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
 

Exhibitions

The Club is pleased to be able to use its premises and resources, along with its renowned archive of mountaineering reports, books, art and artefacts to host and curate exhibitions that celebrate mountain history and culture. As well as spotlighting the work of contemporary artists and academics, the Club has also worked to mark key mountaineering anniversaries; bringing together records of the past to keep our history alive and engaging for climbers and the wider community alike.

Individual exhibitions may vary, but most take place at our Charlotte Road Club House.

A full list of past and upcoming exhibitions is shown below.

The Summit of Knowledge, the Pinnacle of Alpine Collections

     

The Alpine Club invites you to an exhibition of selected treasures held in its library; treasures not often seen by members and their guests.

Since the Club was founded in 1857 it has amassed a large collection of printed books, maps, manuscript diaries and journals, photographs, paintings and artefacts from the 16th century to the present - all on mountaineering and the related arts and sciences, principally in the Alps and the Greater Ranges - by climbers, artists, literary figures and travellers.

From Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, from Everest to Kangchenjunga, and to the Arctic, we'll show you everything from first editions of rare books, including presentation copies, to ice axes and alpenstocks, boots, early oxygen equipment, and the original climbers' diaries of some of the most notable first ascents in mountaineering, not forgetting, of course, our wonderful alpine paintings and photographs.

Exhibition open times:

Tuesday 22nd May: 4.00 pm until Karakoram lecture at 7.30 pm

Thursday 31st May: 3.00 pm to 8.00 pm

Saturday 2nd June: 2.00 pm to 7.00 pm

Come and meet our Librarian and Keepers of Collections, at Alpine Club, 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3QF