American Alpine Club

Hi, I was looking into (finally) joining the AAC but I see one stipulation that "• This membership pertains to the regular membership for ages 29-65"

Does that mean if you are 28 years old, you aren't covered for the benefits?

TIA

You would get a Junior Membership - ages 28 and under ($40 vs $75)

I don't see where it says the benefits would be different. Where are you getting the quote from?

There is some deal on theclymb.com

Which is what got me thinking, I should probably register.

At 28, I'm a junior? Sounds kind of funny. (I turn 29 in Jan 2014...)

You should join, regardless of whether or not you receive all the benefits you're looking at. ;-) The AAC does great work for our community.

But all benefits are included in the Junior level, so no worries.

Hi guys. I work at the AAC and can clear this up.

Mark and Abram are correct (thanks guys). Junior members get all the same benefits as regular members.

To keep things simple with The Clymb, we just offer the regular membership (most popular) at a discounted rate every once in a while. But since you're 28, the junior membership is a way better deal—get in on it before your birthday! FYI: dues are going up by $5/person on October 1st. This is the last week of our fiscal year and would love to have your support.

(Agree that "Junior" is a silly name. We're working on that.)

As a club, we're here for each other. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need anything at all.

Erik Lambert
elambert@americanalpineclub.org

Thanks for the replies. IMy girlfriend and I just registered for the AAC ... sounds like a steal getting it as a junior! I imagine info will be coming in the mail, but if it isn't.... what is the recommended insurance for climbing accidents that people buy?

Also... I like the sound of a junior! I haven't gotten anything like that in a decade!

Edward_ wrote:Thanks for the replies. IMy girlfriend and I just registered for the AAC ... sounds like a steal getting it as a junior! I imagine info will be coming in the mail, but if it isn't.... what is the recommended insurance for climbing accidents that people buy? Also... I like the sound of a junior! I haven't gotten anything like that in a decade!

The AAC offers rescue insurance at a relatively low, but still useful, amount of $5000 domestic+$5000 global. That's enough to take the sting out of a rescue in the White Mountain National Forest where I live and climb, but if you're planning any kind of major mountaineering trip, you should increase your coverage by buying it up (paying for more insurance): globalrescue.com/aac/ Once you go to an international destination, the coverage may not be enough to keep you from large evac and medical bills, though it is a really good start.

The health and life insurance offerings are different, and are brokered through a affiliated insurance agent. As best I can tell, the insurance agent in question just uses the AAC for lead generation: I was never able to get decent life insurance coverage this way, and they certainly didn't seem to know much more about climbers than any other insurance broker. This might be different now: I tried a year ago.

Also: congratulations on joining, and welcome to the club! (I'm a member, I don't work there) I think you'll find your membership dues are well worth it.

for me, the insurance is big. but as much as i travel, the guidebook library is well worth the membership fees for me. i didn't really know about it until i was in golden and went to check out the aac museum and library. i was in the library for about an hour when a chick came up and told me i could check out the guidebooks and just ship them back when i was done....she even gave me a pre addressed envelope. they do some really good stuff for the community and well worth the $40. if you want to build up some crag karma check out the access fund too. they do a lot more than you think.

Guidebooks? Interesting... I didn't know that. Thanks for the info guys. I buy a bunch of stuff at the Access Fund auction a few months ago since I figure I'm clipping their bolts more and more these days.

I'm hoping to check out some areas outside the USA, some really amazing looking places out there!