ABERDEEN MOUNTAINEERING CLUB

Alex Brown & Judith Moynagh

Now into its 45th year, the Aberdeen Mountaineering Club has long been a vessel for like-minded people based in the north east to get together and enjoy the outdoors. Known to members simply as the ‘AMC', the club's activities are predominantly in the Scottish mountains with their varied and stunning scenery. The camaraderie is second to none. Mountaineering in its more generally sense, rather than either walking or rock climbing, has been its theme. Safety has always been key. But always there have been the essential elements of the unexpected and adventure.

AMC members bagging Munros in fine weather near Crianlarich; Ben Lui in the background © Alex Brown

In 1974, long before the days of Facebook, we pinned a library index card in Marshalls, George Street - a local mountaineering shop at the time. The proprietors were key in directing members to us. New arrivals to Aberdeen, enquiring about clubs in the shop, were asked if they were looking to put up new routes on the Ben, or, following a walk in the hills, assemble for high tea in the Fife Arms hotel, Braemar. If their aspirations were somewhere between the two, then they were directed to the AMC.

The first meeting was in the Snug, Ma Cameron's Bar. Numbers were modest - only four people came - but we now had a club! The overriding rule was that there should be no rules, other than being safe. There was to be no president, but instead a moderator to mediate dissent. We soon outgrew the eight-capacity Snug, used The Glentanar bar as our base for some time, until eventually we discovered the upstairs room of The Frigate Bar. This venue became (and still is) our permanent base, where we meet on a Tuesday evening to converse and plan activities.

Despite the inevitable turnover of members, many have been active in the club across multiple decades, and much of the ethos of the early club days remains. Mountaineering is still at our core - walking, climbing (both indoor and outdoor), scrambling, ski mountaineering and touring, hill running, and a general interest in the mountain environment. A few members are also keen sailors and are brave enough to coordinate sailing meets on the west coast – it's a different view of the mountains from the sea.

We arrange weekend meets throughout the year, a variety of social gatherings and many more activities on an ad-hoc basis. The climbing element to the club has seen particular enthusiasm and activity in recent years. Well-attended weekly gatherings at local sea cliffs, crags inland, or the indoor wall, are regularly supplemented by individual members linking up to tackle longer mountain routes at weekends. A club trip to Chulilla, Spain, took place in autumn 2017, while six members recently returned from Rjukan, Norway, having enjoyed some spectacular water ice and mixed climbing. The club also organises and subsidises winter skills courses and various climbing courses to develop people's techniques and awareness.

Camaraderie is still what makes the AMC, and the weekend meets are when you truly get to know other club members. Various campsites, bunkhouses and huts are booked in advance for weekends away throughout the year. The standard of communally-cooked meals on such meets is very high, yet for little cost, regardless of the circumstances. Even at the CIC Hut, Ben Nevis, with attendees fully loaded with winter climbing gear, a homemade three course meal and quality ales will be squeezed in somewhere. Be it stovies washed down with Buckfast at the Clashgour Hut, or a six-course extravaganza over Hogmanay, nobody goes hungry on an AMC meet. Conviviality is high around the communal meal table and this increases with the refreshments consumed and tales told throughout the evening, which is usually in inverse proportion to the size of day on the hill.

Many of the usual suspects pause for a group photo while seeing in 2019 at the Alex Macintyre Hut © Judith Moynagh

The club's annual dinner is always accompanied by the presentation of an eclectic collection of prizes: the Rusty Piton for climbing misadventure, the Wooden Compass for navigational challenges, the Timekeeping Award for the latest return and the Knotted Handkerchief for a forgotten item/member. Most recipients ensure that they never win such an award again. In contrast, the Care Bear award and the Golden Whisk reward helpfulness and outstanding culinary endeavours. A recent addition is the Steve Wright Award, for bizarre exploits in the hills. It was first awarded after the eponymous originator returned from his first ever attempt at a ski tour around the Northern Corries. After detailing at some length his admiration for how skiers tolerated such uncomfortable footwear, he was informed that was because they usually have their boots on the correct feet!

It's no secret that mountaineering clubs often unintentionally act as something of a dating agency. The ‘Aberdeen Marriage Club' is no exception, with an impressive record of eight engagements in one year. An early example occurred on the Glen Brittle campsite on Skye - an overnight autumn storm ripped or flattened a third of our tents, with occupants bundling at random into nearby cars to see out the night. A chance pairing in one car blossomed into romance, and a long and happy marriage.

On the crag © Manuela Bucci

While most club activities take place in the Scottish mountains, over the years we have embarked on a number of overseas expeditions. In addition to the aforementioned trips to Spain and Norway, groups of club members have organised trips to the Dolomites, the Alps, Yugoslavia (as it was), Ireland, and even the Rockies. Norway has seen particular interest over the years as a skiing and mountaineering destination, with club members publishing a walking and scrambling guide to Norway in 2006. Slide shows at the pub throughout winter provide a great opportunity to share stories and photos of these exotic exploits with the rest of the club.

Yes, it's a great life in the AMC! We're always looking to attract new members and develop new activities to keep the club lively. Being in a club brings many opportunities to broaden your horizons, meet a wide range of like-minded people of different ages and backgrounds, take on new challenges, access unique club huts in superb locations, and simply have fun.

For more information about the club, go to: www.aberdeenmc.co.uk or www.facebook.com/AberdeenMountaineeringClub

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