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
 

The AC is supporting the inaugural Mountain Arts Festival at Rheged this November, announced by Community Action Nepal in association with RGS-IBG NW Region.

The event at Rheged Centre Penrith, Cumbria, will bring together an illustrious line up of writers, thinkers, artists, climbers and performers to celebrate the culture of the uplands and mountains and their contribution to creative writing and art-making.

Dates: Mountain Arts Festival: Friday 6 – Sunday 8 November 2015
Opening time: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm daily. Tickets: £5 - £35.
Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DQ T: 01768 868000
See http://www.rheged.com/ for full information.

Dates: Mountain Arts Festival Art Exhibition: Friday 6 – Thursday 12 November
Opening time: 10.00 am Voluntary donation for entry suggested.
Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DQ T: 01768 868000
 
Dates: Mountain Arts Festival Ceilidh: Saturday 7 November
7pm • £26 per person including supper • Booking essential on 01768 868000
 
Dates: Mountain Arts Festival Royal Geographical Society Debate: Sunday 8 November
2pm- 6.30pm • Ticket price (including a 3 course Herdwick lamb inspired buffet supper - vegetarian option also available) RGS-IBG Members £12 • Non-members £15 • Booking essential on 01768 868000
 
The Mountain Arts Festival is a fund-raising event to support Community Action Nepal’s Nepal Earthquake Appeal. CAN was founded over twenty years ago by Doug Scott, CBE and mountaineering friends such as Sir Chris Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL the charity’s patron.

Over the course of the Festival there will be an art exhibition of Mountain Artists ranging from the internationally acclaimed walking artist, Hamish Fulton, rarely seen archival works from the Alpine club collection, landscape painters including Julian Cooper, Jim Curran and John  Innerdale, sculptors including Brian Thompson, Simon Hitchens, Paul Vanstone and Andy Parkin and photographers, Rob Fraser, Martin Hartley and Henry Iddon, and many more up and coming contemporary artists. A number of the artists will also be speaking about their work. The exhibition will be complemented with two days of talks, readingnd debates from acclaimed writers and speakers, including Sir Chris Bonington reading extracts from ‘The Best of Bonington’, Doug Scott CBE will also be launching volume one of his much anticipated autobiography ‘Up and About’ at the festival, reading extracts from the book and his quest to write it. Other noted writers include: Phil Bartlett, Julie Summers, Angela Locke, Steven Goodwin, Andrew Grieg and Howard Hull discussing a range of topics around the subject of climbing and writing. This will be followed by a round table debate chaired by noted mountaineer and Writer Ed Douglas on the topic of mountain writing. Cumbrian photographer Rob Fraser, and writer and poet Harriet Fraser, will be presenting their most ambitious project to date, ‘The Long View’.

There will also be a variety of musical performances over the course of the weekend including the Blues duo of Jeff and Ailsa Frew, a performance of a musical biography of Mallory and Irvine entitled ‘Icepicks and Violins’, narrated by Doug Scott and a Ceilidh lead by renowned
band Striding Edge, as well as various acrobats and singers from Mongolian Artists. A range of films will also be shown that celebrate mountain people and their lives.

CONTACT
Denise Prior 07986 372558 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or Luke Walker 07775531490 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Community Action Nepal
CAN is a UK registered charity no. 1067772, set up by mountaineers over twenty years ago to help the mountain people of Nepal. CAN is based near Hesket Newmarket, Wigton CA7 8HX. In response to the earthquakes that recently struck Nepal, CAN promptly launched its Earthquake Appeal. 100% of the proceeds will be devoted to providing emergency relief and rebuilding all the projects and replace homes, using earthquake tolerant methods, recycled materials wherever possible, and local labour. It is estimated that £2 million will be needed to complete this. So far, £1 million has been raised. To find out more visit http://www.canepal.org.uk/