The Club
Founded in 1898 by a group of well-educated and wealthy Victorian gentlemen mountaineers The Climbers' Club has evolved steadily to become the UK's largest club for committed and experienced rock climbers and mountaineers. With a membership drawn from all walks of life and all parts of Britain, the club today is a dynamic and forward-looking organisation.
We are proud of our heritage and the contribution that the club has made, and continues to make, to British climbing. We produced the first ever pocket-sized climbing guide, established the UK's first successful club hut and were instrumental to the founding of The BMC. We have many of Britain's finest climbers amongst our members, past and present. The one constant throughout our history is our commitment to the traditional British style of climbing.
-A brief history of The Climbers' Club 1898 - 1990 by Pip Hopkinson.
The sacrifice of many members in both World Wars is detailed in two articles:
-The Climbers’ Club in the First World War 1914-1918
-The Climbers’ Club in World War II 1939-1945
Our Journals chronicle the development of UK rock climbing. We also have an extensive physical Archive of Club material.
Our Guidebooks
When the club was formed there was no such thing as a climbing guidebook, information was passed by word of mouth. As the sport started to grow the need for readily available authoritative information was obvious, climbing was a dangerous game and the club noted that newcomers had , 'to depend upon a vast mass of undigested detail and uncritical narration.'
In 1909 the club decided to fill the information gap by publishing a series of pocket guidebooks to the climbs in Eryri; the first was to Lliwedd, at the time probably the most popular cliff in the area. In the book's preface the club expressed the hope that ... 'a small portable guide, which can be consulted on the spot, and which will tell the new-comer what he is in for before he starts a climb, and where he is and what he may expect at any point on his climb' might help reduce accidents. This little book was the first of its kind in the UK and almost certainly The World; a second title, Ogwen, was published in 1910 and we have been producing guidebooks ever since.
CC ArchiveThe slim and pocket sized format of these authoritative books set the standard for guidebooks for the next 80+ years as it was adopted by almost all guidebook producers. From the 1990s onwards the combination of powerful design software and low cost high quality colour printing allowed a dramatic development in the visual appeal of our guidebooks and has led to the visually stunning modern guides we now expect.
Download Historic Guides from our back catalogue.
Purchase our latest Climbing Guidebooks.
Our Huts
In the early days members stayed in hotels and farmhouses when they visited Wales but by the early 1920s the club was looking for a base ('headquarters') in Eryri. Eventually a former road-menders' hovel called Helyg, in the Ogwen Valley, was identified as suitable. Helyg was opened on 31st October 1925, initially leased but purchased in the early 1930s. Helyg has proved to be the UK's first successful climbing hut. To this day Helyg remains a firm favourite amongst members and non-members alike and celebrates its centenary in 2025.
CC archiveSince the purchase of Helyg the club has acquired another seven huts, two more in Eryri, one each in Pembroke, Cornwall, The Peak District, The Lake District and The Scottish Highlands. These are an enormous asset for members and the springboard for many adventures.
Hut history articles:
-RW Lloyd Hut | Ynys Ettws (1950)
-RO Downes Memorial Hut (1961)
Book a Climbers' Club Hut for your next climbing trip.
