From conquering the rock wall at local Madison gyms to traveling far and wide in search of the most legendary climbs in the country and beyond, Mountaineering Club members take trips that challenge climbers of all levels.
The Hoofer Mountaineering Club is a student-run organization that wants to keep people out on the rocks, while also maintaining a collective of knowledgeable climbers who can both learn from and teach one another. We love teaching new members and we love getting people together to go out and climb as a community, whether it be at the classic Devil's Lake or as far as Spain! We run both club trips and more relaxed unofficial trips for last-minute planners. If you're more experienced, if you're looking to improve or to even just get started, we also offer a climbing team!
A membership with Hoofer Mountaineering gives you access to our gear locker, as well as discounts at the climbing wall in the Sett.
FAQs
What is Mountaineering?
The Hoofer Mountaineering Club is a student-run organization of climbers that want to keep people out on the rocks, while also maintaining a collective of knowledgeable climbers who can both teach and pass on their knowledge to others.
How do I get started?
To join, you can either purchase a membership online or sign up in-person at the Outdoor Programs Office. We hope to see you at HMC meetings, clinics, socials, and events in the future!
How often does Mountaineering hold events?
You can expect weekly meetings, socials, clinics, and trips.
What kinds of events does Mountaineering have?
Hoofer Mountaineering general meetings are held every Thursday at 7pm in Mendota Lounge. In addition, we hold technical skill clinics, climbing socials at local gyms and crags, and regional and global trips.
Where do you go to climb?
With Devils Lake, Governor Dodge, Necedah, and Hillbilly Hollow in our own backyard, we utilize our local crags to their fullest potential.
Some of our further destinations have included Puerto Rico, Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite National Park, the Margalef and Siurana crags outside of Barcelona, and Red Rock Canyon. The annual trip to Red River Gorge for Halloween is a fan-favorite as well.
What is the climbing team?
If you're looking to sharpen your climbing skills, train, socialize, and compete, Hoofer Climbing Team is for you! You can learn more here!
How can I sign up for events?
Become a member!
Do you provide gear?
We sure do. We offer anything and everything a climber may require, so you shouldn't need anything of your own.
Check Out the Instagram and Join the GroupMe
View this profile on InstagramHoofer Mountaineering Club (@hoofer_mountaineering) • Instagram photos and videos
How to Join
1. Create your Account!
When you're ready to join, head over to our member site at https://members.hoofers.org to create your account! You must be a Union Member to join. Note that UW-Madison students are automatically granted Union membership.
2. Sign Up for Events!
Once you've joined the club, you can search for events and sign up from the member site. Pick your favorite event, sign up, and get ready for an adventure!
For more information, click the button below!
Contact Us
Hoofer Mountaineering Club
Memorial Union, Lower Level
800 Langdon St.
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 262-1630
info@hoofermountaineering.org
Contact Us
News
The Annual HMC Welcome Weekend returned once again for 2024! Even though the weather did its best to hinder the trip, the club persevered and had an excellent time climbing at the lake. Many returning as well as new members enjoy the Railroad Amphitheater and Birthday crags. On top of climbing, those who went early Friday were able to enjoy a classic camping experience with swimming and cooking s'mores over the fire. The trip was topped off with a brat cook-out at Brittingham Park on Sunday once back in Madison.
HMC ventured down to Puerto Rico this Winter Break! Some beautiful weather and stellar sport climbing makes for a good couple weeks.
The club heads out to the Red Rocks area annually for some of the best sport climbing in the country. This year, the group stayed in the Las Vegas area. Two weeks of good times!
Annual Halloween weekend trip to the Red! HMC camps at the legendary Miguel's Pizza campground every year, and sport climbs some most legendary crags.
The annual HMC Welcome Weekend makes its return for 2023! Almost 60 folks gathered at Devil's Lake for a stellar day of top rope climbing at the Railroad Amphitheater and Birthday crags on Saturday followed by a good ole fashioned cookout by the lake. A bunch of others stayed for the whole weekend at the club's reserved campgrounds, and got some more climbing in on Sunday!
Upcoming Events
Trailer Training #2
If you anticipate using a FLEET/DOA VEHICLE to tow a Hoofer-owned trailer at any point this fall or winter, then attend this class to get your trailer towing certification! This would include towing a sailboat for lift-out, towing the horse trailer, towing the alpine ski trailer, or possibly towing the outing club canoe trailer. Please note that if someone cannot make this class, other trailer trainings will be offered in the future. Outdoor UW plans on running two trainings each semester. FLEET AUTHORIZATION WITH WISCONSIN HOOFERS IS REQUIRED. If you are fleet authorized with another UW department, you must submit paperwork with our office as well to become fleet authorized with Hoofers. There is no cost for the class. We will meet before the driving demonstration to get started and review the basics. After a short presentation, we will be leaving our meeting location to perform the hands-on portion of the training—dress for being outside.
Previous experience driving a trailer is not required for this training, however, it is helpful as the in-person section doesn't provide much time to practice but instead is mostly meant to demonstrate skills and ability to drive a vehicle with a trailer.
If there are questions please reach out to Nathan (headofinstruction@hoofersailing.org).
Plan to meet in the chartroom or TITU.
Learn about the Adaptive Kayak - Ambassadors
Come learn how to use the Adaptive Kayak at Hoofers. Learn about the different tools and how to use the boat to provide paddling experiences for people with mobility needs and or are nervouse about getting in a kayak.
If the weather permits people may get a chance to paddle the boat so please dress appropriately.
Meet in the boathouse
Gear Manager Office Hours
Come stop into the Gear Locker for our office hours. Test out, ask questions, get gear, or just come get to know us. Would love to see you stop by.
Outdoor Explorer Series: Be Bear Aware!
Join Outdoor UW for another informative course in the Outdoor Explorer Series (OES). Learn and practice a new skill that will make you more comfortable and excited for your next adventure!
Learn all about the outdoor industry's best practices for camping and traveling in bear country on this Outdoor Explorer Series: Be Bear Aware! course to learn the difference between black and brown bears, how to safely travel in bear county, and more. This course will help provide you with a bear saftey toolkit to make you more confident and safe while traveling in bear country.
Class Learning Outcomes:
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Spot the difference between the 3 main bears you could see in North America
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Understand where “bear country” is and what bear signs look like
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Learn how to safely navigate and camp in bear country
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How to set up a campsite in bear country
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Practice with bear safety tools
--- Class is located in the Mendota Lodge on the water lever of Memorial Union (along the lakefront and across from the Outdoor UW office) ----
*** If you are a person with a disability needing reasonable accommodation for this course, please contact our Dan Dunne, ddunne@wisc.edu ***
Red River Gorge WAITLIST
Didn't get a spot on the RRG trip? Signup for the waitlist here! You will get an email if you make it onto the trip.
Halloweekend in Red River Gorge
Halloween is nearing and so is the HMC yearly trip to Red River Gorge! Signup here to join us for a weekend of camping, climbing, and a Miguel's Pizza Haloween party! We will also be camping at Miguel's Pizza for the duration of the trip. This trip will require a sport climbing rating at the time of the event, but will not require one at sign up. This trip will be completly run using personal vehicles! This significantly reduces the costs for everyone.
Signing up for this trip will pay for camping and gaurentee you a spot in a car driving down (there is no need to look for a ride yourself).
EXPECT TO PAY MORE THAN THIS.
Cost of gas will be worked out after the trip. Expect this to be in the range of $25-$45.
Food is also NOT PROVIDED, so expect to pay for what you will eat. We will make a trip to a grocery store nearby to stock up on send fuel soon after arriving in RRG.
Itinerary:
Thursday, October 24th: Half of group leaves campus at 11am or earlier, other half of group will leave later to accomadate people with labs, exams, etc
Friday, October 25th: Full day climbing in the Muir Valley area.
Saturday, October 26th: Full day climbing in Miller Fork - Halloween Party at Miguels Pizza!
Sunday, October 27th: Half group - half climbing day at North Gorge, return to Madison. Other Half of Group - full climbing day at North Gorge.
Monday, October 28th: Other half of group - half day of climbing, return to Madison
***Climbing locations and dates are not necessarily fixed! During the pretrip meeting we can discuss where people would like to climb.
A waitlist will be opened soon for those who do not initially get a spot on this trip.
IF YOU HAVE A CAR AND WANT TO HELP DRIVE PEOPLE DOWN
let me know! We would love to open up more spots for this event.
if you have any questions feel free to contact me (events@hoofermountaineering.org) or any other leaders listed on this event.
Cheers,
Noah Winkel
Anchor 1 Clinic at Devil's Lake State Park
This clinic provides an introduction to building top-rope anchors. Topics covered in this clinic include the use of natural and bolted rock protection, knots, hazard and risk mitigation with top-rope anhors, and a variety of rigging systems. Top rope rating or equivalent knowledge is required.
We will begin our clinic at the CCC parking lot at 8 am and finish around 4 pm. You can expect to be back in Madison around 5:00 pm.
Items to bring:
- At least 2L of water
- Lunch and snacks
- Sturdy closed-toed hiking shoes
- Sun protection
- Helmet*
- Harness*
- Climbing shoes*
- Belay device*
*can be rented from HMC, email a gear manager (gearmanager@hoofermountaineering.org) to reserve
Optional items to bring (we don’t expect anyone to own these, but if you do, it can be useful to learn on your own gear) :
- Personal tethering system (e.g. sling, PAS, prussik, or auto-camming device like a Grigri)
- Anchor gear (e.g. cord, slings, runners, webbing, lockers/non-lockers)
Transportation:
- My Car
- Meet at Memorial Union Circle (parking circle between Memorial Union and Helen C. White hall) at 7 AM to carpool, otherwise you can meet at the CCC parking lot at 8 am.
- If able to drive extra people, please email me, and I could add a couple extra slots.
Question? Email arremus@wisc.edu
Volunteer at Adaptive Climbing Day—Boulders East
Hey Hoofers,
On the last Sunday of every month, Boulders hosts an adaptive climbing event, focused on making climbing more accessible, at the East Side location (3964 Commercial Ave, Madison, WI 53714). This program is volunteer-run and a great opportunity to diversify the climbing community that we, as Hoofers, engage with. They are looking for folks to belay and co-climb, no experience necessary, as other volunteers can show you the ropes.
Check out the event and sign up as a volunteer using this link: https://www.bouldersgym.com/adaptive
Boulders East is a 20 minute drive, 30 minute bike ride, or 1 hour bus ride from Madison, so coordinating with other volunteers is the best way to go about it. If you have a car and are willing to drive people, please add your name and information in the following spreadsheet. Likewise, if you need a ride, put your name down as a passenger.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QctZYuzMWonh10LTrgzAXQ-HA_mtHMhhm75KkyXlu38/edit?usp=sharing
Questions? Email me at mountaineering@hooferambassadors.org or Boulders at adaptiveclimbing@bouldersgym.com
Cheers!
Weekly Boulders Down Town Social
Have a boulders membership and want to meet other climbers in HMC? Join us every Tuesday and Boulders downtown for a weekly social! We will meet on the couches at 6pm and climb until 8! Or however long you want to stay. You are also welcome to join later that 6pm if you need. No need to sign up for this event to join! All you need to do is show up.
feel free to email me at events@hoofermountaineering.org or shoot me a text at (507) 316-8531 with any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Noah
Gear Manager Office Hours
Come stop into the Gear Locker for our office hours. Test out, ask questions, get gear, or just come get to know us. Would love to see you stop by.
Outdoor Explorer Series: Cooking in the Outdoors
Join Outdoor UW for another informative course in the Outdoor Explorer Series (OES). Learn and practice a new skill that will make you more comfortable and excited for your next adventure!
Cooking in the Outdoors
The focus of this class is all about planning, preparing, and showing techniques to cook healthy and nutritious meals while on remote backcountry camping trips. We will describe all that goes into executing meals for you and your friends while camping. This includes how to create a plan that provides flexibility for a multi-day camping trip. Shows participants how to set up a stove and walks through the process of cooking a backcountry meal. We also will describe and demonstrate some advanced techniques, such as backcountry baking, using fire for cooking, as well as sharing pro tips for those new to backcountry cooking.
Upon completion of this class, participants will:
- Understand the amount of calories that are being burned during outdoor activities
- Understand the basics micro and macro nutrients used to build a recipe
- Describe the value of a well rounded nutritious diet that offset energy expenditure
- Envision ways to plan and prepare ration based on the trip and participants
- Learn about the types cooking supplies needed to cook in the backcountry
- Learn about ways to cook in the backcountry and practice with cooking tools
--- Class is located in the Mendota Lodge on the water lever of Memorial Union (along the lakefront and across from the Outdoor UW office) ----
*** If you are a person with a disability needing reasonable accommodation for this course, please contact our Dan Dunne, ddunne@wisc.edu ***
Femme+ RRG Waitlist
Hi y'all,
The waitlist was a bit wonky before, so if you are looking to add yourself to the waitlist for the femme RRG trip, add yourself here. You will get an email if a spot opens up.
Cheers,
Alden
Femme+ Red River Gorge Trip
Join Our Femme Mountaineering Trip to Red River Gorge!
Are you part of our femme mountaineering community and ready to tackle some epic routes at the Red this fall? Come join us for our annual femme trip to Red River Gorge from October 31st to November 3rd! We’ll be camping at Miguel's Pizza and departing in a university fleet vehicle later in the afternoon on the 31st.
Requirements:
- A sport climbing rating is required to attend. Due to high demand, if your sport rating is not obtained at least two weeks before the event, your spot will be given to someone on the waitlist.
Cost:
- A $5 deposit is required at the time of sign-up. The total cost of the trip will be around $30-$40, to be paid afterward. Please note that meals are not provided. We will stop briefly at a grocery store on the way down for any last-minute items.
Further details will be shared in the pre-trip meeting.
Feel free to join us at Red River Gorge if you prefer to drive your own car!
Cheers!
Gear Manager Office Hours
Come stop into the Gear Locker for our office hours. Test out, ask questions, get gear, or just come get to know us. Would love to see you stop by.
Gear Manager Office Hours
Come stop into the Gear Locker for our office hours. Test out, ask questions, get gear, or just come get to know us. Would love to see you stop by.
Outdoor Explorer Series: Backpack Like a Pro
Join Outdoor UW for another informative course in the Outdoor Explorer Series (OES). Learn and practice a new skill that will make you more comfortable and excited for your next adventure!
Backpack Like a Pro
Have you ever been interested in learning about what backpacking is all about? Have you ever wondered why is it popular, how do people get into it, where do they go, what do they need, is it possible to backpack and still be comfortable out there? Come to this class and get these questions answered so you can get ready for your first backpacking trip of the season.
Upon completion of this class, participants will:
- Learn about what backpacking is and why it is a popular outdoor activity
- Learn about the gear and supplies needed to backpack effectively and comfortably while also creatively thinking of substitutions they have that can be used in place of high-end/expensive gear.
- Learn how to effectively pack a backpack
- Learn about local areas that will be good spots for your first backpacking trip and what time of year is the best to visit these location
- Get hands on practice with packing a backpack
--- Class is located in the Mendota Lodge on the water lever of Memorial Union (along the lakefront and across from the Outdoor UW office) ----
*** If you are a person with a disability needing reasonable accommodation for this course, please contact our Dan Dunne, ddunne@wisc.edu ***
Friendsgiving at the Union!
Come join us for a traditional Thanksgiving Meal with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. Come with a friend or make a new acquaintance at the Wisconsin Union’s holiday event. UW–Madison students like you will feast on favorites like sliced turkey, butternut squash lasagna, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and more! All topped off with pecan and pumpkin pie. Expect lively conversation and fun activities including making cards for UW–Madison students staying in town for the Thanksgiving holiday
Date: November 19, 2024
Time: 5:00-6:30 pm (dinner starts promptly at 5:00 pm)
Location: Tripp Commons, Memorial Union (2nd floor)
Cancellation and Refund Information
The deadline to register and pay is November 5, 2024 at 5pm. No refunds after November 5th.
Gear Manager Office Hours
Come stop into the Gear Locker for our office hours. Test out, ask questions, get gear, or just come get to know us. Would love to see you stop by.
Outdoor Explorer Series: New Outdoor Education Class Content
Join Outdoor UW for another informative course in the Outdoor Explorer Series (OES). Learn and practice a new skill that will make you more comfortable and excited for your next adventure!
OUTDOOR EXPLORER SERIES: Class Skill Area Coming Soon
--- Class is located in the Mendota Lodge on the water lever of Memorial Union (along the lakefront and across from the Outdoor UW office) ----
*** If you are a person with a disability needing reasonable accommodation for this course, please contact our Dan Dunne, ddunne@wisc.edu ***