“When we reach the mountain summits we leave behind all the things that weigh heavily on our body and our spirit. We leave behind all sense of depression; we feel a new freedom, a great exhilaration of the body no less than the spirit.” – Jan Christiaan Smuts

Expedition Fund

The purpose of the MCSA’s expedition fund is to encourage and support worthwhile mountaineering or climbing endeavours. This may be an exploration to a remote and little-known area or an exceptional climbing objective or a goal testing one’s abilities and broaden experience.

While the MCSA particularly favours expeditions to remote and wild places, the Club also wants to encourage and guide young climbers starting out with more moderate goals, providing an opportunity to gain the necessary skills to eventually take on bigger goals.

The expedition subcommittee will evaluate each application for support on its own merit taking into account the objective of the expedition, the involvement of the applicant and the potential benefits to the club and to the applicant. Although there are no fast rules what the extent of the support will be, the MCSA will favour youngsters seeking out challenging goals in the less developed ranges rather than high profile expeditions.

The Expedition SubComm will make itself available to provide advice and other support to anyone applying for financial support from the Club. Questions regarding expeditions can be addressed to expeditions@mcsa.org.za. The subcommittee will determine an appropriate amount of financial support based on the criteria set out above.

The value of the direct financial support given to any expedition will be commensurate with the target of the expedition and the experience of the members thereof. The below mentioned figures are maximum amounts and cannot necessarily be expected. Any grant will be given to the expedition and not to an individual member.

  • The maximum amount of financial support for someone starting out on a new personal endeavour will be R3 000 for the expedition.
  • The maximum amount of financial support for an expedition requiring extensive planning, research and certain skills will be R15 000 for the expedition.
  • The maximum amount of financial support for an extraordinary and unique expedition will be R40 000 for the expedition.

Any MCSA member in good standing can apply for support to the Expedition SubComm by submitting the completed application form to expeditions@mcsa.org.za. The application form as well as more relevant information can be downloaded below.

EXP1A Guideline for-Applicants 2023 (pdf, 118 Kb)
EXP2A MCSA Application Form 2023 vs 2 (pdf, 1.58 Mb)
EXP3A MCSA Feedback Form 2023 (pdf, 1.12 Mb)