British Mountaineering Council

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. Its headquarters are on Burton Road in West Didsbury, an area of Manchester, England.

The organisation was originally formed in 1944 to represent the interests of climbing clubs and primarily maintain access for climbers to climb on a mountain, a crag, or even a sea cliff in England and Wales. It works for its members to provide services and representation for: access and conservation, climbing walls, clubs and huts, competition climbing, equipment advice, guidebooks and maps, heritage, international, safety and skills, youth and equity. The organisation now has two types of membership; those that are affiliated via a club and those that are individual members.

The BMC currently has over 75,000 members: 51,000 individual members, 24,000 club members, and 280 affiliated clubs. Membership benefits include access to the BMC travel insurance scheme, civil liability insurance, discounts on equipment, technical and training advice, and four copies of Summit magazine each year.

Summit magazine aims to cover articles of interest to all climbers, hill walkers, and mountaineers. It frequently covers topics outside the remit of the mainstream magazines. Editions of the magazine are produced four times per year (Feb, May, Sept, Nov) and are sent direct to all British Mountaineering Council (BMC) individual members. People who are members of the BMC through an affiliated club only receive one copy - the February issue. The circulation therefore varies from 40,000 (May, Sept, Nov) to 75,000 (Feb). This makes it the climbing magazine with the largest circulation in the UK. It is also available to purchase in the BMC online shop and available from selected mountain centres throughout the UK, such as Plas y Brenin in Capel Curig.

The BMC also produces rock climbing guidebooks to some parts of the UK primarily, the Peak District and Lancashire.

Founding members

• Alpine Club
• The Rucksack Club
• The Wayfarers' Club
• Ladies' Alpine Club
• Pinnacle Club
• The Yorkshire Ramblers' Club

See also

• Mountaineering Council of Scotland

External links

• Official website