About The Club

Founded in 1923, DURC is the third oldest outdoor orientated club in the country. Ever since then the club's "mission statement" has remained the same:

‘to further the interests of members in all matters appertaining to the open-air life’

(Club Reports, February 1924)

We have a large number of members (we are often the biggest Sports Club within the University) who range from gentle ramblers to ambitious mountaineers, and we have everyone inbetween too! So whether you're a hillwalker or munro bagger, an aspiring rock climber or a full-on ice-climbing mountaineer, or if you just want to get outside for some fresh air and a stretch of legs, the club has something to offer you!

We have a trip (meet) every weekend during University term-time, including several full-weekend trips where we stay in a mountain hut and lots of single-day trips. There are also climbing meets which go to climbing walls and local crags for the day. During the vacations there are still trips away, but these are not usually subsidised by the club and are organised by members themselves via the chat forum. See the meets page for details of this years’ meets.

Essential Info

Club Website and Forums

This website is the main hub of information about the club. Here you will find everything that’s on the meets card plus everything that’s in the members’ booklet AND even more! Most importantly, the website plays host to the Announcements Forum which is your way of keeping in touch with all the latest goings-on, and the ever-popular Chat Forum..

Club Membership

You can join our club via the Sports Union office in the Student's Union building (DUSA). If you aren’t a student or staff member of the University of Dundee you may still be able to join by becoming an assiciate member. Ask at the Sports Union office about this or contact us directly via the contact form. The membership fee for 2008-9 was £30 and will probably be the same for 2009-10. Unfortunately only paid-up members can go on club meets; this is a Sports Union rule and is important since part of the membership fee provides you with civil liability insurance. If you are interested in the club but aren’t sure whether to join, come along to the pub to chat to us and find out more.

If you are wondering where your membership fee goes, about half of it helps fund the club so that we can secure bookings for the year’s events (we have to book minibus rental and mountain huts well in advance). The other half goes to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, to provide you with civil liability insurance, access to a whole range of free safety and skills lectures, access to subsidised training events and a subscription to Scottish Mountaineer magazine.

Pub Night and Sign-up

Every Wednesday evening (from 9ish) the club gathers in our sponsor pub Braes (on Perth Road opposite the Tower Building), to catch up over a pint. We are usually over at the left hand side, where there are a couple of tables reserved for us.

During term-time when the club runs meets each weekend, sign-up for the meet is taken in the pub (usually at 10pm) and is done by our Meets Secretary/Teasurer.

Note: Over the summer months and during University holidays there are still some DURC folks around but we sometimes move around from pub to pub - check recent announcements on the announcements forum for the latest info or ask on the chat forum.

Meet Prices

Throughout each semester we do a full-weekend meet (staying at a mountain hut) once each month, and a single-day meet on all other weekends. We also do single-day climbing meets regularly. See the meets list for details. The prices for 2008-9 were £10 for day meets (with climbing usually a bit cheaper than this as they are generally closer to Dundee). Weekend meets were £20 which includes 2 nights accommodation in a mountain hut as well as transport there and back. I’m sure you’ll agree that it isn’t much for a weekend’s travel and accommodation to the likes of Skye and Elphin! Prices for 2009-10 will probably be the same; this will be confirmed shortly.

Equipment

To go on a club meet you must bring the appropriate equipment. Most of this can be borrowed from the club's Gear Store but you need to have your own walking boots. Read the Kit List carefully and if you need to borrow anything check out the Gear Store page.

Departure

Now you know how much the trips cost, what to bring and where we're going, you need to know when/where we set off from!

Lectures and Training

Since safety is of such high importance in the hills, we pride ourselves on being to offer a wide variety of FREE lectures, ranging from First Aid through to Navigation, as well as providing you with subsidised courses. In addition, we hope be able to subsidise those interested, to do the Mountain Leader (Summer) training or the Single Pitch Award (SPA-Climbing) training. More information is in the Skills section.

Location Map

The following map shows where abouts everything is - pub, departure meeting point, gear store, climbing wall etc! (Note: there is a more detailed map to the gear store on the Gear Store page.)

OPEN
Departure Point for Club Meets
Duncan of Jordanstone Car Park
Avertical World Indoor Climbing Centre
Club Gear Store
See Gear Store Page for detailed map
Braes Pub