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.
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
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.
Events Calendar
In this talk Will Lewallen and Tim Exley discuss their 2021 expedition to the Nangma Valley in Pakistan with team member Tom Seccombe.
The team set off at the tail end of August after a summer of hiccups including the cancellation of all their funding (due to Covid), expedition members dropping out and some very last-minute visas. Despite the odds, all three made it to basecamp at the foot of Brakk Zang (4800m) where they stayed for most of September.
During this time the trio made 2 first ascents of unclimbed summits, Korada North (6,130m) and their main objective, Kapura Central (6,530m).
Will and Tim will talk about what is involved in organising a first major expedition to the Greater Ranges; from weather forecasting to the self-belief involved to book the flights and take the plunge. They will recount both of their climbs, what went well and lessons that were learnt and the pair will also discuss the wider experience of their first time in Pakistan.
For safety reasons, we are required to keep a register of all attendees. If you plan to attend, please complete the form below. (This applies to both members and non-members).
There is no official charge for entry, but we do ask non-members to make a small contribution towards the continued running of the lectures if they are able.
55/56 Charlotte Road
London
EC2A 3QF
Uk
