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
Report back from July Camp and National Meet 2024
July Camp 2024 at Cobham certainly was a very different July Camp and, in many ways, was a very special camp too. In some respects, these differences were pleasantly noteworthy and in other ways, others [...]
The Annapurna Ascent: Episode 10: The First South African Summit
Warren Eva has become the first South African to reach the top of Annapurna. He and John Black launched their final push for the summit yesterday – and while John turned back in the early [...]
SA Mountain Conference 2025
KZN Section member, Morgan Griffiths, is currently representing MCSA at the Southern African Mountain Conference 2025, being held at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Maloti-Drakensberg. Over 320 delegates from Southern Africa, Europe and North [...]
News items of national interest should be sent to news@mcsa.org.za.
UIAA News
International mountaineering news fresh from the UIAA website.
- UIAA recruiting for a Project Manager (Sustainability/Medical)
- 2025 UIAA Support Project: Support Climber Safety Research. Your support helps saves lives in the mountains.
- Climate Change Case Study: Green Label introduced in Catalonia
- Latest Legal Case Study: Report from Buck Mountain in Grand Teton National Park
- Ice climbing in Guillestre: 25 years of inspiring young mountaineers. And exciting plans for the future
- La Commission Sécurité de l’UIAA fête ses cinquante ans à Chamonix : Événements publics et réunions des experts du domaine
- UIAA Safety Commission to celebrate fifty years in Chamonix: Public events and stakeholder meetings
- Voluntary Recall: Mammut Skywalker Pro Via Ferrata Set
- UIAA supports international rescue conference
- Invitation to support the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour