The British Army Mountaineering Association (AMA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

for

climbing competition A climbing competition (or comp) is usually held indoors on purpose built climbing walls. There are three main types of climbing competition: lead, speed, and bouldering. In lead climbing, the competitors start at the bottom of a route and must ...

s and the representative body for

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. It is a member of the

British Mountaineering Council The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...

and is the largest climbing club in the United Kingdom.

History, Organisation and Status

The AMA was formed on 24 May 1957. It has charitable status and its constitution states that it exists 'To promote military efficiency by encouraging mountaineering in the Army'. Membership is open to serving members of the

and the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. Since its inception the AMA has been involved in delivering and supporting

activity for its members. The association is currently engaged in two major areas of activity which are:

and

s each of which is governed separately. The business of the AMA is managed by an executive committee who are elected annually. Its current president is

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

David Southall

Mountaineering

The AMA organises

training and

expeditions Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

for its members and encourages them to organise their own expeditions. It makes grants from the AMA 'Memorial Fund' to help support individuals wishing to take part in significant

expeditions. Since its inception the AMA has organised or provided significant support to a number of major expedition to the

Greater Ranges The Roof of the World or Top of the World is a metaphoric epithet or phrase used to describe the high region in the world, also known as High Asia. The term usually refers to the mountainous interior of Asia, including the Pamirs, the Himalayas, ...

including: * 1959 –

Malubiting Malubiting ( ur, ); also known as Malubiting West) is the second highest peak in the Haramosh Group of Mountains, a subrange of the Karakoram range of Pakistan. It is situated in the middle of Bilchar Dobani and Haramosh Peak in Haramosh va ...

East (First Ascent) * 1960 –

Annapurna II Annapurna II is part of the Annapurna mountain range located in Nepal, and is the eastern anchor of the range. In terms of elevation, isolation (distance to a higher summit, namely Annapurna I East Peak, ) and prominence (), Annapurna II does ...

(First Ascent) (Joint Service) * 1962 –

Khunyang Chhish Kunyang Chhish or Kunyang Chhish ( ur, ) is the second-highest mountain in the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange in the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan. An alternate variation of the name is Kunyang Kish. Its height, also sometimes given as , is ranke ...

(also known as Khinyang Chhish) * 1967 - West Greenland -

Kangerlussuatsiaq Fjord Kangerlussuatsiaq Fjord (old spelling: ''Kangerdlugssuatsiaq'', da, Evighedsfjorden) is a fjord in the Qeqqata municipality in western Greenland. Taking its source in the tidewater glaciers draining the Maniitsoq ice cap, the fjord flows in a ...

* 1968 - East Greenland - Kristians Glacier * 1969 –

Tirich Mir Tirich Mir (also spelled Terich Mir, Terichmir and Turch Mir) is the highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, and the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalayas– Karakoram range, at above sea level. It is located in the Chitral ...

* 1969 - North Greenland -

Peary Land Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the nort ...

(Joint Service)(Army led) * 1970 –

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...

* 1971 - AMA West Greenland (Evighedsfjord). * 1972 –

Axel Heiberg Island Axel Heiberg Island ( iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᑦ ᓄᓈᑦ, ) is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 32nd largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According ...

* 1972 -

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

Northern Patagonian Ice Field The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of southern South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries ...

(Chile) - (Joint Services)(Army led) * 1973 - Himachal Pradesh Expedition * 1974 –

Lamjung Himal Lamjung Himal also known as Lamjing Kailas is a mountain located in Gandaki Province, Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकत� ...

* 1975 –

Nuptse Nuptse or Nubtse (Sherpa: नुबचे, Wylie: Nub rtse, ) is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies two kilometres WSW of Mount Everest. Nubtse is Tibetan for "west peak", as it is the wes ...

(Joint

/ Royal Nepalese Army expedition) * 1976 –

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

– South Col ( Joint British Army/Royal Nepalese Army expedition) * 1978 - East Greenland -

Scoresby Sound Scoresby Sound (Danish: ''Scoresby Sund'', Greenlandic: ''Kangertittivaq'') is a large fjord system of the Greenland Sea on the eastern coast of Greenland. It has a tree-like structure, with a main body approximately Api An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...

* 1982 -

Ngadi Chuli Ngadi Chuli (also known as Peak 29, Dakura, Dakum, or Dunapurna) is a high mountain summit in the Mansiri Himal (or Manaslu Himal), also known as the Gurkha Massif, in Nepal. It is flanked by Manaslu to the north and Himalchuli to the south. With ...

(Peak 29) * 1985 –

Kirat Chuli Kirat Chuli or Tent Peak is a mountain in the Himalayas. It lies on the border between Nepal and India. Location The peak is located at above sea level n the extreme northeast of Nepal and northwest of Sikkim. Climbing history The first as ...

(Joint

/ Royal Nepalese Army expedition) * 1986 -

Alpamayo Alpamayo (possibly from Quechua ''allpa'' earth, ''mayu'' river, "earth river") or Shuyturaju (possibly from Ancash Quechua ''huytu, shuytu'' oblong, slim and long, Quechua ''rahu'' snow, ice, mountain covered in snow) is one of the most conspicuo ...

* 1987 –

Shishapangma Shishapangma, also called Gosainthān, is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. In 1964, it became the last of the 8,000-metre peaks to be climbed. This was due to its location entirely within Tibet and the restrictions ...

(Xixabangma) (Joint AMA / Civilian expedition) * 1987 –

Saser Kangri Saser Kangri (or Sasir Kangri) is a mountain in India. It is the highest peak in the Saser Muztagh, the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range. Sasir Kangri is located within Ladakh, the northernmost union territory in India. Saser Kangr ...

(First Ascent of Saser Kangri IV) * 1988 –

– West Ridge * 1989 - East Greenland -

Liverpool Land Liverpool Land is a peninsula in eastern Greenland. Geography The peninsula is bounded by Scoresby Sund in the south, Carlsberg Fjord in the northwest, '' Kangerterajiva'' (Hurry Inlet) in the southwest, the Greenland Sea in the east, and Jame ...

* 1990 –

Gyachung Kang Gyachung Kang ( ne, ग्याचुङ्काङ, ''Gyāchung Kāng''; ) is a mountain in the Mahalangur Himal section of the Himalayas, and is the highest peak between Cho Oyu (8,201 m) and Mount Everest (8,848 m). It lies on the border bet ...

* 1992 –

Annapurna IV Annapurna IV ( ne, अन्नपूर्ण ४) is a mountain of the Annapurna mountain range in the Himalayas which is located in Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, स� ...

* 1992 –

– West Ridge * 1994 –

Mount Foraker Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

– Archangel Ridge (Second Ascent) * 1996 –

Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Ga ...

(

Hidden Peak Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the Ga ...

) * 2000 –

Kangchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the T ...

(Joint Service) – (

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

lead) * 2004 –

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

(Joint Service –

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Lead) * 2006 –

– West Ridge * 2007 –

* 2008 –

(Joint Service –

Lead) * 2012 –

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

–

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and ...

(Joint Service –

Lead) * 2015 –

– North Ridge (Received AMA Support) * 2017 –

Putha Hiunchuli Putha Hiunchuli (Dhaulagiri VII) is a mountain in Nepal and part of the Dhaulagiri (mountain range), Dhaulagiri Range. It lies at the west end of the Dhaulagiri II chain and is 7246 meters high, making it the 95th highest mountain in the world. It ...

– Normal Route

Climbing Competitions

The AMA organises

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

and indoor sport climbing competitions for the Army. The first Army level sport

was organised at Bristol by

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Paul John Edwards on 28 April 1995. The AMA continues to organise indoor climbing competitions and now competes annually against the

and

, as well as contributing members to the Combined Services Sport Climbing team, which competes regularly against military sport climbers from other countries.

Prominent AMA members

The following are current/former presidents, vice-presidents or Chairman of the AMA. *

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir

Gerald Templer Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, (11 September 1898 – 25 October 1979) was a senior British Army officer. He fought in both the world wars and took part in the crushing of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. As Chief of the Imperia ...

KG, GCB,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

, KBE, DSO (President) (

Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

) *

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

John Hunt, Baron Hunt Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt, (22 June 1910 – 7 November 1998), styled as Sir John Hunt from 1953 to 1966, was a British Army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British ...

KG,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DSO, PC (vice-president) (

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

) * Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...

CVO,

, DL (Honorary Vice-president) (

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

) *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Tony Streather Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Reginald Antony Streather (24 March 1926 – 31 October 2018) was a British Army officer who served in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and mountaineer who first-ascended the third-highest mountain in the world, on the ...

OBE (Honorary President) (

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

)

UIAGM The ''Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes'' is the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, known alternatively by its French, German and English English usually refers to: * English language * Engl ...

Mountain Guides: The following AMA members have become members of the

British Association of Mountain Guides The British Mountain Guides (BMG) is a national association for professionally-trained guides. It originally formed under the name British Mountain Guides Association. It has over 140 members who are accredited and qualified in the skills to teach t ...

* Major Mac McKay ( Royal Army Physical Training Corps) * Captain Stuart McDonald (

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

) (

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...

Summiteer). *

Warrant Officer Class 1 Warrant may refer to: * Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization ** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual ** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...

Paul Chiddle ( Royal Army Physical Training Corps) * Captain Tania Noakes (

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

) Other notable AMA Members: *

Charles Wylie OBE (

Ghurka The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

s) – Organising Secretary to the

1953 British Mount Everest expedition The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have succeeded when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit on 29 May 1953. ...

. *

J. O. M. Roberts MVO, , MC (

s) – First Ascents of

– 1960,

Mera Peak Mera Peak is a mountain in the Mahalangur section, Barun sub-section of the Himalaya and administratively in Nepal's Sagarmatha Zone, Sankhuwasabha. At it is classified as a trekking peak. It contains three main summits: ''Mera North'', ; '' ...

– 20 May 1953 and

– 11 November 1952. * Colonel Henry Day (

) – Member of the Tirich Mir expedition (1969), made the 2nd ascent (and first British ascent) of Annapurna 1970,. He was a member of the 1973 Himachal Pradesh expedition, and the Everest expedition (1976). He led an RE expedition to Trisul II (1978) and to the Da Xue Shan mountains (1981). He led the climbers attempting to climb the east face of Xixabangma (1987) and in 2008 organised a climbing expedition to the Georgian Causasus. * Colonel Meryon Bridges, OBE,

was a member of the 1971 AMA Greenland (Evighedsfjord) and the 1972 AMA Alex Heiberg expeditions and then took part in eight Himalayan expeditions between 1973 and 1996, including Everest (1976), Api (1980), Everest (1992), and then led the successful Gasherbrum I (1996) expedition. *

Jon W A Fleming OBE

Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom) The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as the Paras, is an airborne infantry regiment of the British Army. The first battalion is part of the Special Forces Support Group under the operational command of the Director Special Forces. The ot ...

– Deputy leader of Greenland expeditions 1967 & 1968, Leader of Tirich Mir Expedition 1969, Leader of Himachal Pradesh Expedition 1973 & Leader of Nuptse Expedition 1975, Organising Secretary Everest Expedition 1976, Co-author Soldiers on Everest. *

A J Muston, RAOC, MBE, FRGS. Vice President AMA, President, The Arctic Club (1995). Leader or member of 6 Army expeditions to Greenland in 1971, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1989; leader Axel Heiberg, Canada expedition in 1972; and to the Himalayas in 1973 (Himachal Pradesh), 1975 (Nuptse), 1976 (Everest) and 1982 (West Nepal) with many other expeditions after leaving service in 1989 including an expedition to East Greenland in 2011. * Major

Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Baronet, (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish advocate, herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family, and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy, created in 1629. Agnew is th ...

Bt, RHF, FRGS (1969) – Member RN Expedition to Greenland 1966, Leader Army East Greenland 1968, Member Joint Services Elephant Island Expedition 1970/71, Leader Joint Services Chilean Patagonia Expedition 1972/73, Member Nuptse Expedition 1975, Member Everest Expedition 1976, Leader Army Api Expedition 1980. * Major Timothy King,

RAOC The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

. AMA Executive Committee member 1980 to 1989, Chair 1989 to 1992 and Chair Joint Services Mountaineering Committee. Started “The Army Mountaineer”, the Journal of the AMA. Leader of AMA Expeditions to Liverpool Land (1989); Sondestrom Fiord (1992); member of the Axel Heiberg Island (1972), Nuptse (1975), Everest (1976), and NE Greenland (1980) expeditions. * Major Bronco Lane MM, BEM (

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

) – Ascent of Everest, 16 May 1976 *

John Stokes (mountaineer) John Henry Stokes MBE BEM (28 August 1945 – 10 January 2016), known as Brummie' Stokes, was a British Army soldier and mountaineer, known for his successful summit of Everest in 1976. Personal life Stokes was born in 1945 in Hamstead, then ...

(Brummy Stokes), , BEM (

) – Ascent of Everest, 16 May 1976 with Bronco Lane * Major Mike Smith (

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

) – UK veteran sport climbing champion 2009

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Army Mountaineering Association
– Official site Mountaineering in the United Kingdom

Mount Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Organizations established in 1957