The Climbers' Club

It's often said that the CC is an elitist institution, which is quite untrue. We do require candidates to be experienced, committed and competent climbers, but the threshold of competence is quite modest (currently, unofficially around VS leading grade). Far more important to the CC is to select members who can demonstrate a high level and broad range of experience, and who will adopt and uphold the ethos of the club. Clearly this is much more difficult to measure than a climber's leading grade, so we rely on references from existing members during the selection procedure.

At first glance, and to someone who currently has no contact with the CC, the application might appear to be a very arduous and exclusive process. It is! But the CC does provide a mechanism for making the important first contact: the Aspirant's Meet. This is an annual weekend event, designed to allow anyone interested in membership to meet and climb with existing members, and learn about the club and the way the hut system operates. From the CC's point of view however, it's important that at least two of the referees (proposer and seconder) have greater knowledge of a candidate than is possible to glean over the course of one weekend, so it's unlikely that you'll obtain all the required references, but it's a great way to get the ball rolling and make some new friends.

Provisional Membership Scheme:
At the committee's discretion, an applicant with insufficient support may be granted Provisional Membership for a period of one year (not extendable, normal annual subscription fee applies). Provisional Members can use the huts (but can't purchase a hut key) and attend any club meets, and hopefully within the year they'll have gained enough support to meet the normal selection criteria, and full membership status will be confirmed. Note: Provisional Members aren't eligible to vote in the Club AGM, and aren't allowed to use other Clubs' huts through the CC's Reciprocal Rights Scheme.

Above: Dave Pleydell on Cream (E3 5c), Tremadog. Photo by Don Sargeant.

Application procedure:

Step 1) Download the application form in, Adobe Acrobat (PDF, 148KB) or Microsoft Word (DOC, 240KB) or Open Office Format  (ODT, 48KB) format. An extract from the Members' Handbook detailing the Climbers' Club Rules (PDF, 440K) is also available.

Step 2) Ask your proposer and seconder to sign the form. The proposer and seconder should write separate, independent letters (or emails) of support to the Membership Secretary. Note that all communications should include the referee's full name and postal address.

Step 3) Obtain another four supporting signatures from existing CC members. Usually, the best way to obtain these signatures is to attend a Meet. Meets are frequent, and you can attend as the guest of your proposer, or in the case of a candidate without any CC contact so far, you can attend an Aspirant's Meet, designed specifically for these circumstances. See the Meets page for more information.

Step 4) Send the completed form to the Membership Secretary.

Your application will be considered at the next committee meeting. If successful, you will be asked for an initial subscription by cheque; subsequent subscriptions will be paid by direct debit.