Mountaineering Club

Introduction & club history

The club caters for a wide range of people with varying degrees of interest and ability in hill-walking, rock climbing and all other forms of mountaineering.

We have our 'crag rats' and our 'ice stars', but most of the club is composed of hill-walkers. We have an environment where you can meet people who can help you to achieve them. The club's main function is to provide transport and social events for bunch of mountaineers on student sized incomes. Providing transport to remote areas for groups of people is an expensive undertaking, and bearing in mind that most of our members are students on limited incomes a substantial part of our annual budget is spent on subsidising travel costs (in order of thousands of pounds!).

The club does not provide formal instruction, less experienced members are encouraged to learn from their peers whilst walking or climbing. As far as equipment goes, the club has built a up a store for the use of its members; things like ice axes, crampons, harnesses, ropes, tents and stoves. The club also has a small library of guide books and maps. There is a climbing wall in the Sports Centre at the Riccarton Campus, which is used every Monday night by the club.

What does a typical season involve?

We organise a plethora of trips throughout the course of the year, and try to be out every single weekend. The most common trips are either full weekend (Friday night to Sunday night) or just Sunday trips, but we also hold alternative trips throughout the year: long weekends taking advantage of bank holidays, casual mid–week trips to a local crag or indoor wall, skills courses, etc

We also hold social events throughout the year, from weekly meetings in the pub to annual events including: a free BBQ & (very amateur) Orienteering, a Christmas Curry, Skittles in the Sheep Hied Inn, a Burns’ Night and a Ceilidh – each for a very reasonable price!

How do I join the club?

Contact the Committee via the club forum or by email to find out how to joining or to chat about what you are interested in and how best you can get involved.

Or simply come along on a Monday night to Sports Hall 1 at 6.15pm and try your hand at climbing to see if it's for you.

Alternatively, Wednesday evenings in the pub is a good place to meet the people behind the chalk and adrenalin. (Keep an eye open on our website or on the forum for where we'll be – it changes occasionally!)

Ultimately you'll have to become a member of the CSE, and then a pay the princely sum of £5 to join the Mountaineering Club. This gets you cheap transport, free use of the kit we have and much, much more.