As recently as the mid-1990s, if you wanted to be part of the outdoor action in the Triangle, you joined the Raleigh Ski and Outing Club.
"In 1996, we had 2,500 members," Jim Bennett, who joined the club in 1989, said during a break at the club's monthly meeting Tuesday night. "We were pretty much the only game in town."
That was just as the internet was beginning to take off. And well before the likes of meetup.com.
Today, Bennett says the club, founded in 1965, is down to about 250 members. "But we're still very active."
Ski racing remains a big element of the Raleigh Ski and Outing Club.
For instance, Tuesday, the club announced its three ski trips for the upcoming ski season: Whistler in January, Tahoe (sorry, snowboarders) in February and Crested Butte in March. They've got a camping and canoeing/kayaking/tubing trip planned for the New River in August and Saturday, there's the monthly Jordan Lake Sail Day: Come out to Vista Point between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Jim will show you the ropes on one of the club boats. No cost, even to non-club members, though there is a $5 per car entrance fee to Vista Point.
The club is also a little older. Glancing around the 40 or so who've assembled Tuesday night at the Raleigh Elks Lodge, the color gray and phrase "relaxed fit" come to mind. A healthy looking lot, mind you. But one that looks like it enjoys a good time. Which brings up a rumor I'd heard about the club back in its heyday.
"So ... back in the 1990s the club was viewed as something of a ... singles club. Any truth to that?"
Jim smiles. "That was a reputation we had in the past." As is the case with most any club, meeting other people is a big motivator. And if they happen to be of the opposite sex ... .
The singles element has faded, though, Jim says. The average age of a club member today is around 50 and more family activities are on the agenda.
One last question: "How did you come to join the club?"
Jim smiles again. "Well, at the time I had been dating a woman from another state ... ."
Club memberships start at $25 12- to 17-year-olds and college students and $50 for adults.
