Chris McCandless, a passionate idealist renamed himself Alexander Supertramp, left civilisation’s mechanical march and followed his ideals.
He went on an adventure through North America attempting to survive on his wits and survival instincts alone. He subscribed to the philosophy which says: to live is to do and to do is to do now. It is at youthful individuals with this philosophy that the annual MCSA Supertramp award is aimed. (Search for the "into the wild (2007)" video clip on YOUtube).

Unlike Alexander Supertramp who met his fate in trying to tame the wilderness, applicant Supertramps would need to show that they are experienced enough and up to the challenge.

The 2009 MCSA Supertramp Award for an amount of up to R15 000 will again be awarded under the auspices of the Magaliesberg (Pretoria) Section. The aim of the award is to help young mountaineers with an opportunity to aim high and follow a dream that they might not be able to follow otherwise.
If you are young (under-25) and adventurous, get your research and mountaineering (climbing, hiking, alpine, ice, rock, etc.) plans together and apply before 31 December 2007. The details and application forms are available on the MCSA Web Site. Alternatively contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 012-809 1022.

For more information visit: mcsa.org.za (look under “information sheet” and “application form” in the youth section).

Previous winners of the award:
2005: Guillaume du Toit (Cape Town) and his partner explored rock climbing possibilities in India
2006: Greg Borman (Johannesburg) unfortunately could not complete his rock climbing trip to Brazil due to the Brazilian airline going bankrupt and not refunding their tickets 2007: Donovan van Graan (Johannesburg) and his brother went on an alpine climbing trip to climb high peaks in Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. See their web site at kazrat.com