About Us

Black Lizard is a young and growing climbing and mountaineering  club based in South London, founded in spring 2018. We love getting out into nature, especially to go rock climbing, hill walking and mountaineering. Club trips take place on a regular basis to a variety of great destinations throughout the UK and hopefully soon branching out abroad!

We want to share our love for the great outdoors with everyone, especially with people who may not otherwise have had such great access to these activities. People don’t need to have any experience to join, we will show them the ropes. We are always keen to meet new people and make new friends, so please check out our calendar and join us on our next adventure. When we're not making the most of the outdoors, members often meet up at indoor climbing walls throughout London

We aim to be a place where people with mental health difficulties feel welcome and appreciated. One of our committee members, Monica Smith, is a Mental Health First Aider. o if you feel like you need some more support, do get in touch with her directly. 

In addition to our social trips we run sessions with children, called Junior Lizards, we have cooperated with local charities to facilitate climbing activities for adults with learning disabilities, and organised a day trip for young refugees as well. If you are interested to cooperate with us, please do get in touch!

For 2021 we have made it our aim to work towards putting life into our values which are Accessibility, Sustainability and Mental Wellbeing. More information will be soon available in our Mission Statement.

How you can join us!

All you have to do is register with us, please fill in our registration form and choose the trip(s) you would like to join.

You can start with a free three months trial membership and then decide if you want to join us.

Membership fees for 2021:

£20.25 - Adults
£16.75 - Students (in full time education)
£15.00 – Discounted rate for Under 18’s, Unemployed or Furloughed members

We are associated with the British Mountaineering Council and all our club members are covered by the BMC civil liability insurance.

The Committee 

What we do in the club is very much guided by the people who join us and recently our committee has been changing and growing to reflect this. Here’s a screenshot from one of our lock down committee meetings:

From Up to down:

Aisha Elhouderi: Currently Co-President with Alex.

Inka Tsenova: Although not anymore in the committee, she’ll remain a life-long honorary Lizard, supporting us from her homeland Bulgaria.

Mona Hope: Secretary, Children & Vulnerable Adults Coordinator and all things accessibility.

Marga Knorr: Currently Co-Secretary, and all things sustainability

Monica Smith: Social Media Coordinator, Co- Treasurer and all things mental health.

Alex Stone: Heart and Soul, President, Treasurer and Technical Adviser.

More about us

Alex

Alex is a qualified Climbing Wall Instructor and Rock Climbing Instructor and Mountain Leader (Summer). With over 20 years experience in mountaineering, ski alpine, trad, sport, and ice climbing, he is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others.

He has founded Black Lizard and many of us have made their first outdoor experience under his supervision. 

https://astoneadventures.com;

Facebook and Instagram: @astoneadventures

Aisha 

Aisha joined the Black Lizards in 2019 and despite being incredibly busy holding down a full time job  and studying a Law Degree part time, she agreed to join the committee and help us guide and develop the club and become the President in May. She never ceases to impress us with her super strength and is always up for new adventures, being it parkour or skateboarding.

Instagram: @aioshan

Marga

Marga was one of the first members to join us, and has since become a driving force in making our club greener and more sustainable. She has joined the committee to take over as secretary from Mona in May. She often travels the world for work and has lived in eight countries on four continents, but wherever she is, she loves being outdoors and enjoys nothing more than sitting on top of a mountain. For some yet unknown reason she likes to take a carrot to places…

Instagram: @mstagram

Mona

Mona works as a freelance climbing wall instructor in London and spends most of her spare time both indoors and outdoors. Coming from a Health and Social Care background, she is passionate about removing barriers for people from disadvantaged backgrounds and promoting inclusion. Mona is a qualified Rock Climbing Instructor and Countryside Leader.

Instagram: @monapolona
Facebook: @monaloveslife
https://monahope.org

Monica 

Monica, also known as ‘The Nourishment Ninja’, a personal trainer and associate nutritionist (ANutr), is overseeing our social media and will be taking on the role as treasurer. She juggles her passion for the outdoors with many other things like rugby and skating, and has made herself a name as being badass bold. She is also trained in Mental Health First Aid and the person to go to if you’d like to have support.

Instagram and Facebook: @thenourishmentninja
https://thenourishmentninja.com