Joining the club
If you are thinking of joining, the best way to find out about us is to come along and meet us, and the easiest way to do that is to come to one of our regular climbing sessions. The following gives a general view of what we are likely to be doing. However, before you come along email the to find out exactly where we will be and how to meet us.
To join (or, for current members, to renew your membership), go to the link on the left.
Climbing sessions
On Monday evenings in the winter we usually go to Alien Rock, and in the summer we either go to an ad hoc outdoor venue if the weather is nice, or Alien Rock if it is raining.
On Wednesday evenings in the winter we usually go to either the Heriot-Watt wall (before Christmas - we get a private club booking then) or the EICA near Ratho (after Christmas). In the summer we either go to the regular weekly evening meet if the weather is nice, or Alien Rock or the EICA if it is raining.
Who can join?
The club welcomes individuals of all levels of experience and ability. If you have some experience of climbing in indoor walls we can introduce you to climbing in the outside world, and 'show you the ropes'. Joining a club, and thereby meeting experienced outdoor climbers, is a common way of moving from indoor walls to outdoor climbing.
However, club members are generally not guides, or professional instructors, so if you are a complete beginner you should perhaps learn basic rope work skills, in particular, how to belay, by attending a professional training course such as those run at Alien Rock or Ratho.
There is some interesting introductory information about outdoor climbing in the following BMC 'Climbing Outside' document.
Subscription
The club year runs from November to October,
and the subscription for the year 2009-10 is
£25.
This is reviewed annually at the club AGM each November.
The subscription includes the affiliation fee to MCofS
(see below).
Also, club members get access to discount nights at the local climbing
shops — these take place roughly every 3-4 months
(the club news page will say if any are imminent).
Mountaineering Council of Scotland
The club is affiliated to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), the national representative body for mountaineering activities. As a result of this, club members receive the following:
- third party civil liability insurance (see the MCofS website for more details)
- the quarterly MCofS magazine The Scottish Mountaineer
- access to BMC climbing and travel insurance. This is only available to members of clubs affiliated to the BMC or the MCofS, or to individual members of the BMC or MCofS
- access to subsidied training courses, including winter skills, navigation and first aid
Other benefits of affiliation to MCofS are described more fully on the MCofS website.
Other club information
Finally, there are links to more information, for example club meet reports and newsletters, and some historical information about the club on the library page.