Peter MacKeith Climbing Grant

The "Peter MacKeith Memorial Endowment Fund for Climbing" was established in 1981 by the family of Peter MacKeith, late president of the Alaska Alpine Club, in honor of Peter's love for climbing and of his climbing achievements in Alaska, Afghanistan, Greenland, and Iceland. The Alaska Alpine Club (AAC) was given the responsibility of distributing the earnings from the endowment for the purpose of supporting worthwhile mountaineering ventures by AAC members in Alaska or elsewhere in the world.

The 2024 grant is open for submissions until March 15th.

2021 Mackeith Grant Presentation - Denali’s Cassin Ridge

Jonathan Koenig and Ethan Berkeland

Grant funding

Five percent of the fund is available for grants each year. Grant Proposals are due March 1st. The fund is not allowed to drop below $10,000.

 

Requirements for submitting a Proposal

  1. All recipients must have been Alaska Alpine Club members for at least one year prior to receiving the grant. Expedition members who are not members of the Alaska Alpine Club are not eligible.

  2. The proposal must contain the following information:

    1. Names, addresses and Resume of climbing experience for each expedition member, including those that are not members of the Alaska Alpine Club and do not receive a grant.

    2. A description of the climbing objective, including a topo map of the area (a good black and white copy is sufficient).

    3. A description of how the party plans to carry out the climb and the approximate dates of the climb.

    4. A budget for the expedition explaining how the climbing grant will be used.

    5. Explanation of financial need.

    6. A description of what the applicants have done and will do for the Alaska Alpine Club.

    7. Signed liability release forms for all party members requesting money.

  3. Submit proposals by March 1.

Please email proposals to:

alaska.alpine.club@gmail.com

or give it to one of the officers.

 

Rules and Limitations:

  1. Expeditions are not limited to Alaska or to the United States.

  2. Expeditions are not limited to first ascents or climbs of unusual difficulty, although the merits of the proposed climb are important considerations in the review process.

  3. The financial needs of the expedition's climbers will be given high priority.

  4. Officers of the club are eligible for the grants (but if applying can't be involved in the selection and approval process).

  5. The Alaska Alpine Club does not assume any liability for the expedition.

  6. The total amount awarded per year is limited to the fund earnings from the prior year.

  7. Grant may be awarded to one or several expeditions.

  8. The Club may choose to distribute only part of or none of the earnings of the endowment during any given year, depending on the merits of the proposals.

  9. Awardees must bring the Alaska Alpine Club flag on the trip

  10. Awardees must give a presentation for the club after the trip has been completed, regardless of success.

 

Review process:

  1. The proposals will be reviewed and ranked according to merit by three independent reviewers. The names of the applicants will not be disclosed to the reviewers. None of the reviewers can be applicants.

  2. An award committee consisting of at least three elected officers will combine the ranks of all three reviewers into an overall ranking. Grants will be awarded to the highest-ranking proposals, until funds for that year are exhausted.

  3. In case of ties a coin toss will be used to decide the outcome.

  4. The committee reserves the right to disqualify applicants if no financial need can be shown.

  5. Grants will be awarded during the month of April.

 

Responsibilities of recipients:

  1. Any portion of the grant money that is not used for the climbing objective described in the proposal has to be returned to the Alaska Alpine Club.

  2. Recipients are required to contribute, or to have contributed, something to the Alaska Alpine Club. Examples include:

    1. Put on one of the Alaska Alpine Club monthly slide shows.

    2. Submit an article for publication in Descent and/or the AAC web page.

    3. Assist in the teaching of the AAC climbing class.

    4. Organize a hut repair trips or a climbing wall clean up.

    5. Serve as a club officer.

Photo by AAC Member Erica Lamb, Mt Prindle