Thinking of moving on to a new club after graduating? Here’s all the reasons why you should!
Members of BMC student clubs know the value that clubs bring, notwithstanding the membership perks and the experience of simply getting outside. Including catching the bug for climbing, walking, and mountaineering. But once you move on from university, what’s in a club membership for you? Here’s five ways you can benefit by continuing your club journey after graduation.
Find new people
Graduating university often means moving to a new place. Even if you stay put, often groups of friends start to move away. As you settle into post-university life, joining a mountaineering club can be a great way to find your tribe again. It’s the easiest way to meet new people with shared interests, who often become friends for life.
Explore new areas
If you’re new to an area, you can make the most of the local knowledge within clubs to explore the local area and get the beta on all the best crags and secret paths. A club’s programme of meets gives you the perfect pre-made excuse to get out and about on the weekends and discover new areas you’ve not been to before. You’ll also have access to the BMC’s network of club huts all over the UK, for cheap accommodation when you venture further afield.
Learn new skills
Climbing, hillwalking and mountaineering are about constantly learning. You might have had a first taste of the outdoors through a student club or maybe the opportunity to learn skills was curtailed due to the pandemic. If you’ve got the basics, or even no knowledge at all, clubs are the best way to progress. They’re full of people willing to share their experience, and getting out there with others is a great way to develop your skills. As a member of an affiliated club, you’ll also retain access to BMC-subsidised training courses especially for club members.
Discover new drive
If things are changing for you after graduating, it’s really easy to concentrate on other things and forget about the habits and life you used to lead. Being part of a group of psyched people through a club is a great way to counteract this; if there’s always people up for getting outdoors it’s much easier to tag along than organise something yourself. Use that shared motivation to keep up your adventures after university.
Expand your horizons
Sometimes in student clubs your options are limited, either by what can be achieved in a weekend meet or by the experience of those running the club. This has been especially true during the pandemic. Senior clubs allow you to try new activities and push your boundaries in those you already hold dear, pushing your climbing/mountaineering to the next level. They’re the best place to meet people who’ve experienced organising expeditions to remote locations or those with the skills to help you push your activity further, higher or harder.
Take the next step now
If all this sounds exciting, don’t wait to continue your adventures. Get started and find a friendly club near you now.
Find Your Next Adventure
Find out more about the opportunities to continue your outdoor journey with the BMC’s network of local and national clubs.
🥾 Taking the next steps
⛰️ Paths you can take
⛰️ What clubs are out there?
⛰️ How you can get involved
DOWNLOAD: the BMC RAD app
Get all the info on crags with the RAD (Regional Access Database) app from the BMC! Available now for Android and iOS, it's free and comes with a host of new features like navigation and parking, weather and tidal updates, and of course information on restrictions or notes on access advice. Get it here now!
RAD is community led and your comments help keep it up to date so don’t be afraid to add any relevant information after a crag visit which might be useful for other visitors – anything from conditions on the crag, favourite routes or reports of rockfall/other recent changes to the crag are all useful for other climbers visiting.
« Back
This article has been read
232
times