Efficient communication within the club between the executive, trip leaders, and the general membership greatly eases the burden on our volunteers in the administration and in the execution of our outdoor program.

We require a way to contact you, either a phone number and/or an email address. If a choice has to be made, we would prefer your email address. Our server is set up to provide one step email to all members or to various groups within our membership such as leaders or trip participants. To contact members by phone is impractical, and will not be done unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Your email address is not exposed on our website, except to you when editing your personal Profile, and to executive members who may need to edit profiles from time to time. Group emails to the general membership is sent via 'Blind Carbon Copy - BCC', ensuring that your email address is not visible to other recipients.

Members' contact information (phone number and email link [not email address]) is normally available to other members on the Members list. You can disable this by reseting the 'Show Contact Info' box in your Profile. This does not affect trip leaders and executive members who need access to this information to fulfill their duties.

Members can also disable trip notification emails by reseting the 'Trip Notices' box in their Profile. These members should check the Trip schedule often for updated trip information.

If you are not comfortable using your 'main' email address for club communication, you could easily acquire a free email address from Google Gmail, Microsoft Hotmail, or Yahoo, and use that one instead.

Perhaps the worst thing you can do is give us a 'fake' email address, or not update an expired one. Not only does this clutter up our club email box with 'email not delivered' messages, it gives leaders and executive members false assurance the message was delivered to you. From time to time we will delete false or outdated addresses, however it would be best if you made sure your contact information is correct.

• If you need more information about a trip listed on the Trip schedule, click the 'more' link for details, including contact information for the trip leader.
• If you need more information about the club, including membership, contact information for the President and Vice-President is available on the Home page.
• If you need help with completing a website task, or a particular page does not display properly, contact information is available on the Home page.
• If you need help with forms, click the Help link at the top of the page. You have the choice of downloading a pdf help file, or viewing a normal html page.
• If you need more information about the website, visit the About page.

Memberships are good for 365 days from whenever you join the club. You have a choice of applying by mail, or completely online. See the Membership page for details. You will receive login instructions by email when we receive your dues.

We allow potential members to try us out for 1 free trip before joining.

• Your name may appear in trip reports as your full name to logged in club members, and as your first name with last initial to the public.
• We require your address for the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC., from whom we receive liability insurance. Club directors and web administrators have access to your address, but no one else.
• We require some way to contact you, either by your email address or phone number. We would prefer to have your email address, as from time to time we send out messages to members. Trip leaders may also wish to contact participants by email. For more information on how we use email addresses see the FAQ Email topic.
• Your password is encrypted and stored in our database, and is known only by you.
• Members can update their personal information by logging on and visiting their Profile page.

Members can renew (extend) their membership at any time. 365 days will be added to any remaining membership days. You can check how many days are left in your membership by viewing your Profile or the Members List. An email reminder will be sent to you 30 days before your membership runs out.

You have a choice of renewing by mail, or completely online. See the Membership page for details.

The club endeavors to conduct its activities in a safe manner, yet there is always some risk when venturing into the outdoors. There are 2 main sources of risk: natural hazards, and group decision making.

Natural Hazards

• You may be injured from falling on uneven, steep, or slippery ground.
• You may be injured from falling rock in steep terrain.
• You may be injured from travel through thick brush.
• You may be injured from falling into fast moving or deep water.
• You may be injured from lightning or strong winds.
• You may be injured from hypothermia or frost bite.
• You may be injured in an avalanche.
• You may be injured by wildlife large or small (cougars, bacteria, etc).

You can minimize risks of injury from natural hazards by:

• Wearing proper footwear and clothing suitable for the trip.
• Packing a useful personal first aid kit.
• Packing extra warm and water-proof clothing.
• Packing other items as suggested by the Trip Guidlelines page.
• Choosing trips within your comfort zone. If new to the club start out on easier trips. Ask the trip leader about the trip if you are unsure.
• Acquire an attitude that some risk may add to the enjoyment of the trip.

Group Decisions
Sometimes unforeseen decisions need to be made by the trip leader and/or the group about the route to take, whether to continue the trip or turn around, whether to split into smaller groups, etc. There is a risk these decisions will have a negative outcome. Our trip leaders are not professional guides, but are members who volunteer their time to further the goals of the club. You can help in these situations by offering your thoughts in a considerate manner, keeping in mind that the trip leader needs to think of the safety of the group as a whole.

The club has liability insurance through membership in the FMCBC. It covers liability risk for its members in the event they are sued. Most of the club membership dues goes to pay for this coverage.

You will also be required to sign a liability waiver at the trip meeting location. Please read it here. You may wish to consult legal advice to fully understand the implications this waiver has to you and your family.

All persons 16 years and older may go on 1 orientation trip, before joining, but this does not include a multi-day trip. Please consult with the trip leader, before the day of the trip, after selecting an easier trip from our Trip Schedule.

Children 15 years and younger must be accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian who is a member of the club. If you wish to take a child on a trip please:
1. Consult with the trip leader well before the day of the trip to see if the trip will be suitable for the child.
2. Print, fill out, and bring to the trip meeting location a child waiver form for the trip leader.