ME Announces Mark Clifford Grant

Mountain Equipment has launched an annual grant to encourage and support young mountaineers in memory of their Marketing Manager Mark Clifford who died of cancer last year aged just 34.

We were fortunate enough to meet Mark several times and he was simply a great guy who clearly loved the mountains and it was a terrible shock to hear that he'd died so young.

Mark was a keen climber and mountaineer who'd tackled routes in both the Alps and the UK, as well as loving running, skiing and orienteering. It was always a pleasure to spend a couple of hours in his company going through the latest ME range and just chatting.

ME felt it was fitting that the Mark Clifford Grant should concentrate on encouraging and supporting young mountaineers. In his role as Marketing Manager, Mark was responsible for commercial sponsorship, yet often had to turn away young teams due to lack of budget, so it seems appropriate that these are the sorts of projects that this grant will concentrate on helping.

The grant is up to £2,000 in any one application and preference will be given to undertakings by young mountaineers in new climbing areas that relieve the pressure on 'Honey-pot' regions, to ambitious first ascents, educational or scientific new projects or wild remote explorations - especially in the international ranges. Two-person teams with small pockets preferred!

Every year Mark's friends and family will contribute to the charitable Trust fund; every year Mountain Equipment will underwrite and donate to ensure the continuity of the grant.

We think it's a fantastic tribute to Mark and hats off to Mountain Equipment, where Mark's wife Zoe is now the production manager.

You can find full details of the grant along with some more information about Mark Clifford at www.markclifford.co.uk