Nick Block
Our students and volunteer climbers tell us year after year that there are not enough trips and not enough leaders. The process to become a climb leader is not well defined or outlined, and many potential new leaders may not know where to go or how to start down a leadership path. To solve this problem, the Progressive Climbing Education (PCE) Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is working to identify new leadership roles in Mountaineers climbing in an effort to reduce barriers, increase available climbs, and ease the burden on our already busy volunteers.
The goal of this project is to create more leadership roles that accommodate a wider variety of experiences and interests. The committee is developing a modular leadership progression that would allow prospective leaders to pursue a variety of leadership tracks like rock, glacier, or a frontcountry role focusing on conditioners and crag trips.
The project aims to make the path to become a leader clear and transparent, with the outcome being an increase the number of leaders by making the process easy to follow and understand. When the pathway to leadership is well defined and available to everyone, it encourages more volunteers to step into leadership roles. The LDC also plans to make the process and requirements to be a leader consistent across the branches.
To achieve these goals, we need your input! We want to know what is working best in our current leadership structure, and what needs to change. We want to know why you became a leader or why you have not become a leader. Your valuable feedback will help us make informed decisions about how to best develop a new leadership structure that works for all Mountaineers.
Want to know more about the PCE?
Progressive Climbing Committees (PCE) work to advance our organization as one team. We work together with representatives across all climbing committees to find common ground. The work of the PCE is focused on reducing confusion for our members, leaders, and students by creating a more consistent and clear climbing programs.
The PCE is made up of four committees, each of which work with each other when needed to accomplish their charge. These committees are run by dedicated volunteers who dedicate their time to improve Mountaineers climbing programs.
The Leadership Development Committee (LDC) identifies new ways to create leaders and increase the number of active leaders. Additionally, the LDC works to find new opportunities for continuing education and leader training.
We have been documenting the progress of PCE and Vision 2022. We encourage you to dig into our past updates for a detailed history of the PCE process.
