Possible Clues:

• Climber has some distance to go to make US academic circle
• Harvard, Yale etc
• Universities behaving woollily, ie vaguely
• The eight US universities that have a similar academic and social reputation to Oxford and Cambridge
• Brown's a member of this creepy group
• Group of US universities of high prestige
• Brown's one of eight in this climber's class
• Prestigious school group
• Three miles of climbing vine?
• Group of eight leading US universities