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
To Sunday 30 June 2024
Based in La Paz, Bolivia, this Greater Ranges Meet is for Full Members with recent and appropriate summer alpine experience.
Illimani viewed from La Paz
The Cordillera Real (the ‘Royal Range’) is a mountain range of the Andes, spanning nearly 150km in length from the suburbs of La Paz in the south-east to Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian/Peruvian border to the north-west. The range has six peaks over 6000m, the highest being Illimani at 6438m, and hundreds of peaks over 5000m.
Objectives range from around PD upwards, and most will require an approach trek of one to several days. Most will require one or two camps, with most summits being achievable in a day from a high camp. Logistics support can be arranged in the days before each objective, minimising the requirement for extensive planning prior to the meet.
Hotel accommodation will be booked for the duration of the meet and will be used as a base for participants between climbing trips. Accommodation will be reasonably basic but spacious enough for organising equipment between trips. Based on the previous Greater Ranges Meet to the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca, participants should expect to pay less than £300 each for the month in accommodation. Other costs, including food and transport, are also very reasonable.
This friendly meet will seek to acclimatise together, or in small groups, before independent pairs or teams pursue their own itineraries and objectives. Participants must be Full Members with suitable and recent summer alpine experience and are encouraged to attend as established climbing teams. Individual participants are of course welcome and will be teamed up with another participant prior to meet departure.
Previous Greater Ranges Meets report:
AC Cordillera Blanca Meet 2023
Further details will be confirmed after the New Year and interested parties are welcome to contact the organiser to discuss the meet.
Contact: Tom Davis-Merry – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
