Login with email
We are raising money to purchase new gear in order to keep climbing accessible and affordable, and we’d really appreciate any support you can give us to make this happen! This is crucial to the running of the club, as gear is at the heart of the running of YUMC as well as general safety.
Since 1977, YUMC has been spreading the joy of climbing at York. We have a large group of members, 114 this year, who attend our weekly socials, weekend trips and Red Goat sessions. We have both a competitive team, who have just received 3rd place at NUBS this year, and are looking towards another impressive Roses performance.
We chose to take part in Challenge Week this year because we have experienced first hand how the cost of living increases have led to less people being able to engage in extreme sport. While bouldering is a low cost and easy way to get involved with climbing, we want our members to be able to experience other varients of climbing wherein otherwise the gear may be too expensive.
We would appreciate any donations that people are able to make, as they will be invaluable in making sure climbing stays accessible at the University of York.
The money that YUMC raises during challenge week will go towards buying new gear for our club. This will specifically be outdoor sport climbing gear to help us provide for our expanding numbers.
For our Easter trip this year, we are taking 35 of our members over to Altea for some world-class sport climbing. This is an incredible opportunity for us all, however it has highlighted our need for new equipment in order to keep climbing both safe and accessible for all our members.
Our target for challenge week is to raise £2,500, this would cover the cost of our new gear.
Our first main cost is quickdraws, we will need around 103 quickdraws, which comes to around £1,000 when looking at lowest cost options.
Secondly, we will need 7-8 new ropes. These will cost us around £900.
Then we have other miscellaneous pieces of gear we need, including personal gear such as helmets, harnesses and belay devices, and general gear such as screwgate carabiners and slings. This will total around £350.
This gear estimate comes to at least £2250, so we will be thrilled if generous donations this Challenge Week can help us buy everything we need!
Any additional money raised will go towards our team. Covering transport to competitions, such as the upcoming lead fixture at Roses.
If we don’t meet our target, and instead raise a lesser amount we would instead buy a lower amount of each item, ensuring we still have gear of all kinds to loan out.
While this gear is being bought for our upcoming trip, it will go much further than this, allowing us to provide loanable gear to new members for years to come.
Our club has seen an increase this year of brand new climbers, who have found their love for the sport through our trips and sessions. This is exactly what we’re aiming to do at YUMC, and to keep the sport this accessible we need to have a complete set of gear ready to be borrowed. Furthermore, this means experience level is never a deciding factor when someone wants to join YUMC, we have accepted people from all levels and will continue to do so.
Aside from just this, climbing gear is also very expensive, which can be a barrier to many getting in to the sport. Removing financial barriers is hugely important to us as many of our committee and wider membership would not have been able to afford to get involved with climbing if not for YUMC.
It is also crucial that our gear is always safe, needing to be decommissioned when it becomes worn out. Replacing our gear can come at a high cost, but is necessary to the safe running of our trips. Challenge Week funds may allow us to buy higher quality gear, meaning it lasts longer and remains in safer condition.
Other than just climbing, YUMC has created an inclusive environment in which people can take part in the sport they love alongside making new friends and being part of a community. We want this to be able to continue in the best way possible, hoping to invite even more members next year, which having a full set of gear will make even easier.
Below are some of the challenges we will complete as part of the week:
The best place to keep up with what we are doing is our instagram @yumc.rock, here we will post updates during and beyond challenge week.
You can also email us at Mountaineering@yorksu.org if you have any questions or messages!
We would love you to donate as much or as little as you are able and any donations are hugely appreciated. Your donation could also help us unlock fundraising challenges which will help us reach our goal even faster (you can see these on the challenges page).
If you are looking to support an individual athlete or challenge please put a message with your donation saying who!
Alternatively, if you are unable to donate then please do spread the word by signing up as a Challenge Week ambassador for our club, and sharing our social media posts to your own socials so as many people as possible can read about our efforts!