The Alpine Club, the world’s first mountaineering club, was founded in 1857.  For over 150 years, members have been at the leading edge of worldwide mountaineering development and exploration. 

With membership, experienced and aspiring alpinists benefit from a varied meets programme, regional lectures with notable guest speakers, reduced rates at many alpine huts, opportunity to apply for grants to support expeditions, significant discounts at many UK retailers, extensive networking contacts, access to the AC Library and maps - and more! 

Becoming a Member
 

Expeditions

The Alpine Club, the world's first mountaineering club, has members from around the world. Since it was founded in 1857, members have been at the leading edge of worldwide mountaineering development and exploration. We aim to be the club of choice for all mountaineers, providing a forum for sharing experiences and information.

Alpine Club members are constantly researching, organising and participating in expeditions to mountains around the world, so it will come as no surprise to find that amongst our members there is a massive wealth of knowledge about remote areas and expedition organisation. The Alpine Club provides a number of resources that will be useful for those planning or researching expeditions. This page provides links to these resources, and to other sites that are invaluable to expedition planners.

The Alpine Journal is a substantial annual record of mountaineering achievement, if you are planning an expedition it should be on your reading list.

Alpine Club Expeditions

The Alpine Club organises annual expeditions, which are often to remote and little-known mountain areas. These expeditions are open to all members, subject to qualifying criteria and numbers. They can be subsidised by the Montane Alpine Club Climbing Fund. This fund also supports expeditions privately organised by club members. .

Read more about Expedition Reports

The Himalayan Index is a key resource, it has been compiled from journals, magazines and books in the Alpine Club Library

Many expeditions will have been awarded Mount Everest Foundation grants and provided reports. There are some details on the MEF website but the MEF does not hold actual copies. These are distributed to the AC and the organisations listed below (but not the Kew archives).

Royal Geographical Society

The RGS holds copies of all MEF reports as well as many others. Searching is very straightforward and summaries are provided. Reports cover the period 1965 onwards and are very comprehensive. They can be consulted by visiting the RGS library, or copies can be e-mailed.

National Archives at Kew

Not the easiest source of information. The National Archives holds many older documents deposited there from multiple sources.

British Mountaineering Council

This is still in beta form but has some impressive features. It is easy to search although not comprehensive. It includes summaries, and you can download many complete reports as PDFs. The BMC is currently the only readily available source of this information.  The AC is working towards publishng a comprehenve expeditions database which will be be available on-line in due course.

Alan Rouse Sheffield Library

Sheffield library holds a comprehensive archive of mountaineering material, including copies of MEF and other expedition reports. There is a PDF catalogue which can be searched; one of the best ways of quickly identifying peaks and leaders. At present it is up to date only to 2010.

Going climbing or trekking in Nepal sometime soon? 

If so, here’s a chance to come home with much lighter bags and to support a very worthy cause at the same time

Subject: KEEP Porters' Clothing Centre - Donations and Support

Hello friends at Alpine Club,

I am emailing in the hope that you will be able to support our important work, of ensuring the welfare of Nepali porters, by donating clothing and equipment to our Porters’ Clothing Centre (PCC).

The Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation. For over 25 years, since 1992, KEEP has worked to ensure the long-term economic, environmental and cultural prosperity of Nepal by maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of the tourism industry. For further information on our mission and activities, please visit our website www.keepnepal.org.

The porters of Nepal play an essential role in the trekking industry but have suffered serious exploitation and disregard for their welfare. This includes the influence of a large number of trekking agencies and employers that are still not prepared to bear the cost of properly equipping their porters with basic clothing and equipment. Every year porters suffer from a variety of issues that are almost entirely avoidable, including altitude sickness, snow blindness, hypothermia and frostbite. Porters die or suffer life changing injuries from a simple lack of basic clothing and equipment.

Since 2009, the PCC has worked to promote and improve the welfare of the porters who are employed in Nepal's trekking industry. The Clothing Centre provides basic equipment for rent at a nominal fee to ensure that porters are properly equipped for the conditions in the Himalaya. Our records show, as presented in our PCC Progress Report, that as many as 3622 porters from different trekking companies as well as many freelance porters and guides have benefited from KEEP’s PCC.This has resulted in the demand for the Clothing Centre consistently exceeds the supplies that we have available.

The Porters' Clothing Centre is entirely dependent on donations, with the nominal equipment rental fee going towards the running costs. We would be extremely grateful for any assistance that you can provide for the scheme. The Clothing Centre can provide a meaningful use for old stock and contribute to the sustainability of your business and supply lines. All equipment donations will be greatly appreciated but a broader partnership or ongoing support would be invaluable to us, enabling us to plan and manage the service in the medium and long term.

The Clothing Centre requires men’s jackets and trousers in a range of sizes, principally 40-44/M-L, and walking shoes and boots in a range of sizes, principally EU sizes 39-43. Please note that shipments including used goods, as a whole or part, are sometimes impounded by Nepali customs and the entire shipment will then not be released to us. We would be delighted to answer any questions that you have or arrange a Skype call to discuss the project and any support you can provide.

Warmest regards,

Ben Laddiman (UK volunteer) and the KEEP family

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