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
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 [...]
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 [...]
News items of national interest should be sent to news@mcsa.org.za.
UIAA News
International mountaineering news fresh from the UIAA website.
- Voluntary Recall: Mammut Skywalker Pro Via Ferrata Set
- UIAA supports international rescue conference
- Invitation to support the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour
- Special Report: Sharp edges and rope cuts
- Equipment recall: Petzl Swan Easyfit Steel Harness
- Plans for 2025 UIAA General Assembly progressing well
- Alpine Club of Canada first adopter of UIAA Declaration
- Equipment recall: 2025 Black Diamond Vision Harness recall
- Protected: Return of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award: Prize money, expert project support, international recognition
- Equipment recall: Black Diamond Equipment Recon LT Avalanche Transceiver