The Sierra Club developed these Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) to help trip applicants better understand the essential criteria necessary to participate in a Sierra Club trip. Please read carefully! These EEC are not intended to be exclusionary, but to identify the basic requirements of participation focused on safety and risk management considerations, and consistent with Sierra Club’s mission. Importantly, these EEC are intended to be helpful and constructive for all participants considering attending Sierra Club trips. However, these EEC are only intended to give an overall picture of EEC for trip activities and do not encompass every criteria or func- tion of the various activities you may encounter on a given trip. Each participant commits on their Participant Responsibilities and Information Form that they have read and can meet the EEC for their particular trip.
If you have a question that is not answered below, visit our trip planning page or feel free to contact us.
General EEC
- Have the capacity to travel through and navigate variations in a given trip’s weather, temperatures, terrain, and altitude and continue traveling, as appropriate, during adverse weather; wind, rain, heat, cold.
- Accept that the dynamic of a group requires coming together on a daily schedule, hiking at a consistent speed, taking regular breaks, etc.
- Take care of yourself: eat and drink appropriately, dress for the weather, maintain personal hygiene and necessary self-care, manage known medical conditions.
- Effectively notify and communicate with leaders or other participants in the event of personal distress, injury, illness, or the need for assistance while engaging in activities.
- Remain alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling through the wilderness and other areas.
- Can pay attention and understand and follow directions when traveling independently or with the group, and stay with the group when necessary.
- Follow rules that the leaders establish for the safety and well-being of the group.
- Act in a manner consistent with Leave No Trace ethics. Participants must be able to follow leaders’ directions regarding minimum impact guidelines. For more information, go to www.LNT.org.
- Work cooperatively as a member of a group and support a team approach despite potentially challenging circumstances. This includes treating others with courtesy and respect and requires flexibility and the ability to compromise on an interpersonal or group level.
- Recognize that group members may have different views on problem-solving. The leaders will make the final decisions, but your input is valued and welcome. Tolerance, compromise, and flexibility are required.
- As applicable on a given trip, live and travel in the remote US or International settings frequently 8 or more hours from medical facilities with potential delays or difficulties in communication, transportation, evacuation, and medical care.
Trip-Specific EEC
Backpack
Physical Abilities
- Travel over uneven, variable terrain
- Enter and exit tent over rocky, wet, sandy, and slick surfaces.
- Carry personal gear from vehicle to and from trailhead or campground, carry a daypack with a personal emergency kit on trails, set-up and take down personal camp (tent, pad, sleeping bag)
- Know and safely perform fundamental camping skills.
- Navigate safely around camp and toileting facilities across terrain that may be any combination of sandy, rocky, muddy, slippery, or steep.
- Perform necessary self-care, including maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration, dressing appropriately for environmental conditions, maintaining personal hygiene, managing known medical conditions, and maintaining personal (and, in some cases, group) safety gear in an outdoor environment.
- Continue traveling over varied terrain when safe during adverse weather, such as heat, wind, rain, and cold.
- If conditions become adverse, travel without stopping for rest stops for one hour.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including comfortable, broken-in footwear.
- Effectively warn others of potential or impending hazards such as falling rocks, slippery terrain, snow or rock slide, aggressive animals or insects, fast water, falling person, or other environmental hazards.
- Manage any known medical conditions in a remote environment for as long as two times the trip’s scheduled length.
Base Camp
Physical Abilities
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Have sufficient prior relevant backpack experience, to qualify for the intended trip.
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Be able to carry personal gear (pack, tent, sleeping bag, clothing, etc.) plus a share of food and group gear (stoves, fuel, pots, etc.) over the miles, elevation gain, and terrain of the planned trip. Also, have some extra capacity to carry additional items if another trip member should be injured.
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Be comfortable setting up your camp in a wilderness setting, in any kind of weather. All gear must have been used, tried out, set up, before bringing it on the trail.
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Be able and willing to participate in camp chores; hauling water, meal preparation, and meal cleanup, campsite cleanup, etc.
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Be able to travel, with a pack, on or off the trail, over uneven, variable terrain, possibly fording streams, depending on the specific trip.
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Must have the reserve to travel further, faster, and longer than planned if unforeseen or adverse conditions (storm, fire, flood) require that.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including comfortable, broken-in footwear.
- Effectively warn others of potential or impending hazards such as falling rocks, slippery terrain, snow or rock slide, aggressive animals or insects, fast water, falling person, or other environmental hazards.
- Manage any known medical conditions in a remote environment for as long as two times the trip’s scheduled length.
Bicycle
Physical Abilities
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Ability to balance, pedal, steer, stop, and negotiate a bike over various terrain, including flat, uphill, and downhill.
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If necessary and available, with assistance, be able to perform minor bike maintenance, including lube chain, check the air in tires daily, change a flat, or reset a chain.
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While traveling on paved roads or dirt/rock trails, follow posted signs. On paved roads, ride single file on available shoulders of the road. Do not signal to vehicles to pass; it is their responsibility to decide if they can safely. Stop at all stop signs or signals.
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Perform necessary self-care.
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Maintain adequate nutrition and hydration.
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Dress appropriately for environmental conditions.
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Maintain personal hygiene.
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Manage general health conditions, including keeping an adequate supply of medications.
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Be able to travel farther and longer than anticipated by adequate pre-trip training.
Safety and Risk Management
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Observe the safety recommendations of leaders.
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Warn others of hazards such as slippery terrain, an accident, wild animals, etc.
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Notify leaders or others of personal distress, injury, illness, or the need for assistance.
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Use hand signals and voice to warn of an emergency stop.
Canoe
Physical Abilities
- Enter and exit canoe in the water and over rocky, wet, sandy, and slick surfaces.
- Remain seated and balanced for several hours while paddling.
- Control a paddle and pull it through the water to steer and propel the boat forward for up to six hours a day and against strong potential headwinds.
- Carry personal gear from canoe to and from camp, set-up, and takedown personal camp (tent, pad, sleeping bag).
- Navigate safely from canoe to camp and toileting facilities through shallow water and across the terrain, which may be any combination of sandy, rocky, muddy, slippery, or steep.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including an approved personal flotation device (PFD).
- Be able to demonstrate “safe swim position”: independently turn from a face-down to a face-up position keeping head above water and feet at the water’s surface.
- In the event of a capsize, be able to exit the boat independently and re-enter the boat with the assistance of one other boat and your paddling partner, following directions.
- Be able to self-rescue or actively swim to safety, grab and hold onto a safety rope and cooperate with an assisted rescue.
Family
Physical Abilities
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Travel over uneven, variable terrain.
- Enter and exit tent over rocky, wet, sandy, and slick surfaces.
- Carry personal gear from vehicle to and from trailhead or campground, carry a daypack with a personal emergency kit on trails, set-up and take down personal camp (tent, pad, sleeping bag).
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Know and safely perform fundamental camping skills.
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Navigate safely around camp and toileting facilities across terrain that may be any combination of sandy, rocky, muddy, slippery, or steep.
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Perform necessary self-care, including maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration, dressing appropriately for environmental conditions, maintaining personal hygiene, managing known medical conditions, and maintaining personal (and, in some cases, group) safety gear in an outdoor environment.
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Continue traveling over varied terrain when safe during adverse weather, such as heat, wind, rain, and cold.
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If conditions become adverse, travel without stopping for rest stops for one hour.
Safety and Risk Management
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Wear all required safety gear, including comfortable, broken-in footwear.
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Effectively warn others of potential or impending hazards such as falling rocks, slippery terrain, snow or rock slide, aggressive animals or insects, fast water, falling person, or other environmental hazards.
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Manage any known medical conditions in a remote environment for as long as two times the trip’s scheduled length.
Hut-to-Hut
Physical Abilities
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Be comfortable staying in a rustic hut setting with primitive facilities (possibly no running water, pit toilets, no electricity).
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Be able to carry their gear (backpack or daypack with required gear, as specified for the particular trip) for each day’s hike.
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Help spilt/carry wood and water into the hut as needed.
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Maneuver uneven and varying terrain in the hut, such as ladders and old stairs.
Safety and Risk Management
- Most huts are heated with a fireplace. Participants must take responsibility for managing fires 24 hours a day while at the hut.
- Follow sanitation guidelines to keep yourself and the group healthy and disease-free
- Use caution while handling the ax in the wood area. Staying clear of the wood area if not chopping wood.
Kayak
Physical Abilities
- Enter and exit kayak in the water and over rocky, wet, sandy, and slick surfaces.
- Remain seated and balanced, with legs extended forward for several hours while paddling.
- Control a paddle and pull it through the water to steer and propel the boat forward for up to 6 hours a day and against strong potential headwinds.
- Carry personal gear from kayak to and from camp, set-up and take down personal camp (tent, pad, sleeping bag) with the help of companion as needed
- Navigate safely from kayak to camp and toileting facilities through shallow water and across the terrain, which may be any combination of sandy, rocky, muddy, slippery, or steep.
- Together with a paddling partner, be able to control a kayak and maintain a balanced upright position in moving water or the ocean for up to two hours.
Safety and Risk Management
- Follow leader recommendations about what gear to bring, sleeping bag rating, how much water you need to carry, etc.
- Warn other group members and leaders of hazards such as falling rocks, unstable terrain, fast water, aggressive animals, or injuries to other persons.
- Pay attention to yourself, especially your feet. Don’t hesitate to stop if you need to manage a blister, take a drink, add or remove a layer of clothing.
Lodge
Physical Abilities
- Have sufficient prior relevant hiking experience to qualify for the intended trip. Hikes of varying levels of difficulty may be available.
- Be able to carry personal gear (daypack, water, lunch, extra clothing, etc.) over the miles, elevation gain, and terrain of the planned day hikes. Also, have some extra capacity to carry additional items if another trip member should be injured.
- Be comfortable with staying in a rustic lodge with primitive facilities and shared rooms. Must be able to travel, with a daypack, on or off the trail, over uneven, variable terrain, possibly fording streams, depending on the specific trip. Ask the leader beforehand about variations, options to take a day off from hiking, alternate activities.
- Must have the reserve to travel further, faster, and longer than planned if unforeseen or adverse conditions (storm, fire, flood) require that.
Safety and Risk Management
- Follow leader recommendations about what gear to bring, a maximum weight of duffel bag, how much water you need to carry, etc.
- Warn other group members and leaders of hazards such as falling rocks, unstable terrain, fast water, aggressive animals, or injuries to other persons.
- Pay attention to yourself. Especially your feet. Don’t hesitate to stop if you need to manage a blister, take a drink, add or remove clothing layers.
International
Physical Abilities
- Have sufficient prior relevant hiking experience, to qualify for the intended trip. Hikes of varying levels of difficulty may be available.
- Be able to carry personal gear (daypack, water, lunch, extra clothing, etc.) over the miles, elevation gain, and terrain of the planned day hikes. Also, have some extra capacity to carry additional items if another trip member should be injured.
- Be comfortable with staying in a rustic lodge with primitive facilities and shared rooms. Must be able to travel, with a daypack, on or off the trail, over uneven, variable terrain, possibly fording streams, depending on the specific trip. Ask the leader beforehand about variations, options to take a day off from hiking, alternate activities.
- Must have the reserve to travel further, faster, and longer than planned if unforeseen or adverse conditions (storm, fire, flood) require that.
Safety and Risk Management
- Follow leader recommendations about what gear to bring, a maximum weight of duffel bag, how much water you need to carry, etc.
- Warn other group members and leaders of hazards such as falling rocks, unstable terrain, fast water, aggressive animals, or injuries to other persons.
- Pay attention to yourself. Especially your feet. Don’t hesitate to stop if you need to manage a blister, take a drink, add or remove a layer of clothing.
Raft
Physical Abilities
- Enter and exit raft in the water and over rocky, wet, sandy, and slick surfaces.
- Be able to maintain a seated and balanced position in the raft over moving water and through up to class 4 rapids for up to 2 hours at a time, with adaptations as necessary.
- Be able to hold on and keep oneself in the raft through whitewater rapids up to class 4.
- Be able to maintain the whitewater swim position on your back with feet out of the water and swim in whitewater if ejected from the raft.
- The ability to identify life-threatening hazards and how to react if separated from the raft guide.
- Carry personal gear from canoe to and from camp, set-up and take down personal camp (tent, pad, sleeping bag) with the help of companion as needed
- Navigate safely from a raft to camp and toileting facilities through shallow water and across the terrain, which may be any combination of sandy, rocky, muddy, slippery, or steep.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including an approved personal flotation device (PFD) at all times while in a raft or swimming in a river, and wear a helmet when required.
- Hold their breath while underwater and while in the water wearing a properly fitted PFD, be able to independently turn from a face down to a face-up position keeping their head above water.
- Fend for self in moving water and gentle rapids while away from the boat and assume a “safe swimming position.”
- Be able to self-rescue or actively swim to safety, grab and hold onto a safety rope and cooperate with an assisted rescue.
- In the event of a capsize or fall out of the raft, be able to move to a safe position and then re-enter the boat with others’ assistance in your raft, following directions.
SCUBA
Physical Abilities
- Be certified by a nationally recognized agency for SCUBA diving.
- Be able to put the equipment together, safely handle the gear, transport it short distances, and adjust all equipment for proper fit.
- Be able to do water entries from a boat (long stride or backward roll), shore entries, re-board a boat from the water via a ladder with gear, and do shore exits safely.
- Able to handle currents, tides, surf, reduced visibility, and other situations common to diving.
- Know the hand signals of SCUBA divers, have good swimming abilities, and be comfortable in the water.
- Determine if the weather and water conditions are within the limitations set by your highest certification level, within your skillset, and decide to continue or abort aboard the dive.
- Remain calm in the presence of various ocean life and respect the environment by not touching, damaging, or collecting coral, shells, sea life, or artifacts.
- Experience as a good swimmer and proficient at snorkeling and diving
- How to read a computer and SPG (Submersible Pressure Gauges): www.padi.com/gear/spgs
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), “octopus” regulator with a spare regulator, and whistle.
- Monitor gauges, identify to divemaster required levels of air consumption.
- Follow and monitor the divemaster for directions.
- Only dive as deep as instructed for each dive, adhere to bottom time limits for repetitive dives.
- Able to retrieve a regulator that may have been dislodged from your mouth underwater.
- Self-rescue, grab and hold onto a safety rope and cooperate with an assisted rescue or evacuation.
- Share personal history of dive accidents, injuries, or illness (to be assessed by the leader)
Service
Physical Abilities
- Be able to participate in the physical labor service work project.
- Be able to carry personal gear (tent, sleeping bag, spare clothing, etc.) to a designated base campsite.
- Be comfortable staying in a rustic setting with primitive facilities.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear that may include hard hats, goggles, gloves, and boots
- Effectively warn others of potential or impending hazards such as falling rocks, slippery terrain, aggressive animals or insects, fast water, falling person, or other environmental hazards.
Small Boat
Physical Abilities
- Manage climb in or out of a boat from a variety of locations.
- Ascend and descend ladders and stairs within the boat, including sleeping berth.
- Be able to maintain a seated and balanced position or move about vessel as needed during rough water.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety gear, including an approved personal flotation device (PFD).
- Fend for self while in the water.
- In the event of a capsize, be able to exit the boat independently and re-enter the boat with assistance if needed.
- Be able to self-rescue or actively swim to safety, grab and hold onto a safety rope and cooperate with an assisted rescue.
Snow
Physical Abilities
- Travel on skis, snowboard, or snowshoes over uneven, variable terrain, including flat to steep (35 degrees) unpacked snow-covered terrain, which may take eight or more hours.
- Carry personal and group gear required for the specific activity in a backpack or lumbar pack with a personal emergency kit for at least one hour beyond the activity’s intended duration.
- Be able to move a load of gear weighing at a minimum of 60 lbs. utilizing a sled, backpack, or some combination thereof.
- Know how to recover after a fall on skis, snowboard, or snowshoes.
- Be able to shovel to perform camp chores and participate in rescues where people, gear, or shelters have been buried in the snow, such as in an avalanche or drifted in during a storm.
- Be prepared for cold temperatures (-20 degrees F or colder) for two hours beyond the activity’s intended duration.
Safety and Risk Management
- Wear all required safety and cold-weather gear, including comfortable, waterproof, broken-in footwear.
- Be able to perceive and differentiate signals from an avalanche transceiver and efficiently move over avalanche debris without skis.
- Effectively warn others of potential or impending hazards such as falling rocks, slippery terrain, snow or rock slide, aggressive animals or insects, fast water, falling person, or other environmental hazards.
- Manage any known medical conditions in a remote environment for as long as two times the trip’s scheduled length.
Supported Trekking
Physical Abilities
- Lead a pack animal over varying terrain, including slick rock and sand, including flat, uphill, and downhill. Training is provided.
- Keep all personal gear in a duffel within allowable limits.
- Ability with or without assistance to help in the camp kitchen for cooking and cleanup.
- Carry a daypack containing water, lunch/snacks, and needed clothes.
Safety and Risk Management
- Ability to release the rope and move out of the way when in physical trouble handling a pack animal.