Some chapters cite updated training requirements as contributing to decline in volunteers
By Gillian Scott
For decades, volunteers across the state have led members of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) into the wilderness—on foot, on skis, in boats and sometimes on bikes. The chapters decided who the trip leaders were. They also set the qualifications and rules for them.
In April 2023, the ADK Board of Directors approved new trip leader training requirements for volunteer trip leaders. The new Outings Leader Certification Program provides a uniform set of standards across all chapters.
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Julia Goren, who recently stepped down as the interim executive director of ADK, explained that the changes were made to improve safety and meet insurance requirements. The new guidelines also serve as a two-part recruitment tool. They reassure participants that leaders are qualified and support the development of trip leaders.
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“By saying, ‘I’m a certified leader, I had to go through a program,’ it adds value,” she said. “It’s not just ‘You should go on a hike with me. I’m really knowledgeable. Trust me.’ It’s saying, ‘I’ve participated in this program, and I have things I can teach you.’”
Richard Ross, outings chair for the Black River chapter, located in Jefferson and Lewis counties, agrees. He sees the changes as a way to attract younger members.
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By the end of 2024, Black River was on track to have at least four trip leaders certified to Level 3, Ross said.
“We embraced it,” he said.
Chapters push back against changes
However, some ADK members said the changes have driven away volunteers.
The crux of the issue is the amount of training required. The new guidelines break trips down into different categories—C for the easiest, B for moderate and A for the most challenging (see below). Each level requires a different level of training.
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Leaders for C trips, which Goren said is the “vast majority” of leaders, need to complete two online classes. Each class lasts 30 minutes. One class is for sexual harassment training, and the other is for Leave No Trace training. Volunteers for leading the hardest hikes need Wilderness First Aid training, a Leave No Trace trainer course, a map and compass course, and ADK’s Leadership 101 course.
Getting certified for class A trips requires about five days of training, said Wayne Richter, outings chair for the Glens Falls-Saratoga chapter.
According to ADK’s Communications Director Sara Cook, the organization “does recognize and credit relevant prior experience and outside training, provided it aligns with the standards we must meet for insurance compliance,” she said. “We simply require documentation of the course, and the training must meet the same standards as our internal requirements.”
The new training requirements have led to fewer leaders in his chapter and a decline in the number of trips offered.
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“It’s complicated because it’s intertwined with COVID-19,” he said. “Before that happened, we were doing about 165–180 trips a year. It’s probably a few dozen now.”
Goren attributed the decline in the number of trip leaders to the pressures many volunteer-led organizations are facing: a decline in members’ willingness to be active. COVID-19 hit chapters hard, too, she said, because 70% of ADK’s members are over the age of 65, a demographic particularly at risk for health complications.
A new ‘barrier’
The Glens Falls-Saratoga chapter went from a high of 33 trip leaders in 2019 to 10 in 2024. Richter said a number of leaders said they would not lead trips because of the certification requirements.
“It’s clearly been a barrier,” Richter said.
He said the Glens Falls-Saratoga chapter historically led a lot of High Peaks trips with A ratings.
“I’ve had a couple of people tell me that they’re interested in leading, but they can’t make the time to do [the training].”
Ralph Keating, until recently the outings chair for the Albany chapter, said the changes contributed to an exodus of leaders from his chapter, too. His roster fell from more than 60 leaders before the pandemic to about 30 as of last fall.
“They said, ‘I can’t deal with this anymore,’” Keating said. In 2019, leaders in his chapter led 270 trips. That number dropped to 79 in 2024.
Impacting a minority of members
In the long run, the trip leader training requirements will affect a fraction of ADK’s members.
Goren points out that only 10% of a typical chapter’s members participate in outings. So of ADK’s 27,000 total members, only about 2,700 will go on hikes or paddles through chapter trips. An even smaller number take leadership positions.
To help prepare leaders, ADK offered a weekend training program, free to ADK members, that covered all courses needed by Level 1 leaders.
Ross noted that the courses ADK provided in the weekend training program were worth about $500 if leaders had to pay for them individually.
“We’ve pitched it to attract new members,” Ross said. “In order to get more members, you need engaging events, and the engaging events have to be safely led by trained leaders.”
ADK trip leader training levels
The following guidelines are for hikes; there is a similar rating system for paddle trips.
Level 1
C or C+ hikes are “easy” or “fairly easy” with less than 1,000 feet of elevation gain, and less than 8 miles in distance.
- C hike: Cat Mountain: (Blue Trail) 2.8 miles roundtrip, 756 feet of elevation gain.
- C+ hike: Deer Pond Loop: (Tupper) 7.3 miles, 500 feet of elevation gain
Level 2
B or B+ hikes. B hikes are of “moderate” difficulty, have up to 1,000 feet of elevation gain and are 5–10 miles in distance. B+ hikes are “moderately strenuous,” with up to 2,000 feet of elevation gain and 5–10 miles long.
- B hikes:
- Great Camp Santanoni: 9 miles, 320 feet of elevation gain
- Otter Hollow Trail Loop: 8.4 miles, 650 of feet elevation gain
- B+ hikes:
- Hadley Mountain: 3.6 miles roundtrip, 1,500 feet of elevation gain
- Buck Mountain (from Hogtown Road): 5 miles roundtrip, 1,100 feet of elevation gain
- Cascade Mountain: 4.8 miles roundtrip, 1,940 feet of elevation change
Level 3
A or A+ hikes. A hikes are “strenuous,” with up to 3,000 feet of elevation gain, and 5–10 miles. A+ hikes are “very strenuous,” have up to 4,000 feet of elevation of gain, and are 10 miles or more in distance.
- A hikes:
- Phelps: 8.4 miles roundtrip, 2,275 feet of elevation gain
- Snowy Mountain: 7.8 miles roundtrip, 2,106 feet of elevation change
- A+ hikes:
- Whiteface Mountain: 12 miles roundtrip, 3,320 feet of elevation gain
- Mount Marcy from Adirondack Loj:
- 14 miles roundtrip, 3,200 feet of elevation change
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This article first appeared in a recent issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine.
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“Some chapters cite updated training requirements as contributing to decline in volunteers”
To be sure, volunteerism is in big trouble in fire departments, rescue squads and organizations of all kinds. Insurance and training are part of it, but I suspect there’s a lot more reasons why young people are not turning out. I offer this from my own experience:
After the first Earth Day in 1970, a handful of Johnsburg locals decided to organize an environmental club and I was elected secretary. A short while later, I got a call from the Adk. Mtn. Club Exec. Director, Grant Cole , inviting our group to become affiliated as a new Chapter of ADK. We kicked that idea around and finally decided that ADK was great for recreation, but it seemed afraid to take strong positions needed to protect the environment of the Adirondacks and beyond. Our group, the UHEAC, said no thanks and we never looked back or regretted that choice.
During the next two decades we became strong local supporters and allies of many larger groups and they helped us as well. Ski guru Almy Coggeshull taught our members how to cross country ski and then Peter Hornbeck led UHEAC sponsored weekly ski trips and hikes for anyone interested. For our older and our less athletic members, we sponsored plenty of other activities like our annual town cleanups, lobbying trips to Albany, and educational programs provided by experts like Gary Randorf, Marilyn DuBois, and even Dick Beamish! The success of our local group was reflected in a steady increase in our annual membership numbers among all age groups .
Would such a formula work in the 21st century world of 2025? Would young people want to take up the cause of protecting the natural world and preserving special places like our Adirondacks ,which are all under growing threat again?
All I can tell you is that this formula worked for a small group of concerned local citizens who turned down what ADK was offering because we saw a need and felt that we wanted to do more….
“In the long run, the trip leader training requirements will affect a fraction of ADK’s members”. Only 10% of the clubs members go on these guided trips. Less large groups trekking the mountains and forests is a win for nature.