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
 

Leading Through

Help to shape the future of the Alpine Club; our priorities, our work and our role in the world.

Any organisation can only remain relevant if it is willing to periodically examine itself honestly; to consider its resources, priorities and values and adjust its approach accordingly. This is the philosophy that underpinned the first AC Blencathra Meeting 6 years ago.

Dubbed ‘AC Refreshed’, this meeting of Alpine Club members looked critically at what the Club offered and how it should change in the coming years. Through a series of workshops and open discussions, members set a route for the Club which has led to an expanded meets programme, growing membership, more training opportunities, increased expedition funding and a busy exhibition schedule.

The Alpine Club is likely to face challenges in the years ahead, but it will also have many opportunities to make an impact for mountaineers. By contributing to the discussion at this year’s Blencathra Meeting, you can determine our direction of travel and help the Club to build on the progress of the last six years.

The 2024 event has been dubbed ‘Leading Through’, a nod to our hope that we can continue the progress and momentum generated by the first Blencathra and help the Club to reach even greater heights. Our membership is now the largest it has ever been, we are supporting more expeditions led by young members and providing more digital resources to the mountaineering world at large.


Members on the extremely popular Aspirants Meet is Saas-Fee

The Club is increasingly offering opportunities for training.

With all this progress in mind, the committee have identified five areas for which member consultation and input is critical to establishing aims and priorities for the years ahead. They are:

Member Development – Attracting new members, supporting member progression and the provision of training, guidance and safety instruction.

Publications – Assessing our potential offering in terms of guidebooks and digital resources as well as looking critically at our current publications.

Our Values – Considering what the Club should stand for and how it should communicate its views to mountaineers and the wider public.

Heritage – How to best care for our collections and make them more accessible.

Membership – What should AC membership offer and how can we make the best use of our assets such as the clubhouse and the George Starkey Hut?

A club like ours is the sum of its membership. Our aims and priorities should reflect those of members and respond to their needs and aspirations. By joining us at Blencathra this November, you will be helping to ensure that the AC continues in the right direction and positively reflects the priorities of our members.

All members are encouraged to attend and free food and accommodation will be provided by the Club for the duration of the weekend. The event also offers a great opportunity to meet other members, catch up and perhaps become more involved with the work of the AC.

To express your interest in attending, please fill out the form below and a member of AC staff will be in touch.

 

 

Details

Where: Blencathra Field Studies Centre, Lake District

When: Evening of Friday 8 November – 14:00 on Sunday 10 November 2024.

Cost: The Club will provide accommodation for Friday and Saturday nights along with meals on the Saturday and Sunday.