Membership
Join the Alpine Club
Membership is free. Join the mailing list to get started.
Join the mailing list
If you are Caltech or JPL
Sign up on the list yourself. It carries trips, film festivals, socials, and club elections.
Needs a campus connection or the Caltech VPN. Off campus, email [email protected].
Join the mailing list
If you are not
Email the secretary and they will add you to the same list. Caltech affiliation is not required to join.
Optional
Join Slack
Not required, but it is where most of the week to week happens: finding partners, asking questions, and organizing informal outings, with a separate channel per activity.
The invite link goes out on the mailing list. If you have missed it, ask the secretary at [email protected].
Any time
Attend an event
Many club events are open to people without prior experience or club involvement, including hikes, talks, film screenings, and socials.
No Caltech or JPL affiliation
Joining from outside Caltech
You are welcome in the club. Introduce yourself by email and an officer adds you to the mailing list.
Write from an email address that identifies you — a work or university address is ideal. A couple of sentences on each point below is plenty: this is not a screening process, it is how we know a real person is asking, and it tells whoever replies which activities to point you at.
- Write to
- [email protected]
- Subject
- Membership request
- Please include
-
- Who you are, and where you work or study
- What you would like to get out of the club
- How you came across the club
One limit worth knowing before you write: club and Caltech Y equipment both require Caltech or JPL affiliation. Everything else — trips, events, Slack — is open to you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
No. Caltech affiliation is not required to join. Most members are graduate students, undergraduates, postdocs, faculty, staff, and JPL employees, but community members are welcome. If that is you, see joining from outside Caltech.
No. Individual activities may have costs, such as film festival tickets or a share of transport. Caltech Y gear costs about $1 per day.
Not for most club events. Hikes, socials, talks, and film screenings assume no experience. Climbing and snow trips vary, and trip organizers state the experience and fitness a given trip requires.
Specialist club gear is borrowed from the club; general kit is rented from the Caltech Y for about $1 a day. Both need Caltech or JPL affiliation, so non-affiliates are welcome on trips but need their own kit. See what is available.
Most coordination happens on Slack: post what you want to do and when. The club's activity leaders also organize outings that members can join — see who currently leads what.
Trip organizers state the experience, fitness, and equipment a trip requires before people sign up, and deciding a trip is not for you is a normal outcome. Avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, helmets, and satellite messengers are all available from the club or the Caltech Y. The club follows and teaches Leave No Trace practice.
For anything not covered here, contact the officers at [email protected].