The Alpine Club, the world’s first mountaineering club, was founded in 1857.  For over 150 years, members have been at the leading edge of worldwide mountaineering development and exploration. 

With membership, experienced and aspiring alpinists benefit from a varied meets programme, regional lectures with notable guest speakers, reduced rates at many alpine huts, opportunity to apply for grants to support expeditions, significant discounts at many UK retailers, extensive networking contacts, access to the AC Library and maps - and more! 

Becoming a Member
 

Exhibitions

The Club is pleased to be able to use its premises and resources, along with its renowned archive of mountaineering reports, books, art and artefacts to host and curate exhibitions that celebrate mountain history and culture. As well as spotlighting the work of contemporary artists and academics, the Club has also worked to mark key mountaineering anniversaries; bringing together records of the past to keep our history alive and engaging for climbers and the wider community alike.

Individual exhibitions may vary, but most take place at our Charlotte Road Club House.

A full list of past and upcoming exhibitions is shown below.

Heather Dawe Presents 'No Substance But Light'

In ‘No Substance But Light’ writer, artist and AI expert Heather Dawe brings together a selection of works which exemplify her long fascination with both the mountains and the creative process. Using oils, watercolours, pastels and a novel technique which synthesises art by combining her own sketches with AI art generation, Heather seeks to capture the lights, rich colours and physical feeling of the mountains.


'Tre Cime' © Heather Dawe

While much of Heather’s inspiration comes from time spent in and around mountain landscapes, she is also fascinated by human creativity, which leads to her constant need to explore her own creative process. To a degree this is driven by her day-job as an AI thought leader in industry. As AI increasingly becomes a part of our lives, she believes we shouldn’t lose sight of the importance and value of our own intuitive and critical thinking, as they form the essence of what makes us human.

By displaying her personal, haptic works alongside those created with the aid of artificial intelligence, she hopes to encourage visitors to consider the increasingly blurred lines between human and AI art, reflecting on the impact that technology has on human nature.


Cìr Mhòr and Goatfell on Srran © Heather Dawe


North Kintail Ridge © Heather Dawe

Also featured in the exhibition are a series of oil paintings of Nanda Devi which Heather produced as part of her 2022 guest editorship of The Himalayan Journal. These will be displayed alongside oils and pastels of the Dolomites and Canadian Rockies, a series of watercolour and ink scenes of the Tour du Mont Blanc and some oils and pastels of places more close to home: the Scottish Highlands, Eryri, the Lake District and Yorkshire.

'Nanda Devi' © Heather Dawe

‘No Substance But Light’ will run from 10 May 2023 until 31 July 2023 at the Alpine Club’s premises of 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3FQ and will be open from 12:00 – 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Visitors are kindly asked to book in advance by contacting the Alpine Club Office on 02076130755 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..