Momentum Grant

About the Momentum Grant 

The American Alpine Club established the Momentum Grant in 2026 in partnership with the family of Austin Mallet, a Texas native who developed a deep passion for big mountain objectives, but whose time was cut short by a tragic avalanche in 2024. Austin approached climbing with a singular discipline and sought to grow his skillset and develop his mountain craft at every opportunity. The grant will seek to preserve Austin’s spirit by supporting the projects of passionate climbers seeking to elevate their skills in big mountain environments.  

The grant aims to support intermediate to advanced alpine climbing projects and projects in closely related disciplines that seek to establish new routes or repeat a major route. Projects involving attempts on technical alpine routes, including ice, mixed, rock, and ski-alpinist objectives, will be prioritized. Pure sport climbing, bouldering or hiking/peak bagging objectives generally will not be considered for an award.  

Criteria

Types of Projects:

• The grant supports intermediate to advanced alpine climbing projects and projects in closely related disciplines that seek to establish new routes or repeat a major route. Projects involving attempts on technical alpine routes, including ice, mixed, rock, and ski-alpinist objectives, will be prioritized
• The proposed project should represent a logical progression in the applicant’s outdoor adventure career. The application should illustrate how their objective is a step up for them personally—in skills, experience, ambition, and/or destination. 

Location: 

• Austin felt that North American climbers sometimes underestimated the variety of the worthy climbing objectives sitting in their own backyards. In this spirit, the grant will be limited to funding trips or projects in North America. 

Who Should Apply:

• The grant is intended for individuals or small teams (2-4 people) of all ages, though applicants should be able to demonstrate that they have attained at least an intermediate level of experience in their discipline 
• The grant has no demographic restrictions—persons of all backgrounds (including all ages, ethnicities, genders) are welcomed to apply and no preference will be given for one demographic over any other.  
• The grant is designed for intermediate to experienced alpine climbers and ski-alpinists looking to further hone their skills and push their comfort zones on big objectives.   The grant is not intended for brand new climbers focused on entry-level objectives.

Tips for a Successful Application

•  A strong application should outline a specific climbing goal/objective—something that illustrates a focused approach to the applicant’s objective and also a measure of success or failure. 
• Applicants should clearly define how they will apply their previous experience to attain their objective, and ideally, define how this objective fits into their big-picture, climbing/outdoor adventure goals. 
• Applicants should demonstrate appropriate planning and research for their proposed objective. While uploading supporting images is optional, providing route maps and other materials will help reviewers understand your level of preparation. 
• Although the grant will be awarded without demographic preferences, the grant selection Working Group will seek diversity among grant recipients in project type and location.
• A past history of grants from the AAC will not preclude anyone from receiving a grant. A history of past grants may contribute to your application as an indicator of progress within the sport.