WHO ARE WE?
OUR CLUB
The Chester Mountaineering Club welcomes anyone interested in rock climbing, mountaineering, or hill walking. Our membership is active and friendly, and we’re always happy to welcome new members.
We have a diverse schedule of events and meets, and with great climbing and hill walking options near Chester and a fantastic climbing hut in Snowdonia, our club is one of the most popular regional climbing clubs with about 200 members
Wednesday Evening meets
Join us on Wednesday evenings for climbing, either at local sports crags, trad crags, or bouldering venues during summer, or at a local wall during winter. On the way home, some of us usually head to a nearby pub.
We also go on some group walks during summer Wednesday evenings.
Our social evenings in the winter include member slide shows and and quiz nights.
You can find all our upcoming events here.
Other meets and events
Join us for regular weekend climbing and walking adventures, either for a day trip or a weekend further afield. We also go on week-long meets to interesting destinations, such as regular sports climbing in Spain/Greece, annual Scottish Winter meets, Alps Ski touring, sea cliff climbing on uninhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides, climbing and walking in France.
We have social events throughout the year, including in Chester and at our hut near Llanberis.
You can find all our upcoming events here.
For technical activities such as rock climbing or winter mountaineering, the club does not provide instruction for complete beginners. However, once able to operate safely at a basic level, newcomers to the sport will be able to draw on the wealth of experience within the Club.
Affiliation with the BMC
Like most mountaineering clubs, we are affiliated with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). It is the national representative body protecting the freedoms and promoting the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers.
Our members are automatically club members of the BMC.
Benefits include civil liability insurance for UK mountain activities, an annual copy of the BMC Summit magazine, access to specialist mountain activity travel insurance.
Club members are entitled to discounts on outdoor gear at many outlets. More details are provided on joining the Club.
Access to Huts
Mountaineering Club huts are cheap places to stay and explore the mountains and hills around the UK.
We have our own hut in Llanberis, beautifully situated on the road up towards the Snowdon path which can be used by members most of the time for a modest charge.
We also have reciprocal access to three more in the Lake District owned by kindred clubs.
Additionally, we often book huts at other mountaineering clubs around the UK for our walking and climbing meets.
History
Chester Mountaineering Club was founded in 1953 by a few keen climbers in a local pub. It was the year that saw the first ascent of Everest.
This year, 2023 marks our 70th Anniversary.
Many things about climbing and mountaineering have changed over the years, but we still meet in a pub after climbing every Wednesday evening
Club Communications
We use many channels to help keep our members connected and informed.
As well as this website, we have a Facebook group for members and an Instragram account to share members photos. More recently we have set-up a heavily used WhatsApp community for climbers and walkers making arrangements.
We also produce regular newsletters throughout the year reporting on recent meets, news as well as promoting future meets.