What activities does Keswick Mountaineering Club organise?

Updated

Keswick Mountaineering Club runs a year-round programme of rock climbing, mountaineering, scrambling and indoor meets, based in the north of the Lake District. The regular core is Tuesday afternoon and evening climbing on local crags from April to September, plus weekend meets across the UK and occasional trips abroad. In winter the Tuesday meets move indoors, and the club adds ice climbing, winter scrambles and a lecture/film series.

Spring, summer and autumn climbing

Between April and September the club meets every Tuesday afternoon and evening to climb on local crags. Members climb across the northern Lake District, with Shepherd's Crag in Borrowdale as the local crag to Keswick. Classic routes mentioned on the club's site include Little Chamonix and Brown Slabs at Shepherd's Crag, and the famous Napes Needle on Great Gable.

Beyond the weekly Tuesdays, the club holds many weekend meets, both in the Lake District and further afield:

  • Scotland
  • Northumberland
  • The Peak District
  • Wales
  • Cornwall/Devon

Members arrange climbing partners between meets through the club's "Partner wanted" forum or its Facebook group.

Summer mountaineering

During the summer months the club often runs a meet in the Alps, the Dolomites, and/or Scotland — for example Ben Nevis or the Cuillin Ridge on Skye. These locations offer larger mountains than the Lake District and therefore larger mountaineering challenges.

A typical summer meet can mix:

  • Mountaineering
  • Rock climbing on the lower crags
  • Via ferratas (where you protect a climb by clipping to a permanent steel cable)

In Scotland, where the weather is less dependable, poor weather days are often used for scrambling. The club usually has at least one meet in Scotland each year — often a long weekend on Ben Nevis or a week in Skye on the Cuillin Ridge.

Winter activities

From late October to mid April the regular Tuesday evening meets move to the indoor Kong Adventure wall at Keswick.

Winter also brings:

  • Ice climbing — weekend or week meets in Scotland or Norway when conditions allow
  • Winter rock climbing — members get out on rock whenever the weather allows, even when it is damp
  • Winter scrambles — a series of scrambling meets run through the winter, using axes and crampons when there is snow
  • Lectures and film shows — a series held at the Kirkgate Centre in Cockermouth

Members organise winter climbing trips among themselves via the "Partner wanted" forum or the Facebook group whenever the weather permits.

Winter sun trips

Between late October and mid April the club usually runs a meet for a week or two somewhere sunny, so members can climb outside in the dry. Destinations given as examples include Kalymnos, Costa Blanca, Cyprus and Sicily.

How to take part

The club's own description of its programme is the practical starting point: Tuesday meets in summer, indoor Tuesdays in winter, weekend meets listed throughout the year, and partner-finding through the forum or Facebook group. If you want to join a specific meet, the club's site and those two channels are where the arrangements are made.