AAC Grant Program
The American Alpine Club grants program provides resources for climbers and explorers to attempt new challenges, conduct scientific research, and push the envelope of human accomplishment in mountain and polar environments.
The AAC awards over $50,000 annually, although the size and number of awards vary from year to year.
For more information on each of the AAC’s grants please visit the links below:
Lyman Spitzer Cutting Edge Award
Zack Martin Breaking Barriers Grant
Scott Fischer Memorial Conservation Grant
Lara-Karena Bitenieks Kellogg Memorial Conservation Grant
A fund has been established in Lara Kellogg’s honor at the American Alpine Club. Kellogg, an AAC member, died during an attempt on the the Northeast Buttress of Mt. Wake in the Alaska Range.
Contribute to the grant fund at the AAC support page. Please indicate that your contribution is for the Lara Kellogg Memorial in the comments field.
Details of how to apply for a grant are yet to be developed. Awards will begin in 2008.
In addition to the grants provided by the AAC, there are several great opportunities available for climbers scattered throughout the community. Many of those opportunities are listed below, but if you'd like to have a grant or scholarship added to the AAC website, please email Jason Manke at jmanke@americanalpineclub.org.
The Rowell Award for the art of adventure:
The Rowell Award will honor that adventurer whose artistic passion illuminates the wild places of the world, and whose accomplishments significantly benefit both the environment and the peoples who inhabit these lands and regions.
- Award amount: $15,000 (USD)
- Award given: Annually
- Number of award recipients/year: One
- Nominations must be received by November 15, 2007
- Nominations may be sent via e-mail, fax, regular mail or private carriers (FedEx, UPS, etc.)
- Award presentation date: Spring 2008. See 2008 Awards for more information.
- Award presentation location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
2007 Call for Entries
Nomination Form
For More information, visit www.RowellAward.com
Mugs Stump Climbing Award:
Mugs Stump was best known for his first ascent of the Emperor Face on Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies and a triptych of brilliant Alaskan climbs—the East Face of the Moose's Tooth, the Moonflower Buttress on Mount Hunter, and a one-day solo of Denali's Cassin Ridge. He sought out striking and highly technical objectives, preferably first ascents, in some of the most remote mountains of the world. Mugs saw climbing as a celebration of boldness, purity, and simplicity. The award annually grants $12,000 to small teams pursuing climbing objectives that exemplify light, fast and clean alpinism.
Applications are reviewed for how they further the legacy of Mugs Stump with climbs proposed in the spirit of adventure and exploration, and that emphasize light, fast, leave-no-trace climbing. Award applicants are evaluated on the strength of their objective, the strength of their team, and on an objective that raises the bar defining what is possible in alpinism today. Applications are due by December 31st and trips must be taken between February, of the year awarded, and the following January.
For more information, visit www.MugsStumpAward.com
Hans Saari Memorial Fund Exploration Grant
This grant supports innovative ski mountaineering expeditions with technical goals in alpine terrain. While trips do not need to be at the leading edge of alpinism, special consideration will be given to applicants visiting unclimbed, unexplored regions, and those with historically significant objectives. Grant recipients must document and report on both technical and cultural aspects of expeditions, with the goal of creating an understanding and appreciation of the area and culture. The Fund will award up to three grants per year. Dealine is March 1 annually.
For more information, visit www.hansfund.org