The story
History
The idea for the club is credited to both Mary Sabin and James Grafton Rogers, and the first unofficial club meeting was held at Sabin's home on April 3, 1912 with seven individuals attending. The club charter meeting was held on April 26, 1912, with 25 members meeting to officially establish the club. James Grafton Rogers was elected to serve as the club's first president. The first official club trip took place on April 28, 1912 to Cheesman Park in Denver, followed by the first hike on May 30, 1912 to South Boulder Peak, led by George Barnard. In August 1912, the club held its first annual outing, spending seven days in the Bear Creek Basin, near Mount Evans, which was attended by 21 club members.
From 25 charter members in 1912, the club rapidly grew to 200 members barely a year later, when the CMC became a nonprofit corporation.
In 1914, the club published a resolution endorsing a congressional bill for the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park.
In 1917, James Rogers resigned as club president and was replaced by Henry Brooks.
In April 1918, the club published the first issue of Trail and Timberline, the club's official newsletter. That same year, the club constructed the Beaver Brook Trail in Golden, Colorado.
In 1919, the club began a campaign for the elimination of advertising signs and billboards in the Denver Mountain Park system. That same year, the club established regional chapters in the cities of Colorado Springs, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado.
In 1921, the club established a regional chapter in Fort Collins. At this point, the club had about one thousand members, with membership dues set at $4 per year.
In 1922, the club rented an official club office in the Denver Chamber of Commerce Building and hired its first paid secretary, Alice Manard.
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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. 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. The new CMC Basecamp is still located in Golden.
Notable club members throughout history
Agnes Vaille, who died while descending from the first winter ascent of the east face of Longs Peak
Carl Blaurock, one of a pair to first climb all of Colorado's fourteeners
Mary Cronin, first woman to climb all of Colorado's fourteeners
Albert Russell Ellingwood, pioneering Colorado mountaineer
Dick Lamm, former Governor of Colorado
Enos Mills, whose efforts were influential in establishing Rocky Mountain National Park
James Grafton Rogers, Denver lawyer and outdoorsman who drafted legislation to create Rocky Mountain National Park
Roger Toll, who held the positions of superintendent at Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, and Mount Rainier National Parks
William Henry Jackson, famous photographer for the Detroit Photographic Company
Gerry Roach, Colorado-based climber who published numerous hiking guides and was second to climb the seven summits
Robert Ormes, mountaineering author
Francis Eugene Bouck, Deputy Attorney General of Colorado
Ellsworth Bethel, naturalist, namesake of Mount Bethel
From Wikipedia’s article on Colorado Mountain Club, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4