March 2026
The American Alpine Club (AAC) and Mountain Hardwear are excited to announce the 2026 McNeill-Nott recipients. The unexpected loss of Sue Nott and her climbing partner, Karen McNeill, on the Infinite Spur (5.9 M5 AI4) on Sultana (Mt. Foraker) in 2006 prompted the AAC to partner with Mountain Hardwear to establish the McNeill-Nott Award in their memory. Nott and McNeill were two accomplished alpinists who pushed the sport. Among many other accomplishments, in 2004, they were the first all-female team to summit Denali's Cassin Ridge (5.8 WI4) despite harsh weather conditions that grounded almost all other teams, an AWOL crampon, running out of food, and being caught in a small wind slab avalanche. We seek to preserve the spirit of these two talented and courageous climbers by giving this grant to amateur female climbers exploring new routes or unclimbed peaks with small teams.
Allie Oaks will receive $3,500 to attempt an unclimbed buttress on a peak in the Damodar Himal subrange of the Himalaya in Nepal. After examination of the available pictures and reading through previous trip reports, their intended route will require remote international travel, multiple days of trekking to a distant valley, engaging glaciers, alpine ice, snow travel at high altitude, technical mixed climbing, navigation of exposed ridgelines, and overnight bivies. Oaks and Suzanna Lourie are grateful for the opportunity to carry forward the curiosity and intrepid spirit of Sue Nott and Karen McNeill.
Allie Oaks and Suzanna Lourie
Rell Lennox will receive $3,500 to attempt an unclimbed line in the Cochamó Valley, Chile. Lennox previously spent five weeks in the Valley exploring the area to find potential new routes and taking the time to climb the classics. Lennox will be returning to the valley with Flavie Cardinal, their gaze set on a clean and splitter unclimbed line.
Applications for the McNeill-Nott Award are accepted each year from October 1 through December 31.
Contact:
Berkeley Anderson, Director of Grants and Community Support: [email protected]
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About Mountain Hardwear
Mountain Hardwear, Inc., was founded in 1993 and is based in Richmond, CA. We exist to encourage and equip people to seek a wilder path in life. For 30 years, we’ve built essential equipment for climbers, mountaineers, and outdoor athletes and have supported expeditions on the world’s highest peaks. Relentless precision continues to inspire everything we do — our designers sweat every stitch and detail to continuously improve function, durability, and comfort. Mountain Hardwear is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company that distributes its products through specialty outdoor retailers in the United States and 34 countries worldwide. www.mountainhardwear.com
About the American Alpine Club
Founded in 1902, the American Alpine Club (AAC) is committed to providing climbers with resources that advance knowledge, inspiration, and advocacy. Through our rescue benefit and medical expense coverage, climbing and grief grants, campgrounds, and discounts, we are committed to empowering our members. We share knowledge and inspiration through the American Alpine Journal, Accidents in North American Climbing, and preserving climbing history in the AAC Library and Archives. Finally, we advocate for our members and the places we climb by breaking down barriers to climbing and seeking to preserve our climbing landscapes and public lands nationally and locally. At the AAC, we are connected through our passion for climbing. United We Climb.
