Club News

Club News

AC Launches Continuing Mountaineering Development Sessions

AC Launches Continuing Mountaineering Development Sessions

The Club recognises the need for members to stay up to date with changing mountaineering techniques and updates to best practice. To make this information more accessible to our members, we are introducing Continuing Mountaineering Development workshops which will run on the first full day of the Summer Alpine Meet. For the 2024 meet, this will be 16 June.

These two-hour sessions, which will be delivered by guides, are free to attend and are open to both members and experienced guests who are joining for the meet.

Taking place at the campsite, the sessions, which will run from 10AM-12PM and 1PM-3PM, will cover specific information pertinent to the local area, a refresher on glacier travel/crevasse rescue, kit maintenance/replacement and will provide the opportunity for members to ask questions on topics of concern.

Registration will be sought in advance with the sign-up form to the Summer Alpine Meet in order to gauge interest and numbers.

 

 

 

Thalay Sagar Expedition Film

Thalay Sagar Expedition Film

In May 2023, Keith Ball, Mike Pescod and AC member Guy Buckingham travelled to the Garhwal Himalaya for an attempt on the unclimbed south-east ridge of Thalay Sagar (6805m). The expedition was supported by both the Alpine Club Climbing Fund and the Mount Everest Foundation.

Mountain Equipment have now released a short film of their expedition which you can watch below.

 

 

 

Kapadia Interviews Go Online

Kapadia Interviews Go Online

Alpine Club member and Editor of the Himalayan Journal Harish Kapadia has, over a period of nearly two decades, conducted interviews with many notable figures from the world of mountaineering. In 2023, Kapadia formally made a gift of these recordings to the Alpine Club Library.

From December 2023 onwards, we will be releasing these interviews once a week via our YouTube channel so that they can be enjoyed by mountain-enthusiasts throughout the world. Episodes will release on Thursday mornings UK time. If you subscribe to the channel, you will receive a notification when new episodes go live.

The first episode, an interview with Sir Chris Bonington conducted in March 2008, is now online and can be watched below. In the recording, Sir Chris discusses his personal journey into climbing, his 1970 expedition to the south face of Annapurna, the evolution in Himalayan style from siege to alpine and his experience of managing mountaineering teams in a leadership role.

 

 

 The Alpine Club Library holds a wealth of mountaineering material to which we are very pleased to add these recordings.

 

 

 

Mont Blanc: The Summit Paintings - Grand Opening

Mont Blanc: The Summit Paintings - Grand Opening

In the summer of 2022, artist and AC member James Hart Dyke retraced the footsteps of famed mountain artist Gabriel Loppé. His aim? To paint as Loppé had, capturing the sunset view from the summit of Mont Blanc. In the process, James produced a series of paintings which captured his journey, including two works carried out from the summit itself. 

James at work on Mont Blanc

On 5 December 2023, James's latest exhibition 'Mont Blanc: The Summit Paintings' will open at the Alpine Club's Charlotte Road premises, where his pictures from the climb will hang alongside one of Loppé's original summit paintings from 150 years ago. There will be the opportunity to meet James and to hear him discuss the experience of painting at altitude in a Q&A with the Club's Honorary Keeper of Pictures, William Mitchell.

The event is free to attend and open to all, but we do ask that you register your intention to attend using the form below.

Doors will open at 7PM for a 7:30PM start.

The exhibition will run from 28 November 2023 to 31 January 2024. Details on how to visit are available here.