| Chicago Mountaineering Club |
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January 2026 NEWSLETTER
Wayne Martin, EDITOR
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| FUTURE MEETING PRESENTATIONS |
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CMC Meetings
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Chicago Mountaineering Club (CMC) meetings are held on the second Monday of the month, September through May. This month's meeting will be held at Vertical Endeavors – Glendale Heights, 246 Windy Point Drive, Glendale Heights, IL 60139. Theboard meeting will be at 6:30pm and the general meeting at 8:00pm. This month will featureplanning for Western Expeditions.
Board meetings are open to CMC members only, while the general meeting is open to the public.
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Bouldering at Devils Lake, WI
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Ice Climbing -Winona Ice Festival
Registration is currently open for the Winona Ice Festival, which starts January 29th, 2026. The CMC always has a good turnout, and members often arrange carpools. The winter CMC meetings are usually a good time to attend if you're interested in ice climbing, with information sessions on trips in both both November and December. Registration for the Winona Ice Fest is linked below.
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Ice Climbing - Ouray, Colorado
Chris Schaecher is planning an ice climbing trip to Ouray from February 4th until the 8th. Chris shared a lot of info on this trip at the December meeting. If you are interested in going or want more info, contact him in the link below.
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Ice Climbing - Ontario, Canada
The February Follies Ice Climbing Trip will be onFebruary 13th-15th. (Thesedates do not account for travel days).Lodging is at McCauley’s Inn in Haviland, ON, Canada.
You can also book any of the Air-bnbs in the area and if you do please let Al Graber know and whether you are willing to share the Airbnb with others on the trip.
- Passports required
- Cold weather gear is required
- Snowshoes are required (if you need a pair let Al know, he has extra pairs)
Please email Al Graber if you are going and where you plan on staying. There are group meals 3 breakfast and 3 dinners and cost are $30 if you want in.
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New Members
Our first readings for applicants are:
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Name
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Hometown
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Sponsors
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Rae Goodman-Lucker
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Northbrook, IL |
Jake Adili, Jacek Wilkos |
And our new members:
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Name
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Hometown
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Sponsors
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Gavin Fernandes
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Lake Zurich, IL
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Jeff Brath, Jordan Brauer
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Andrew Roberts
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Marion, IA
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Chris Gregory, Shari Perry
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Robert Oppor
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Schaumburg , IL
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Anna Benson, Joel Perkins
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Congrats to our new members, we're looking forward to getting to know you all better.
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News
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| Club Leadership |
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Perhaps you would be interested in organizing an outing to a climbing area other than Devils Lake. Let us know. Also, we could use someone who would like to organize outings at climbing gyms during the winter. If interested contact Chris Schaecher, CMC Outings Chair
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| Annual Dinner |
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Join the Chicago Mountaineering Club for our 2026 Annual Dinner, featuring Polish alpinist Piotr Śliwiński — a world traveler and record-setting climber known for his ambitious expeditions across the Seven Summits, the North and South Poles, and beyond. Piotr will share stories of adventure, endurance, and exploration from some of the most remote corners of the planet. Enjoy an evening of great food, community, raffles, and inspiration as we celebrate another incredible year of climbing and camaraderie with the CMC.
The annual dinner will be held at Allegra Banquet Hall,5035 N River Road Schiller Parkon Saturday March 7th from 6pm to 10pm. Tickets available soon. |
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| CMC Colorado Cabin |
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A great advantage of CMC membership is the ability to use the Gorby Cabin in the Wild Basin of RMNP. The Cabin is only a block walk from the Wild Basin entrance. Information about the Cabin can be found at the link below. Cabin registration is made through the CMC website. Go to the Members Only portal and then to the Member Information tab. There is a charge for using the Cabin, the fee is not included in the Devil’s Lake camping fee. If you have questions about the Cabin contact Nico Orduz.
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Newsletter and Trip Reports
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If you have questions or comments about the newsletter, or want to submit content such as trip reports, or upcoming trips you'd like to plan, send it to me and we'll consider putting it here.
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