McNeill-Nott Award

The McNeill-Nott Award was established by the American Alpine Club in partnership with Mountain Hardwear in memory of Sue Nott and Karen McNeill, who died on Mt. Foraker in 2006. This award preserves the spirit of these two talented and courageous climbers by providing grants to amateur female climbers exploring new routes or unclimbed peaks with small and lightweight teams. The award focuses on projects with strong exploratory and adventuresome mountaineering objectives, with these elements being more important than the technical rating of the climbing objective. Two or three grants between $700 and $4,000 are awarded annually to amateur teams that best meet the criteria for pursuing an exploratory objective. The program is only open to female-led teams, with preference given to teams composed entirely of female or female-identifying members. Teams must climb with the highest ethical standards using a minimum of fixed ropes, camps, personnel, and equipment. Commercial, professional, and principally cause-related expeditions are ineligible.