McGill Outdoors Club
Encyclopedia
Founding
The McGill Outdoors Club (abbr. MOC), formerly known as McGill Outing Club (renamed due to confusing meaning of the word OutingOuting
Outing is the act of disclosing a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person's true sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Outing gives rise to issues of privacy, choice, hypocrisy, and harm in addition to sparking debate on what constitutes common good in efforts...
) is a student club founded in 1936 by McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
Athletics, but open to everyone. The MOC is the largest student outdoors club in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, if not Canada, and definitely one of the oldest.
The club was originally mostly male, rugged types who participated in "roughing" it in the wild. They were not as concerned with protecting the environment as they were about getting out there and blazing trails. The tone has now changed over to a more environmentally sustainable approach.
Members
In an average year, the club has over 400 members (and about 600 more non-members via the LISTSERV) who participate in club and independent sports activities like hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, paddling, climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
and many others. On good days club members are outdoors.
Anyone is free to join. The membership fee for McGill students is $20 CAD, and for non-students $25.
Official outings
The club organizes complete trip packages about 6-10 times a year, with the following outings occurring yearly:- New members weekend - A simple get-to-know-each-other event that is hosted at the beginning of the academic year. All members are eligible for this weekend trip. Capacity is about 60-80 persons.
- Beginners rock school - Organized early in the year, this trip takes about 20 people to Val David to learn top-roping. All gear is included, and trained instructors set up routes and guide students on how to climb.
- Intermediate rock school - Generally taking place just before the first snowfall, this trip hosts 20 people in Val David. Goals include setting up anchors, advanced rappelling, and emergency situation recovery.
- Ice breaker trip - The idea is to emulate icebreaking tankers, but on a smaller scale. The trip takes canoes onto lightly frozen lakes, with a few nights of camping.
- Cross-country skiing trip - This is an outing to go/learn cross-country skiingCross-country skiingCross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
. - Ice climbing trip - An introduction to climbingClimbingClimbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
using crampons, ice axes, and other ice-specific climbing gear. - Freaks on Planks - An introduction to alpine skiingAlpine skiingAlpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
, telemark skiingTelemark skiingTelemark skiing is a form of skiing using the Telemark turn. Unlike alpine skiing equipment, the skis used for telemarking either have a binding that only connects the boot to the ski at the toes, just as in cross-country skiing, or may be released to only connect there.Telemark turns are led with...
, or snowboardingSnowboardingSnowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
.
Unofficial outings
With over 1000 people on the LISTSERV, it is common for participants to arrange their own trips. Offers for rides and extra spaces to interesting local and not-so-local places are made here.MOC House
From the early 1950s until June 2008, a red-roofed house in Shawbridge (Prévost), Quebec served as a home base for many of the activities organized by the club. The house was run by the MOC executives, and members were welcome to stay at almost any time they liked. Non-members were accompanied by a paid MOC member. A small house fee per person helped to fund improvements and expenses related to the house.The house was formally owned by McGill from 1954–2008, and leased to the MOC. This lease arrangement was ended on May 31, 2008, partly because of extensive house repairs which needed to be made. On that date, most of the contents of the house were put in storage just down the street.
Over the summer of 2008, MOC members and McGill alumni joined forces to find a solution for the houseless club. Although the property was valued between $85,000 and $105,000, they successfully negotiated a purchase price of $60,000, reflecting the need for extensive repairs to the building. Two alumni generously stepped forward to loan the entire purchase amount to the MOC. A non-profit organization called the "Fondation Plein Air de Montréal" (FPAM) was founded with five MOC alumni as its directors. The sole purpose of FPAM is to own the house, and to rent it exclusively to the MOC.
The house is being repaired during the winter of 2008-9, and is not being used during this period. A "Save the MOC House" fundraising campaign is now under way in an attempt to raise $110,000 to pay off the mortgage and most or all of the repair bills.
MOC Wiki
The MOC has its own wiki that details many outdoor trip ideas, as well as other activities, in the greater MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
area.
It is not exclusive to MOC members.