YOU have always had a yen for the stunning peak-studded scenery, and get a kick out of endurance events. You are eager to put on crampons and use your ice axe to get to the most awe-inspiring places. Your dreams are made of the white fluffy stuff that your skis float in, and you want to earn your turns. You crave the adrenalin, thin air, and the giddy high of standing on a hard-earned summit. You are not new to this -- maybe you grew up running around the hills, or ski-bummed after college. You still have unfulfilled mountain dreams: perhaps they include the likes of climbing Cotopaxi, skiing Kamchatka volcanoes, or ski-touring from Chamonix to Zermatt. But now you live in DC, and often wonder if there is anybody else in this town who is into this stuff.

WELCOME TO DC MOUNTAIN MADNESS! We are a group of mountaineers and backcountry skiers who found themselves in the flatlands. We love our adopted city, but miss the freedom of the hills. We make a pilgrimage to the REAL mountains a few times a year for mountaineering, backcountry skiing, or both. As a community of mountain enthusiasts, we also get together regularly in and around DC. We train together, share slide shows of epic mountain adventures, plan new ones, or simply exchange mountain stories over drinks or meals.

READY TO JOIN? We are delighted, but note - THIS IS A SELECTIVE GROUP. You will need to answer profile questions to be "pre-approved" for our activities. The questionnaire will give you a flavor of what we are looking for in our members. Before submitting your membership request, please click on the "About" tab or the link below to see if this is the right group for you. In a nutshell, we expect that you have SOME mountaineering and/or backcountry skiing experience.

WE ARE NOT A SOCIAL HIKING CLUB, A PURE ROCK CLIMBING MEETUP, NOR A TRADITIONAL SKI CLUB. We are a group of people who want to climb and/or ski big mountains, which is why we train together locally. Mountaineering requires multiple skills and a lifelong commitment to hone them, so our routine activities include hiking, rock and ice climbing, backcountry skiing (alpine touring and ski mountaineering), avalanche and crevasse rescue, wilderness first aid, snow camping, survival skills, etc.

PLEASE ONLY SUBMIT YOUR MEMBERSHIP REQUEST IF YOUR ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE IS TO CLIMB/SKI BIG MOUNTAINS, and if you are willing to acquire new skills, as well as teach others those skills that you are proficient in. If this sounds like you, we are excited to have you with us!