The club has a wide range of possibilities to offer its members. Whether you're only interested in going to the weekly club times or longing for some adventure and purpose, we offer it all.

We meet every Tuesday (7-10pm) and Thursday (6-9pm) at the climbing wall in the PEC. There you’ll get to learn to climb and chat. It's very relaxed and a great way to meet new people. Normally we meet at a pub afterwards to talk and share stories of old adventures. If you’re hungry for more, this is a great opportunity to talk to our more experienced members about the possibilities that this club can open for you. I cannot recommend getting involved in the opportunities it offers you enough. It changed my life, and I don’t regret it for a second.

^{Gola Island trip}

Why did I join QUBMC?

Mountaineering is one of those sports that can easily consume you if you let it. Its offshoots can give you a life that covers so much of the human experience, it’s hard to look back. The main reason I joined Queen’s was because of the QUBMC. I grew up exposed to the mountaineering community in Ireland. Within that it was hard to ignore the positive reputation and involvement of the QUBMC. Many of the role models I looked up to were ex-QUBMC members themselves. This club is full of passionate individuals who perpetuate a culture of sharing knowledge and encouraging the next generation.

Everyone in the club who has skill or knowledge, has a debt to pay, not to the people that taught them, but the people they will teach. There is a linage of generosity that dates back more than 70 years. The same skills and philosophies have been passed on and improved through every generation of this club. To be a part of it at this small point in time feels like an honour.

Don’t be daunted though. You need no prior knowledge or experience. If you want to learn how to be a competent climber that can go anywhere in the world, we will teach you!

Upcoming trips planned by the club

We offer many trips throughout the year. Trips are a great way to immerse yourself in the culture and consolidate skills. Most trips are open to absolute beginners, and we will train you up to the skill level you need.

Here is an outline of the trips we have planned this year:

• Fair Head Bouldering (November 18^th – November 19^th 2023)
• El Chorro, Spain (Easter break 2024)
• Gola Island, Donegal (Summer 2024)

There are also many more trips that happen during the year - as they are more numbers and weather dependent, they are not planned too far in advance. Keep your ears to the ground and you’ll be surprised as to where you end up! Most of them will be around Ireland for a day or 2. If you can drive that’s great, if not don’t worry, we will make sure you can get to where we are going one way or another.

Courses available

As well as trips we have courses. There will be a REC2 (Rescue and Emergency Care) course. This gives you a level 2 first aid qualification specific for the outdoors, this generally runs in February/March. Outdoor climbing courses will also run throughout the year. These are organised when needed and are more flexible to tailor to a group’s experience level.

^{Climbing course at Runkerry}

Social events

If that’s not enough for you, we also have a litany of social events and psyche nights. There are more than I can mention here, but there are a few noteworthy ones.

This year we are hosting the Brit Rock film tour. A collection of climbing films from across the UK and Ireland, this is perfect for getting hyped about future trips and climbing in general. This is happening on 14^th November 2023.

Every year we do “The Everest Challenge”. A climbing challenge where everyone does as many climbs as they can in 4 hours. The goal is for everyone to collectively add their climbs up to the height of Everest. This is a charity event where we try and raise money for a charity, last year we raised money for Disability Sport NI.

We also do some festive themed events, the 12 pubs of Christmas and a Christmas dinner. These will take place around mid-December so stay tuned.

The Club is so much more than can be outlined in this short coverage. If you are interested at all I strongly encourage you to pop your head in during our club times and say hello. If you have any questions, we are very active on Instagram, hit us up through there, or ask any of our committee members when you see them at club time. Thank you for reading, I hope to see you there.

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Queen's Mountaineering Club

Clubs and Societies at Queen's

Sean Webb Software and Electronics Systems Engineering | Undergraduate Student | Belfast, NI I’m Sean and I’m 21. Since joining Queen’s, I have been on the Mountaineering Club committee. For the past 2 years I have had the role of development officer. My role means I am responsible for making sure everyone in the club develops their skills should they want to. I’m in charge of teaching, overseeing courses and ensuring everyone who wishes to go on a trip has the right level of skill and experience to go. I absolutely love it. I am very grateful to all those who took time out of their life to teach and train me so I am happy to return the favour to others. The Club has been a huge part of my life and it has taken me all across the world. It has pushed me to be able to do what I thought was impossible and has given me a community I know I can feel strong in.