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Membership Benefits Membership Options Annual Subscriptions Club Constitution

Club Membership

The Cairngorm Club and Mountaineering Scotland recognise that climbing and mountaineering are activities with risks of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks, and be responsible for their own actions and involvement. Members and others participate in Club activities at their own risk; the Club accepts no liability.

Mountaineering Scotland Safety and Liability Guidance

Membership Benefits

Membership of the Cairngorm Club brings you a number of benefits, including:
o Regular meets throughout the year, e.g.
             o       monthly day (usually Sundays) meets to the hills
             o       monthly week-end meets, usually to huts or hostels in Scotland
             o       monthly social meets (e.g. indoor slide-show talks) during the winter
             o       Tuesday and Wednesday evening climbing meets to cliffs near Aberdeen or Transition Extreme climbing wall (see Meets Calendar for details)
             o       Monthly Thursday “mid-week” walks within an hour’s drive from Aberdeen
             o       Annual Dinner, barbecue, and other social events
o Reduced rates and guaranteed beds at the high-standard Club “hut” at Muir of Inverey, and reciprocal use of sister club huts
o Access to the member-only Forum website, Club website, e-mail system, etc.
o Reduced costs of Club training courses, e.g. in winter skills, and first aid
o Subsidies on other relevant training courses
o Membership of the North East Mountain Trust (NEMT), providing representation at local level
o Membership of the Mountaineering Scotland (MS), providing representation at national level, civil
liability insurance against claims incurred during Club activities, the  Scottish Mountaineer magazine, and reduced costs for travel insurance, training courses, etc. for hillwalkers, climbing and mountaineers (see
https://www.mountaineering.scot/members/members-benefits for further details)
o The Club Newsletter three times a year, and the Cairngorm Club Journal every couple of years
o Use of the extensive Club Library held at the University of Aberdeen
o Discounts at leading Aberdeen-area climbing equipment shops (click here for current list)
o Discount at a leading Aberdeen-area physiotherapist practice.
o Use of the Club’s National Trust for Scotland membership cards.

Membership Options

There are three types of membership: -

Ordinary
For Ordinary membership, you need to have, in general terms, the experience and ability to look after yourself and lead one or two others in all conditions normally encountered on the Scottish hills. You should set out your experience on the application form, and be proposed and seconded by two Ordinary members who know you.

Associate      
Carrying almost the same rights as Ordinary membership, this is for those without the necessary experience for Ordinary membership but who share the general objects of the Club, and wish to join in its activities. No proposer or seconder is needed. We encourage Associate members to gain experience and transfer to Ordinary membership.

Interim
If you wish to attend a few meets (max 4) to see whether this is the club for you, you can join, for up to 6 months, as an Interim (guest) member. No subscription is required, just the normal fee for meet(s) that you attend. You can later progress to become an Associate or Ordinary member. Interim Members can stay at Muir Cottage and attend weekend meets and training courses but do not qualify for any member subsidies.

For all three types of membership, you have to be aged at least 18.

Membership Application Form
 This can be used to apply for any of the three types of membership, and can be downloaded by clicking here
(Adobe PDF format / MS Word format),
Completed forms should be sent to the Membership Secretary (treasurer@cairngormclub.org.uk). You do not need to send any payment at this stage. The Membership Secretary will acknowledge receipt and inform you of the amount payable as a first subscription. Applications for Interim Membership may also be submitted to the appropriate Meet Co-ordinator, with payment (if needed) for the activity you first want to book.

If you think that the Club is of interest to you but you cannot manage to attend any of the activities detailed in the current Members Newsletter, please nevertheless contact the Membership Secretary, and he will see that you receive a copy of the next one.
Club Subscriptions

The Club's subscription year is the same as the Club's financial year and runs from 1st October to 30th September each year.
The Club pays an affiliation fee to the MS for each active member. This fee includes the cost of Civil Liability Insurance (CLI) which covers the Club members, the Club Committee members and the Club itself.

 Subscription rates to be collected on 1st October for the next year can be seen below -

2025/2026.

Club Constitution
The current version of the Cairngorm Club constitution can be downloaded here.
Cairngorm Club Privacy Notice