Membership
Welcome to The Alpine Club of Canada!
We’ve been passionate about climbing, hiking and skiing in alpine environments for over 100 years. Everyone is welcome.
We are passionate about fostering a sense of community, inspiring adventure, and promoting responsible mountain travel. As a non-profit organization, our mission is to encourage and facilitate access to wild places while ensuring their long-term preservation for future generations.With a diverse membership base ranging from seasoned climbers to outdoor enthusiasts taking their first steps in the backcountry, the ACC offers a welcoming and inclusive environment for individuals of all skill levels.
Whether you are an experienced mountaineer seeking new challenges or volunteer/mentorship opportunities, or someone looking to explore the beauty of your local mountains and outdoor areas, we have a place for you in our community. Our regional sections form the core of The Alpine Club of Canada, offering members the chance to join the ACC community as well as to volunteer with the club. Mountaineering, hiking, climbing and skiing activities are often free or offered at a minimal cost to members. Sections provide opportunities to learn essential skills for safe mountain travel, make new friends, and participate in social functions and volunteering initiatives, including environmental advocacy and section leadership.
Membership Benefits
Membership Pricing
Membership in The Alpine Club of Canada is open to everyone, regardless of their level of mountain experience or their country of residence. Memberships are modular, reflecting the different needs of our membership. Choose a membership type and then, if you desire, add a local section to your membership. There is a small additional charge for joining one or more local sections. Membership fees are annual and are valid for one year from the month of purchase. Memberships are non-refundable.
*If you need to add a section to your family membership please contact us at [email protected] or (403) 678-3200 ext. 222.
Waiver Requirement
Membership and participation in all ACC and local section programs, courses, activities, accommodations, and all other member activities and benefits, are conditional on each member completing The Alpine Club of Canada’s Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims and Assumption of Risk Agreement (“Waiver”). The waiver is available for completion during the registration process and a copy is available for preview below. If the Waiver is not completed, the Membership will not be issued, participation will not be permitted, and a refund will be provided.
The Waiver will apply to your participation in all ACC Activities (as defined in the Waiver) in the future.
PLEASE READ THE WAIVER CAREFULLY! By signing, you will waive or give up certain legal rights, including the right to sure for negligence, breach of contract, or breach of the Occupiers’ Liability Act of claim compensation following an accident.
Families
2 Adults + Children*-
Access to all Membership Benefits
Membership Upgrades
Local Section Affiliation: Join a local section as an add-on to your ACC membership. Opportunities to learn the crafts of mountaineering and climbing abound. Most sections provide basic training courses provided by professional guides and mountaineers. Many sections also provide mountain leadership training for their section members with the aim of continuing to improve mountain leadership and safety skills.
Canadian Alpine Journal: Get a $10 discount on the latest edition of the CAJ when purchased at the same time as joining or renewing your ACC membership. Purchases before June 30 will receive the current year’s edition and after July 1 will receive the following year’s edition.
FQME Upgrade: The FQME (La Fédération Québécoise de la Montagne et de l’Escalade) Access Montagne pass provides ACC members with access to the FQME network of more than 25 climbing areas in Quebec. This membership upgrade can be purchased when ACC members join or renew their membership online.
Membership Benefits
Be a Part of a Local ACC Section
Local sections of the ACC are the heart and soul of the club. Your membership allows you to join one or more of our 25 sections, from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and Labrador to the Yukon.
Local section membership allows you to attend the outings, social events and training courses that are organized and run by that section. Outings are either free, or run on a cost-recovery basis. Section members climb, hike and ski together, clean up crags, volunteer, build, and partake in their mountain communities.
- Access to trips, camps and outings in your area
- Training programs
- Social activities
Visit 32 Backcountry Huts
The ACC’s network of 32 backcountry huts is the largest in North America. From family-friendly log cabins in mountain meadows to backcountry powder paradises and remote climbers’ refuges, we’ve got something for everyone.
The ACC operates the Canmore Clubhouse Hostel with dorm-style accommodation, family rooms and private cabins.
Your membership gives you reduced rates at our backcountry huts and hostel.
Go on Guided Mountain Adventures
We’ve been organizing mountain adventures since 1906. We organize camps and courses from weekend to week-long, in summer and winter for climbing, hiking and skiing.
Your membership gives you access to the ACC’s slate of guided mountain adventures. Whether you’re looking for skills courses, hut-based powder camps, women’s only programs, glacier traverses, international trips or our famous General Mountaineering Camp, we have you covered.
Be a Steward of the Environment
The ACC recognizes that access to mountain environments obligates us to understand and protect these unique areas.The ACC advocates for access to and preservation of mountain areas through monetarily supporting conservation projects with our Environment Fund and by publishing and promoting scientific reports. Our work is made possible by our members and member dues.
Your membership in the ACC is an act of preserving Canada’s wild alpine areas.
Dive Into Mountain Culture
Our passion for climbing and alpine environments is expressed in different ways, with some of the most long lasting being the films and writing that recall the experiences in the mountains. The ACC furthers mountain culture through our journals, magazines, online newsletters and content and through our partnership with the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festivals, of which the ACC is a founding partner. This is our Mountain Culture.
Your membership gives you free and discounted rates on all ACC publications.
Apply for Financial Grants
To further our goals of protecting the environment, promoting mountain experiences and fostering leadership, the ACC annually provides financial assistance for mountain projects.
We fund private trips and expeditions through the Jen Higgins Grant for Young Women and the John Lachlan Award; protection and preservation initiatives through our Environment Grant, and leadership development through multiple scholarships.
Funding priority is given to projects initiated by the ACC and its members.
Discounted Apparel, Equipment and Merchandise
Did you know that your ACC membership provides you with some great discounts?
- ACC Store: 15% off on all products in our store.
- The North Face: 50% off apparel and 40% off gear. The program allows you to spend up to $2,000, twice a year.
- Canadian Alpine Journal: Get a $10 discount on the latest edition of the CAJ when purchased at the same time as joining or renewing your ACC membership. Purchases before June 30 will receive the current year’s edition and after July 1 will receive the following year’s edition.
Train as a Leader
The ACC has a standing Leadership Development Committee to facilitate the club’s goal of training and supporting mountain leaders across Canada.
Local sections schedule regular climbing, skiing and hiking outings and members are welcome to attend, learn and lead trips, furthering their skills. The national club offers intensive week-long leadership development courses in both summer and winter.
Your membership gives you access to training opportunities at both the local section and at the national club. Members have access to our extensive leadership manuals and handbooks.
