The New England Section of the American Alpine Club has over 800 AAC members in Eastern Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Annual Section events include our Annual Dinner in the Boston area and two BBQs—one in June and the other in October—both held annually in northern New Hampshire. We always welcome any suggestions for club activities to bring our far-reaching community together.

We are lucky enough to boast of having Bill Putnam and Mark Richey, both former AAC Presidents, as chapter members. Jed Williamson, also a New England section member, is not only a past president of the club but also the editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering. Current AAC board members in our section include Bruce Franks and John Kascenska. We also cannot neglect boasting about one of North America’s best known climbers, Henry Barber, who is a longstanding member.

While we don’t have the big peaks or big walls our western counterparts do, New England is proud of having Mt. Washington, which comes in at only 6,288 feet but boasts some of the planet’s most severe weather and retains the world record for wind speed, 231 MPH. This fine peak serves as a training ground for several hearty New Englanders, including the members of the successful New England Everest Expedition led by our own Rick Wilcox in 1991.

New Englanders have some great crags in their backyards, including, but certainly not limited to, Boston’s Quincy Quarries (Henry’s Barbers first crag), Hammond Pond, College Rock, and Crow Hill, Pawtuckaway, Rock Rimon, Rumney, Smuggler’s Notch, Lake Willoughby, and the famed Cathedral Ledge.

Be sure to check out the benefits of AAC Membership in New England.

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Meet your New England Section Chair.

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