Who we are
The Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) was founded in 1891 in Cape Town, and is member of the world mountaineering body, the UIAA. The MCSA offers mountaineering which includes climbing of all types and hiking opportunities to its members and is involved in mountain search and rescue, training, conservation of mountain areas and procurement of access for mountaineering.
Sections
The Club consists of 15 Sections, geographically distributed. Contact the section nearest to you to join in activities, or for buying permits for different hiking venues, where permits have to be obtained. Membership in the MCSA also happens on Section level, so if you want to become a member please find the section nearest to you. If there is none, maybe consider starting one?
Emergencies
If in trouble in the mountains contact the nearest emergency number as listed here:
MCSA News
E-newsletter 2024 03
Download: MCSA March 2024 Newsletter (pdf | 4 Mb)
UIAA Rules & Regulations – Major Update
The UIAA Ice Climbing Governance Group, in conjunction with the UIAA Athletes Commission and some of the UIAA Officials, have been working hard in the off-season on a major update to the UIAA Ice Climbing [...]
Italian Alpine Silver award goes to the MCSA
The 52nd edition of the Silver Plaque to the Mountain Club of South Africa for its all-round commitment to mountain protection. The 52nd edition awarded the silver plaque to the Alpine Club of South Africa, [...]
News items of national interest should be sent to news@mcsa.org.za.
UIAA News
International mountaineering news fresh from the UIAA website.
- A successful premiere in South America
- UIAA expands its commitment to female climbers and mountaineers
- UIAA: Chief Executive Officer
- Mountain Voices: Influential guests, inspiring stories
- An example of training collaboration: federations in Chile and Spain join forces
- UIAA SafeCom sets sights on new Safety Standards
- New case added to UIAA database of judgements on climbing and mountaineering accidents
- Sharing knowledge: An inspiring first mountain sports training course
- UIAA Youth Commission lines up summer of climbing camps
- Register for 8th World Congress on Mountain & Wilderness Medicine