The Alpine Ski Club (ASC) is a club of ski mountaineers based in the UK and the first ski mountaineering club in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Membership is open to experienced independent ski-mountaineers who fulfil the minimum entry qualification. Aspirant membership is open to those who do not meet the criteria.

Notable Members (Honorary and Ordinary) Past and Present

* Sir Edmund Hillary * Sir Chris Bonington * Peter Lunn * Frank Smythe * Patrick Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick

History

The ASC was created on Saturday the 7th of March 1908 at a dinner in the

Devonshire Club The Devonshire Club was a London gentlemen's club which was established in 1874 and was disbanded in 1976. Throughout its existence it was based at 50 St James's Street. The major Liberal club of the day was the Reform Club, but in the wake of ...

hosted by Dr Henry Lunn (later to be Sir Henry Lunn). Founder members included: * Sir Martin Conway (First President) * Mr Arnold Lunn (later to be Sir Arnold Lunn) * Mr William Moore * Rev. Canon Savage * Mr Rickmer Rickmers * Dr Tom Longstaff * Mr E. V. S Caulfeild *

George Ingle Finch George Ingle Finch (4 August 1888 – 22 November 1970) was an Australian chemist and mountaineer. He was the first person known to climb to a height exceeding 8,000 metres. His obituary in The Times describes him as "one of the two best a ...

Stephen Venables Stephen Venables (born 2 May 1954) is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club. Mountaineer In 1988, Venables became the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest ...

became the patron of the Alpine Ski Club in 2017.

Activities

The club provides a venue for active ski-mountaineers to meet, exchange information and to plan new expeditions. It holds two lecture meetings every year in autumn and spring, usually at The Alpine Club and an annual dinner is usually held in November. In addition to these UK-based activities, the ASC also organises meetings in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

as well as expeditions to little-known mountain ranges across the world. Enterprising guideless ski expeditions in recent years have included ski-mountaineering expeditions to

Muztag Ata Muztagh Ata or Muztagata (, Музтағ Ата, literally "ice-mountain-father"; ; formerly known as Mount Tagharma or Taghalma and Wi-tagh) is the second highest (7546 metres) of the mountains which form the northern edge of the Tibetan Plate ...

, Zanskar, Kashmir,

Gangotri Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi � ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and Svaneti. Recent Alpine meets have been in Pontresina, Andermatt, Briançon, Dolomites, Tatras, Lyngen, Stubai and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. Avalanche rescue transceivers are available for hire to members of the Alpine Ski Club. This is provided as part of the ASC's commitment to safer ski mountaineering.

Sponsorship and awards

The Alpine Ski Club has two award schemes, namely the Kenneth Smith Scholarship and the Memorial Adventure Fund. These schemes can provide help for: * Taking part in a ski mountaineering expedition which includes an element of exploration, * Carrying out a research project on an aspect of ski mountaineering, * Attending an approved course in ski mountaineering, or * Other activities which further the knowledge and practice of safe movement in the mountains on ski. The awards are especially, but not exclusively, for young skiers.

References

External links