Participating in meets is what the club is all about. Meets are run by members, for members.
The club thrives by having members take an active interest in the meets that are run. To volunteer to steward a meet, or to suggest a new meet, please contact our meets secretary. The FAQ page offers advice on what to expect on a meet and guidelines for organising meets. Remember that if you have spotted potential for a new meet, the chances are high that others will also be interested!
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The long awaited Christmas event is here!
We Decided for something more adventurous this year.
The LMC Christmas event is open to all club members and guests.
It will be held at BrewDog Soho, starting 7pm on Tuesday 5th Of December
Complementary Drink on arrival
DISCLAIMER - this event is on a Tuesday rather than our normal Wednesday Socials.
Mandatory online Booking under meets calendar - £32PP
As we need to know how much food to order
Let's finish the year with a BANG and show everyone what the London Mountaineering Club Is made of!
A SELECTION OF THE BELOW DISHES
CHICKEN WINGS (GF)
Crispy buttermilk chicken wings, hot sauce & honey glaze with blue cheese dip
BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER (VE) (GF)
Hot sauce & syrup glaze, vegan mayo dip
TURKEY, BACON & CRANBERRY SLIDER
CRISPY TINDLE CHICKEN & THIS ISN'T BACON SLIDER (V)
PIGS IN BLANKETS
With English mustard
CRISPY BRIE WEDGES (V)
Apple ale chilli chutney
MACN CHEESE (V)
THIS ISN'T™ CHICKEN NUGGETS (VE)
With mulled cranberry dip
MINCE PIES (V)
With vanilla ice cream
BISCOFF CHEESECAKE (VE) +£5.50PP
With chocolate sorbetto
Cant wait to see all you beautiful people there!
Winter backpacking in Cairngorms National Park, Aviemore, Scotland.
This is intended as an introduction to winter hiking and backpacking. We are planning to stay in a shepherd’s hut, wild camp in a tent, and finally stay in a bothy.
None of the above luxurious accommodation options will be equipped with electricity or hot water. We will be cooking for ourselves too, and there will be no shops or pubs available. Oh, and no mobile phone reception either. :)
The focus will be on hiking, but there will also be the possibility of doing easy winter scrambling or climbing, with routes chosen according to ability and fitness. We could also add in a bit of hill running (if conditions allow) for those of you looking to get ready for the Frozen Champagne Challenge!
We expect to cover 20–25km, with an elevation gain of 800-1000m, each day whilst carrying all food and camping equipment — so this will not be a trip for couch potatoes!
The Cairngorm Plateau is well-known for its extreme and very changeable weather — the strongest gust ever recorded in the UK was 173mph on Cairngorm Summit!
Tents: You will need a suitable tent — sharing tents might help minimise loads.
Travel: Direct train from London King’s Cross on Thursday 7th, 12:00pm, arr Aviemore 7:26pm. Return from Aviemore on Sunday 10th 10:22am, arr King's Cross 5:49pm.
Don’t forget to bring some carrots for the reindeer!
More details LMC Discord reindeer meet channel
https://discord.gg/pGrprmfF
MoreA wintry, dark time of the year - the perfect time to organise a trip to the Lakes for some walking, with a Burns Supper themed meal on Saturday night. Crampons dependent on weather but Kilts obligatory. Staying at the Cleveland Mountaineering Club’s Hut in Patterdale.
MoreThe deadline for being included in the group accommodation booking has now passed. More members are welcome to come on the meet, but will need to sort their own accommodation. There should be options on the usual platforms. And Hotel La Barme in Valnontey is popular with ice climbers. Let Dai Richards (meet steward) know if you're a late joiner and he can add you to the email list and trip Whatsapp group.
Sign up deadline: 30th September 2023
Waterfall ice climbing in Cogne in the Gran Paradiso national park in northern Italy.
Dozens of very accessible single and multipitch routes across all grades with relatively reliable ice conditions and weather.
This meet is suitable for those that are new to ice climbing as well as seasoned chasers of the ephemeral. But budding ice climbers will get much more out of it if they're comfortable leading multipitch trad (same rope work and head game) and ideally have some general winter mountaineering experience.
There's also lots of skiing opportunities in the area including piste, cross country and ski touring.
Accommodation: chalet/Airbnb will be booked based on the number of people that sign up and pay their deposit of £100 by the 30th September.
Deposits are non-refundable and those that sign up are expected to pay their share of the accommodation costs (likely to be around £30 p.p.p.n)
Travel: Fly to Turin or Milan and then hire a car
Guidebook: Cogne Selected Climbs, Oxford Alpine Club
For more info on ice climbing in the area see: https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/destinations/cogne__icefall_climbing_in_the_italian_alps-12486
A week of Winter climbing and walking in and around Lochaber, staying at the LSCC’s Blackrock cottage, sited more or less in front of Buchaille Etive Mor.
Nearby is the winter climbing arena of Stob Coire Nan Lochan, offering excellent routes at all grades. The classic days out of Aonach Eagach and Curved ridge are close by too.
A little further afield, the winter climbs of Aonach Mor are a 45 minute drive away.
Dozens of Munos are around the hut, offering options from short days out to major winter expeditions.
Regardless of the conditions, there will be plenty to explore.
More4-5 days of Cross Country Skiing repeating the fabulous trip run in 2013.
Cross country skiing in the mountains north of Oslo near Lillehammer. The meet will be based in a mountain hut and will explore the surrounding area on skiis.
It is suitable for complete beginners and there are many miles of beautiful trails. All necessary equipment is available for hire at the hire shop next to the hut.
Due to the nature of the trip the meet is limited to 15 spaces.
The cost includes a coach/minbus from the airport as well as accommodation in the hut.
Flights
Flights from Heathrow on BA are currently around £100.
Flight details are below:
British Airways Heathrow - Oslo
Out: 29/02/24 at 19:45 - 22:45 (BA0770)
Return: 05/03/24 at 19:30 - 20:55 (BA0769)
It's no problem if you want to come for the weekend and leave on Sunday or Monday night (please book the relevant return flight from Oslo), however, for the outbound flight, please can you try to be on the same flight as part of the cost includes a minibus transfer to the hut as it is late at night and the trains will have stopped running by then.
Accommodation
We will be staying in a self-service apartment in the Nordseter Fjellpark: More Details
Food
To keep the costs low and due to the remoteness of our accommodation we will be organising some group meals for each night. People will be split into teams for this (3 per night).
Ski Hire
There is ski hire underneath the apartment at the Service Centre. More Details
Return to the Airport
This will be by bus from Nordseter to Lillehammer and then by train direct to the airport. Total cost around £30.
This meet it best suited to experienced winter climbers.
5 Nights at the CIC hut situated at the foot of the North Face of Ben Nevis. The UK's premier winter climbing crag and home to a huge range of routes including many classics!
The hut is booked from the Sunday to the Friday morning so it's recommended to travel up on the Saturday and then use Sunday to walk up to the hut with food and gear for the week and ideally do a climb that day as well
The CIC hut is basic. It has a kitchen, toilets, running water and drying room, but no shower. For details on facilities, and the hut more generally, see https://www.smc.org.uk/huts/cic.
All gear and food needs to be taken up on foot from the Ben Nevis North Face Car Park which takes around 2hrs 30 mins and is a real slog. But once you're there, there are relatively short walk-ins to all the climbs on the North Face.
Early march is typically a good time for ice routes on Ben Nevis so you're likely to get more out of this meet if you're happy on this surface and can climb at least Scottish grade III, but there are enough easier routes to fill a week also. This meet is not recommended for those that favour winter walking as options for that activity are very limited.
The cost of a bed in the hut is £26 p.p.p.n. The full cost of £130 is payable on sign up. Unfortunately due to high demand for the CIC hut in the winter season the Scottish Mountaineering Club cannot offer refunds in the event of cancellation. If you need to cancel your place then please find someone else to take it and transfer you the money.
Guidebook: Scottish Winter Climbs - SMC (available in paperback or to download on the Rockfax app)
Scottish Winter Climbs West - Scottish Mountaineering Club
Travel to Ben Nevis: The drive is about 10 hours from London and can easily be done in a day.
MoreFor anyone who did the champagne challenge and was thinking whilst at it, ‘why the hell am I doing it? ‘ And I will never ever initiate anything like this again’, here comes chapter two ; The Hot Chocolate Challenge (HCC).
Tried to depict a realistic picture of what can be fun but also gruesome at times..
Gear - will see closer to the date, subject to weather, if full winter gear is required
MoreSport climbing on the south coast
Staying at the Portland Bunkhouse at 40 per person for two nights.
MoreA return to Kelynack campsite with the affable Francis. Twinkling granite in the sunshine above a turquoise ocean, climbs steeped in history and stature, clifftop paths and white sand beaches, Cornish pasties, palm trees, and maybe the occasional pirate. Unlimited camping and beds in three caravans as usual. Caravan places are £74.
MoreClimbing on the sea cliffs of the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast.
Staying at the somewhat basic St Petrox Campsite (the usual one).
http://www.stpetroxcampingandcaravansite.co.uk
MoreLocation & accommodation:
Coruisk Hut:
The Coruisk hut has 9 spaces available from 26-30 May only, as it stands. So first come first served.
All others will need to stay at YHA Portree, which I’m happy to organise including a deposit with booking, or organise own accomm.
The YHA in Portree currently still has spaces on all dates if people prefer to stay there.
Theoretically, places are unlimited as people can make their own accomm arrangements; but beds will go fast, so I’ll set a deadline of Sunday 12 November for people to have a guaranteed bed booked by me, and after that they’ll have to book their own or make alternative arrangements. (Hope this makes sense - might seem absurdly far in advance of late May, could possibly do a later deadline in December, but don’t want people being disappointed/complaining if they book and don’t get a bed).
The Coruisk hut is £15 per night, and a dorm bed in YHA Portree is £30. I suggest a deposit of £60 to book, as this will cover any stays in the Coruisk hut, and a portion of the YHA for those who don’t make it in time or don’t want to.
Worth mentioning the Coruisk hut is only accessible by boat from Elgol, so once names and numbers are confirmed, we’ll need to discuss the logistics in detail of getting there and back.
Activities
Climbing, scrambling, hiking, but I’d also love people to come if they enjoy wild swimming, photography, or nature as Skye has so much of both and I’d love to organise stuff involving them on the meet.
The LMC annual endurance weekend, the Champagne challenge has returned.
Start and finish from the hut climbing all 14 peaks over 3,000ft in North Wales. It is a monster day out, but there should be plenty of daylight. And complete the challenge in under 15 hours you'll get a bottle of champers.
A successful Champagne Challenge also requires team support to rescue the exhausted. Anyone interested in assisting, please let the meet steward know.
Fingers crossed for good weather, I chose the weekend closest to the longest day, which I'm sure we will need every minute of daylight ;)
MoreNow in its 17th year!
Started by Ralph Hale back in 2008, the Gritstone Gallop follows in the great tradition of the Rock and Ice club who apparently used this event for their pre-Alpine training, in days of yore.
The 'Gallop' is about 12-14 miles in length, and is done entirely on foot (and hands!). It starts in the High Neb area of Stanage in the Peak District and ends at Birchens Edge, a route is climbed on every edge/crag on the way - 12 in total!
The full Gallop is a long day, finishing up in the Robin Hood Inn near Birchen and the campsite. But you're welcome to cut it short as you wish.
Your grade for the 'Gallop' is the lowest grade you climb in the day, and the more crags you climb, the more beers you are allowed in the Robin Hood Inn.... if you make it before closing time!
MoreA long weekend of walking, climbing and other mountain pursuits in the Lake District. Exact location to be determined.
More