The MCM Council has approved a written Code of Conduct for the Mountain Club. Many of you may wonder why we need a written code, because our members have a strong unwritten ethos involving mutual respect and tolerance. However, last year the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service encouraged all Trail maintaining clubs to adopt a written code of conduct to document our expectations, as well as a process to deal with any problems that occur in the future. As a result, earlier this year the Council authorized the drafting of a code for its consideration. After review and discussion, the Council approved the document, and it is now available on our web site.
The new Code of Conduct identifies a number of behaviors that would constitute misconduct. While our members already are careful to avoid these behaviors, in the event that an incident of misconduct occurs, any person who is affected by or who witnessed the incident should report it to the immediate MCM leader of the activity, such as the hike leader on a hike. The leader should make efforts to intervene in and resolve the issue quickly, informally, and between the people directly involved. Hike leaders or others leading an MCM activity are empowered to intervene and resolve immediate issues, and then to make a confidential report to the President. In addition, any person affected or involved in an incident may file a written complaint with the President. When a formal complaint is received, the MCM President will appoint and convene a Code of Conduct Committee, with due consideration to relevant representation on the committee based on the nature of the complaint.
Members can view the Code of Conduct at our web site under the Resources / Document Repository headings or by clicking here.