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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. 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 Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached th ...

* 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, ...

* Peter Lunn *

Frank Smythe Francis Sydney Smythe, better known as Frank Smythe or F. S. Smythe (6 July 1900 – 27 June 1949), was an English mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps as well as in the Himal ...

Patrick Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick Patrick Edmund Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE, Honorary Member of the Order of Australia, AM, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (12 April 1930 – 8 January 2003), was an Irish peer, banker and public serv ...

History

The ASC was created on Saturday the 7th of March 1908 at a dinner in the Devonshire Club hosted by Dr Henry Lunn (later to be Sir Henry Lunn). Founder members included: * Sir Martin Conway (First President) * Mr

Arnold Lunn Sir Arnold Henry Moore Lunn (18 April 1888 – 2 June 1974) was a skier, mountaineer and writer. He was knighted for "services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations" in 1952. His father was a lay Methodist minister, but Lunn was an a ...

(later to be Sir Arnold Lunn) * Mr William Moore * Rev. Canon Savage * Mr * Dr

Tom Longstaff Tom George Longstaff (15 January 1875 – 26 June 1964) was an England, English medical doctor, explorer and mountaineer, most famous for being the first person to climb a summit of over 7,000 metres in elevation, Trisul, in the India/Pakistan ...

* Mr E. V. S Caulfeild * George Ingle Finch Stephen Venables 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 () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

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 (meaning 'Ice Mountain Father' in English), formerly known as Mount Tagharma and Wi-tagh, is the second highest of the mountains which form the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, with an elevation of . It is sometimes regarded as ...

Zanskar Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is the southwestern region of Kargil district in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre of Zanskar is Padum. Zanskar, together with the rest of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kin ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

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 Bha ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Svaneti Svaneti (Svan language, Svan: შუ̂ან, ლემშუ̂ანიერა; ''shwan, lemshwaniera'', and Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georg ...

. Recent Alpine meets have been in

Pontresina Pontresina () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Maloja Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sa ...

Andermatt Andermatt () is a mountain village and municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. At an elevation of above sea level, Andermatt is located at the center of the Saint-Gotthard Massif and the historical center ...

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

, Tatras,

Lyngen Lyngen may refer to: Places * Lyngen Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway *Lyngen (fjord) , , or is a fjord in Troms county, Norway. The long fjord is the longest fjord in Troms county and it is often used as the dividing line ...

, Stubai and

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

. 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