Meetings:
Every Tuesday night at 8:30pm there will be a meeting to discuss upcoming events and activities. Until November, we meet on the William Pitt Union Lawn (Bigelow side). Once the weather cools down, starting in November, we move our meetings into 1500 Posvar Hall.

Meetings are now in 1500 Posvar Hall, because it's pretty cold outside.

Membership:
Any person affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh that want to experience the outdoors. View more membership information.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have class/prior engagements on Tuesday nights so I can't come to the meetings. Can I still join?
If you are unable to attend our meetings for whatever reason, but would still like to become an active member, you may E-Mail POC to be put on our distribution list. We send e-mails out every week outlining what was discussed in the meeting that week and announce any trips that we will be planning that weekend, or if they are larger trips, what will be occurring in a few weeks. We also post the minutes of every meeting on the webpage the night of the meeting.

I have never done any of this stuff. Will that keep me from doing any of your activities?
Do not let the fact that you have never participated in any of the events the club offers scare you away. As long as you are interested in doing them, you are welcome to join. We accept people of all skill levels. Many of our current members started off never having done any outdoors activities, and now they have excelled in the activities they enjoy and are teaching others what they have learned.

I do not own any of my own gear. Will this be a problem?
If you do not own any of your own gear, it is okay. The club provides most of the gear required to do the trips we run. If by chance we do not own something, it is possible to be rented. On the opposite side, if you do have your own gear, you are more then welcome and encouraged to use it.

How are dues only 10 dollars? Will there be more charges tacked on at a later date?
Most of the trips that we run are free of charge. The dues help pay for transportation, and to reimburse gas to the people who drive their own vehicles places for the club. There are some trips that will require a nominal fee. Trips that equipment that we as a club do not own, and must therefore rent from the company we utilize, like rafts for whitewater rafting, or campsite fees to National Parks when we stay overnight someplace.

Are there any benefits to becoming an active member of the club?
As an active member of the club, you are eligible to go to various Indoor Climbing Walls in the city at greatly discounted rates. Most students pay 15 dollars to enter the gyms, you as a POC member are only charged approximately 5 dollars. You also will meet a lot of new people whom you can become very close friends with. These people are after all those who will be holding your life in their hands - it is kind of hard to not bond with them.

In the late 1960's an informal club for outdoor adventure-type activities was established at Pitt by the late Vic Schmidt and some colleagues. The club's original name was Robin Hood's Merry Band. When questioned about how it came to have this name, Vic replied -- "It was just something that someone came up with. Actually we were glad to have ANY name, so long as it wasn't 'the Outing Club.'" Originally the club was independent of the University. All the equipment belonged to the individual members. Professor Schmidt was an eminent geologist, and caving was a primary club activity. Hiking, camping, climbing and kayaking were also important parts of the club's agenda.

Sometime later (in the early 1970's) the club became part of the Student Activities program at Pitt. The official name was changed to "The Outdoors Club," but the nickname "Robin Hood's Merry Band" continued to be used to varying degrees over the years.

By 1982, the club had a rather formal "Climbing School" every fall, with a "Graduation Climb" at Seneca Rocks in early or mid October. In the 1990's, liability concerns led to the "school" being changed to an informal climbing program to which beginners were welcomed. The "Graduation Climb" has remained as a club tradition.

Some other "traditions" that have come and gone and sometimes come back:

• Meetings have been at 8:20 or 8:30 pm Tuesday nights, at least since 1982
• Going to a local pizza parlor after the meeting
• Going skating or skiing in Schenley Park after the meeting
• A Halloween Party
• Winter break/New Year's cabin-camping trips to Allegheny Forest
• Participation in the Hand-In-Hand Festival
• Spring break trips

• To provide an opportunity to experience, appreciate, and learn about the outdoors while teaching saftey, survival skills, and team work.
• To experience friendships based on trust and common goals.
• To enjoy the outdoors while getting a break from Oakland and being with close friends.

If you would like to take a look at our Club Constitution you are welcome to do so as well.