieve.
How to Sign Up For an Ascending Hike Roster. Make sure your profile shows you registered for instant notice of AHS trips and newsletters. That way you can sign up immediately or you can be ready to sign up when the trip opens for registration. You also can visit the CMC start page, click “Find Trips” in the left sidebar,and scroll down to “Sections.” Check “Ascending Hikes.” (Note: if no Ascending Hikes are calendared, the section name will not appear.) Don’t see an Ascending Hike–labeled trip that fits your schedule? Search for any hikes offered at the difficulty rating and date you want.
Alert! This is a popular program. If there is a standby list, join it. Standby lists are almost always clear. Nonetheless, please do not sign up for an AHS trip unless you fully intend to participate on trip day.