Full Membership

Competent mountaineer

An applicant for full membership is a competent mountaineer as demonstrated by:

exercising judgement on the hill, taking into account weather conditions and the ability of the group
sharing in decision making
having confidence in their own ability.

Minimum Technical Standard

Navigation

An applicant for full membership should:

be able to relate the map to the ground
be able to judge distance covered on a hill by pacing/timing
be able to navigate by compass in poor visibility or in darkness involving 3 to 4 changes in bearing, e.g. Ben Macdui summit to Coire Cas
be able to select a route suitable to the group and conditions and adapt the route on the hill when required
be adaptable in the use of maps of different scales, e.g. 1:50 000; 1:25 000; Harvey’s 1:40 000.
be aware of GPS and mobile apps for use in navigation.

Winter

An applicant for full membership should:

be able to use an ice axe for self arrest and to ascend/descend snow slopes safely, e.g. descent of the Goat Track (Coire an t-Sneachda) in winter
be able to use crampons on nevé and ice
be able to take decisions about the chosen route in light of avalanche information.

Rock

An applicant for full membership should:

have experience of unroped rock scrambling on classic Scottish mountain ridges, e.g. Aonach Eagach
be able to attach to the rope and to the rock (with and without harness and slings), to pay out/take in rope for a partner with a belay device and to abseil
have completed a minimum of two multi-pitch traditional routes with a minimum grade of Diff with at least 3 pitches, one of which should be a mountain route in Scotland e.g. D Gully Buttress (Buachaille) or Tower Ridge (Ben Nevis)
have a minimum of two further days experience of rock climbing at any grade.

The completed application form should show a variety of personal mountain experience in different conditions in Scotland, e.g. walking, scrambling, climbing, in summer and winter. It is expected that applicants have a realistic knowledge of the skills they possess and confidence that these meet the club criteria.

The proposer and seconders have a responsibility to satisfy themselves that, between the three of them, all the criteria for membership of an applicant have been met.