UKC

Hi all, 

Anyone can suggest the best way to find a climbing/mountaineering partner for summiting some classic alpine routes?

I climb sports indoor and outdoor and know my way around ropes but haven't done alpine climbing yet. I've been researching and practising crevasse rescue techniques.

I really want to do some AD or low PD grades in the alps, do some crevasse travel and slowly gain some more experience. 

Thank you

It's not easy. You could try to sign up for an organised club meet to the Alps. Otherwise, it's pot luck. 

Have you tried contacting local climbing clubs ?  Its a good way to contact climbers with a broad range of interests.

It may help to add a bit to your profile - it's sometimes hard to know where to pitch an answer.

I've been looking for a decent UK Alpine club for a while but till now only found a couple that mainly consist of senior members (older generations) organising mild hikes in the UK. 

Let me know if you know of any good ones please, 

I will give that a try, thank you

If you're between 18 and 30, you might consider applying for the 'Alpine Mountaineering Course' listed here: https://www.jcmt.org.uk/courses

And then just go climbing either with people you've met on it, or other people you meet on the campsite.

PS: 'AD or low PD grades' doesn't really make sense as a range. I assume you really meant 'PD or low AD grades.' However, until you've tried a variety of alpine climbs, the grades won't mean too much anyway.

Its definitely harder to find alpine climbing partners than for (almost every) other types of climbing. it can be a lot more serious and many are cautious about who they climb with 

If you are under 30, the https://www.jcmt.org.uk/ courses are a great way to start. If not, just going to the argentiere campsite in late June / early July you should be able to meat partners there. 

Otherwise try and find a club meet of sorts. There are at least a few clubs that do regular alps trips and im sure some would be willing to introduce you to alpine climbing etc. 

In general i find i meet a lot of alpine partners through my trad climbing partners. Quite a lot of the trad climbing friends  also do alpine climbing, but very few / none of the sport climbers i know. Starting trad climbing would be a good way to meet potential partners + would give you some of the skills you need for alpine climbing. 

There are climbing clubs round the country. That's one way to meet outdoor climbers. As already mentioned, a lot of climbers would be happy to go on some trad routes with you for a day or two. Not so many would commit to a full Alps trip.

Alternatively, find some people to climb with on here.

Absolutely agree with this a great and relatively safe way to start. I did this 15 years ago and it did me the world of good. 
 

FYI the Alpine club also has a young members program but you would need this kind of basic level first at a bare minimum

The first thing you need to do is get some multi pitch trad climbing experience which should be a lot easier to find partners for, ideally one who shares your Alpine ambitions. This would form an essential basis on which to build your Alpine skills.

You would also benefit from some winter hillwalking and winter climbing experience, easy ridges and gullies would do for a start. With some basic experience of walking and scrambling on snow and rock in crampons with ice axes and an ability to self arrest and some navigational experience you would be able to tackle easier Alpine routes.

You can go on courses to learn this stuff but thousands of climbers have taught themselves over the years. There's endless amounts of information out there on the net and it's winter now, you need to try and get up to Snowdonia or the Lakes while it lasts and start learning this stuff. You can still do some scrambles like Striding Edge, Crib Goch and Tryfan North Ridge even if there's no snow when you get there.

Take it steady and don't get out of your depth but self reliance is one of the most important skills in mountaineering.

Get on a Conville Course, go climbing with your coursemates afterwards. Meet people in the campsite, share some beers, see if anyone is in need of a partner. Be very upfront about your lack of experience, and see if anyone is willing to tie on with you. Don't kill them, make lasting friends and you're set for life or until one of you has a dramatic experience and gives up climbing for life.

Easy

Thank Rob for the tip, I'm 34 though 

Thanks Jim for the advise 🙏

I hike around the UK in both summer and winter and done these scrambles already in various conditions. But trad climbing is definitely now on top of my list.

Thanks for the tips

If you get a trad partner it would be worth doing some harder scrambles, grade 3s or some very easy multi pitch mountain trad routes (Moderates or Diffs) and practice moving together as that is what you will have to do a lot of in the Alps but do some trad first until you can place decent gear.

There's lots of information on how to do this online and on youtube, likewise you can find out how to tie in for glacier travel and the basics of crevasse rescue.                                                                                                                         

The Conville course looks like it may be booked up anyway.

You could try either private guides, or Plas y Brenin, for other teaching routes.

In that case, you might consider signing up for a short course from any other operator.

I'm not suggesting that you need to take a course in order to learn the ropes, but it can be a good way of getting started, and of meeting like-minded people.

This is the best advice on the thread so far.

OP - that's great you want to get out to the bigger mountains! One of my fondest memories is seeing the sun rise over the mountains on my very first alpine route (I think there might be a photo of it on my profile). It's magical.

You say you want to find partners, but what you really need is experience. Sport climbing is wonderful, but it is designed to minimise risk as much as possible. Whereas much of alpine climbing is about knowing how to manage the ever-present risk.

While courses can teach you the technical knowledge for climbing as safely as possible in the mountains, only experience can help you make the correct calls in a given situation.

(Personal note: I remember, many years ago, being in a white-out snowstorm on Crib Goch in the middle of winter, shepherding a less experienced group who were getting a bit scared. A less experienced me might have been a bit worried; and yet I was humming contently to myself. I knew we all had the right equipment, and I knew exactly where I was, where and how far we had to go, how difficult the terrain was, and what any potential escape options were. And, crucially, I was confident in my abilities, and the abilities of the rest of the group. We ended up having an amazing day out!)

So my advice would be for you to get out into the mountains (in the UK) as much as possible, regardless of weather forecast, and in every season. The UK has a marvellous selection of classic trad mountain routes and summer and winter scrambles. They are also closer and easier to get to than the alps. And in general a whole order of magnitude less dangerous.

A good way to get into this is via a club (your profile says you're based in London, so you might try the NLMC - http://www.nlmc.co.uk/). By doing so you will gain a lot of the requisite experience, make some new friends, and almost certainly find partners for your ambitions in the alps.

Of course, the other way of doing it is trial-by-fire approach: turn up at the campsite in Chamonix and fake it til you make it. Plenty of people have done this too! It wouldn't be my choice, but it's your call.

Best of luck!

Your advice is good - until this bit.

To the OP: please don't try to 'fake it.' By all means try to find partners at the campsite, but don't bullshit about what your experience is.

Indeed. The reverse is true too. Don't go alpine climbing with someone unless you have reason to believe their claimed experience/abilities.

I don't know your gender - though I sympathise with being 34 - Women's Alpine Adventure Club? 

 ♂  can't join the women's club

I've done some crazy stuff and put my life in danger many times, and (almost) always were confident in my abilities.  The results have been a life full of adventure and to be fair far too many close calls (and broken bones). No regret in there though.

But I would never do that with someone else's life.