DA40 PLT NEGLECTS TO REVIEW OBSTACLE DEP PROC AND HAS A NEAR CFIT WHILE DEPARTING MGW.

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AS WE STARTED UP; THE TWR ADVISED THAT OUR CLRNC WAS AVAILABLE. I HAD REFILED THE AMENDED ROUTING WE HAD RECEIVED EARLIER IN THE TRIP AND IT WAS THE SAME; DIRECT ESL; DIRECT AML; DIRECT. NO OBSTACLE DEP PROC WAS ISSUED OR MENTIONED. WE TAXIED TO THE DEP RWY 18 AND PERFORMED A NORMAL RUN-UP. WE WERE THEN CLRED FOR TKOF. THE TKOF RUN WAS NORMAL AND WE BEGAN TO GAIN ALT; ACCELERATING TO 80 KTS; FLAPS WERE RETRACTED TO ZERO FOR CRUISE CLB. BEFORE REACHING THE DEP END OF THE RWY; WE WERE INSTRUCTED BY THE TWR TO 'PROCEED ON COURSE AND CONTACT DEP.' I THEN SET THE PROP CTL TO 2500 RPM AND VERIFIED FULL THROTTLE. I TURNED THE ACFT TO THE GPS INDICATED TRACK OF 130 AT THE DEP THRESHOLD AND CONTACTED DEP PASSING 1700 FT CLBING 7000 FT. I ALSO ACTIVATED THE AUTOPLT AND SELECTED A CLB OF 700 FPM; GPS NAV. THE DEP CTLR RESPONDED WITH 'SAY ALT.' I INDICATED PASSING 1800 FT. THERE WAS NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I KNEW WE MIGHT NOT BE ON RADAR YET SO I DID NOT FIND THAT UNUSUAL. I CONCLUDED THAT THIS WAS ODD; BUT NOT ALARMING. THE CTLR CAME BACK ABOUT 1 MIN LATER WITH THE SAME REQUEST; SAY ALT. I BELIEVE THAT I RESPONDED 2300 FT. AGAIN; THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE RESPONSE. ABOUT 20 SECONDS LATER; THE CTLR THEN RESPONDED 'DIAMOND STAR; YOU ARE ENTERING A MOUNTAINOUS REGION; THE MVA IS 3400 FT; YOU NEED TO CLB; SIR; CLB!' THE ANXIETY IN THE INTONATION OF THE XMISSION WAS QUITE APPARENT. I REALIZED THEN THAT WE WERE NOT YET 'RADAR CONTACT' AND THAT HE WAS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO ISSUE A HDG SINCE WE WERE BELOW MVA. MY RESPONSE TO THAT WAS DELIBERATELY CALM TO AVOID ADDING ANY FURTHER CONCERN FOR THE PAX OF MYSELF. I WAS FOCUSED ON FLYING THE PLANE AND BELIEVED FOR MANY REASONS THAT I CANNOT NOW EXPLAIN THAT I COULD OUT-FLY THE TERRAIN BASED UPON THE CLB PERFORMANCE OF THE AIRPLANE. THE TWR CTLR'S INSTRUCTION TO PROCEED ON COURSE SERVED TO VALIDATE A MISCONCEPTION THAT I HAD; BELIEVING THAT THE TERRAIN TO THE SE WAS SIMILAR TO THAT AT CBE; WHICH HAS A ROAD AND VALLEY BELOW THE ARPT ELEVATION TO THE SE. IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT I REALIZED THAT I COULD NOT SEE THE TERRAIN VERY WELL; IF AT ALL. THUS; WE WERE CLOSE TO IMC ON A MOONLESS NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE MOONLESS PART HAD JUST OCCURRED TO ME. THE STARS WERE CLRLY VISIBLE IN THE CLB PITCH ATTITUDE; BUT THE COWLING WAS OBSTRUCTING OUR FORWARD TERRAIN VIEW. I LOOKED L AND DOWN AND COULD SEE AN OUTDOOR LIGHT THAT LOOKED TO BE QUITE A DISTANCE BELOW US. I LOOKED R AND COULD FAINTLY MAKE OUT A RIDGE WITH TREES A COUPLE HUNDRED FT BELOW AND ABOUT 1/2 MI AWAY OR SO; ILLUMINATED BY BACKLIGHTING FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE. I CONSIDERED TURNING L NEARER THE LIGHT DIRECTLY BELOW; BUT KNEW THAT THIS WOULD REDUCE CLB PERFORMANCE. IT ALSO APPEARED THAT WE WERE CLRING THE TERRAIN. BTWN THE URGENT CLB MESSAGE AND TRYING TO ASCERTAIN TERRAIN INFO VISUALLY; I DISENGAGED THE AUTOPLT AND PULLED BACK SLIGHTLY TO 1000 FPM INDICATED ON THE VSI (EVEN THOUGH WE WERE CLOSE TO MAX GROSS WT WITH A +18 DEG C OUTSIDE AIR TEMP INDICATION). AS I SAW THE AIRPLANE SLOW TO 75 KTS; I RELEASED THE BACK PRESSURE AND CONTINUED TO WATCH THE VSI SETTLE BACK TOWARD 700 AS THE AIRSPD HELD CONSTANT. I ELECTED TO RE-ENGAGE THE AUTOPLT AND MONITOR THE FLT PROFILE. I KNEW THERE WOULD BE A TAILWIND FROM THE W PUSHING US; BUT I DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE GND SPD READOUT. I HAD ALSO BEEN MAINTAINING A CONSTANT EGT IN THE CLB FOLLOWING THE DEP FOR BEST ENG PERFORMANCE. AS WE FINALLY PASSED 3400 FT; THE CTLR CAME BACK WITH 'RADAR CONTACT; CLB AND MAINTAIN 7000 FT.' I ACKNOWLEDGED AND THERE WERE NO FURTHER XMISSIONS UNTIL OUR HDOF TO ZDC. AS THE PIC; I ACCEPT THAT I MADE SEVERAL ERRORS PRIOR TO DEP. I FELT THE CONDITIONS WERE VFR (SKY CLR AND 10 MI VISIBILITY; CONFIRMED BY WX BRIEFING). ALSO; WE HAD JUST MADE A VISUAL APCH. I DID NOT THINK TO REVIEW THE OBSTACLE DEP PROC. THE OBSTACLE DEP PROC CLRLY STATES TO FLY A DEP HDG OF 225 DEGS UNTIL 2700 FT MSL WHEN DEPARTING RWY 18 BEFORE TURNING ON COURSE. I CHOSE NOT TO REVIEW OR HAVE CLOSE AT HAND (IT WAS ON BOARD) THE APPROPRIATE VFR SECTIONAL; WHICH CLRLY WOULD HAVE SHOWN THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND OBSTACLES TO THE E AND SE WITH OBSTACLES UP TO 2640 FT. I WAS ALSO DEPARTING A TWRED ARPT; ON AN IFR FLT PLAN; IN WHAT I PERCEIVED TO BE NIGHT VFR CONDITIONS. IT TURNED OUT TO BE MOSTLY IMC. IN THE LAST FEW DAYS; I HAVE REVIEWED A MYRIAD OF INPUTS AND DOCUMENTATION. I THINK THERE ARE NUMEROUS MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PLT RESPONSIBILITY FOR TERRAIN AVOIDANCE WHEN DEPARTING A TWRED ARPT IN CLASS B/C/D AIRSPACE AND/OR INTO A RADAR ENVIRONMENT. I HAVE LEARNED THAT I MUST ALWAYS CHK FOR ANY DEP PROC PRIOR TO DEP. I WILL NOW ALSO REVIEW THE TOPOGRAPHY INFO IN THE SECTIONAL AS PART OF THE DEP BRIEFING IN THE CHKLIST; CONFIRM THE TERRAIN AND OBSTRUCTION INFO; AND ALSO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE BEST LNDG OPTIONS FOLLOWING DEP; ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.