Annual Report - The British Mountaineering Council

Annual Report 

2001

contents 

BMC 2001 Annual Report 

Page 

President’s Message 4 

Management Report 5 

Finance Report 6 

Specialist Reports: 

Access and Conservation 8 

Heritage 10 

Huts 10 

Competitions 11 

Equity 11 

Youth 12 

Guidebooks 12 

International 13 

Technical 14 

Climbing Walls 14 

Training 15 

High Performance 15 

Area Reports: 

Harrison’s Rocks Management Group 10 

Lakes 16 

London & South East 16 

Midlands 16 

North East 17 

North West 17 

Peak District 17 

South West & Southern 18 

Yorkshire & Humberside 18 

Wales 18 

Other Reports: 

British Mountain Guides 19 

Central Council for Physical Recreation 19 

High Magazine 19 

Mountaineering Co-ordination Group 19 

Mountain Leader Training Board 19 

British Upland Footpath Trust 19 

Mountaineering Council of Scotland 20 

Alan Rouse Library 20 

Mountain Rescue Council 21 

Plas y Brenin - Mountain Training Trust 21 

UKMTB 21 

UIAA 21 

Office Reports: 

Membership Services 22 

2001 Members 23 

BMC Participation Statement 

The BMC recognises that climbing, hill walking, and mountaineering are activities with a danger of 

personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and 

be responsible for their own actions and involvement.

The British Mountaineering Council promotes the interests of climbers, hill walkers 

and mountaineers and the freedom to enjoy their activities. Through a democratic 

representative structure the BMC will: 

-Negotiate access improvements and promote cliff and mountain conservation. 

-Promote and advise on good practice, facilities, training and equipment. 

-Support events and specialist programmes including youth and excellence. 

-Provide services and information for members. 

Elected Officers 

President 

Vice President 



Hon Treasurer 

Patrons 

Alan Blackshaw OBE 

Sir Chris Bonington CBE 

Lord Chorley 

Derek Walker 

Cathy Woodhead 

Dave Musgrove 

Caradoc Jones 

Alex Lawrence 

Honorary Members 

Dave Gregory 

Michael Holton 

Geoff Milburn 

Brian Monk 

John Neill 

Robert Pettigrew 

Vin Machin 

George Steele 

Ken Wilson 

Honorary Legal Advisers 

Martin Wragg 

Harry Sales 

Stephen Porteus 

Anthony Rich 

Paul Debney 

Honorary Medical Advisers 

Dr Charles Clark 

Mr Steve Bollen 

Dr Jim Milledge 

Dr David Hillebrandt 

Auditors 

Salter & Co 

Equal Opportunities Statement 

The BMC encourages its members to adopt a positive approach to 

equal opportunities and the elimination of discrimination. The BMC 

values the support of all sections of the mountaineering community 

and welcomes the opportunity to assist all groups in its work to 

promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers. 

Headquarters 

177-179 Burton Road 

Manchester M20 2BB 

Tel: 0870 010 4878 

Fax: 0161 445 4500 

e-mail: office@thebmc.co.uk 

web: www.thebmc.co.uk 

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has over 55,000 members and exists to promote the interests 

and protect the freedoms of climbers, hill walkers, and mountaineers, including ski mountaineers. It is a 

company limited by guarantee (no 2874177) without a share capital. The BMC was formed in 1944 and 

is a democratic representative body controlled by a Management Committee made up of locally elected 

Area representatives and nationally Elected Officers. The BMC is recognised as a National Governing 

Body of sport recognised by Government and the different sports councils in the United Kingdom. The 

BMC is grant supported by UK Sport and Sport England.

President’s Message 

There have been a number of major developments 

and changes at the BMC in 

the past year and the end of 2001 can be 

seen as the end of an era. Firstly Roger 

Payne has moved to another important 

post in Switzerland with the World Mountaineering 

and Climbing Federation as the 

UIAA’s first Sports and Development 

Director, after 12 years service with the 

BMC as National Officer and later General 

Secretary. Secondly the BMC itself 

is now changing dramatically. The parent 

body continues to concentrate on its core 

activities such as access and conservation, 

training, technical and international affairs. 

Meanwhile a new partnership, Mountain 

Services, employing more than half of the 

former BMC staff, will look after membership 

services, insurance, publications 

and registrations not only for BMC members 

and offers the same for those in the 

Mountaineering Councils of Scotland and 

Ireland, for Wales and for the Training 

Boards – a total of eight partners in all. 

The establishment of Mountain Services 

owes much to the vision and initiative 

of Roger and also to the deliberations 

of the Organisation Working Group and 

Mountaineering Co-ordination Group 

over the past 18 months. That all the 

mountaineering councils and training 

boards should come together to form this 

partnership to service the needs of all 

members throughout the UK and Ireland 

is an important step forward. We all hope 

that the new Partnership under the direction 

of former BMC Senior Officer Andy 

MacNae will flourish and be successful. 

Meanwhile Dave Turnbull, our dedicated 

Access Officer for the last five years has 

been appointed as the new Chief Officer 

of the BMC to succeed Roger, and we 

wish Andy and Dave all success in their 

new and vital appointments. 

With Roger’s departure and my own 

Presidential term of office ending in April, 

it is interesting to reflect on the great 

changes and growth of the BMC over the 

past 30 years. Dennis Gray was appointed 

as the first full time employee of 

the BMC as National Officer in January 

1972 when there were 146 member clubs 

and no individual members. Dennis became 

General Secretary in 1974 at the time 

of the move of office headquarters from 

London to Manchester, and when I took 

over from Dennis in 1989 I inherited a 

staff of 10 which also administered the 

Mountain Leader Training Board. The 

MLTB established its own office and staff 

in North Wales in 1991. By the end of 

2001 the BMC staff had grown to 23 and 

there are now over 370 member clubs and 

over 25,000 individual members. Over 

this 30 year period our sport has expanded 

enormously as have the demands and interests 

of our members. 

Three General Secretaries at the Festival of Climbing, December 2001. 

Left to right: Derek Walker (89-95), Roger Payne (95-01) and Dennis Gray (74- 

89). Photo: Gordon Adshead 

So what have been the other major events 

of 2001 In early March the International 

Meet hosted by the BMC and the MCofS 

at Glenmore Lodge was cut short by the 

outbreak of the Foot and Mount epidemic. 

The worst epidemic to hit this country had 

a devastating effect on the farming and rural 

economies and serious implications for our 

activities as we were effectively banned from 

our mountain and crag environment for many 

months. The contribution of our Access 

team to the local and national forums was 

very impressive, the advice from the office 

and the restraint shown by climbers and 

walkers was commendable and was praised 

at local and national level. 

Within a month of the outbreak of the 

Foot and Mouth epidemic we held our 

Cardiff AGM and Dinner for the first time 

in South Wales and were honoured to have 

as our chief guest Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, 

Presiding Officer of the new National 

Assembly for Wales. At the AGM it was 

resolved to set up “a new structure in Wales 

to represent climbers, hill walkers and 

mountaineers within a co-ordinated UK 

framework“ - a major step. We also bade 

farewell to Gordon Adshead who had completed 

an incredibly hard working five year 

term as Honorary Treasurer, and welcomed 

Alex Lawrence in his place. 

During the summer months frantic activity 

took place by members of the Mountain 

Heritage Trust and Mountain Exhibitions 

Ltd to ensure that the new National 

Mountaineering Exhibition (at Rheged, 

Cumbria) with main sponsor, Helly 

Hansen, opened on time. Not only did 

we open as planned in late July, but managed 

the great coup of persuading Prime 

Minister Tony Blair to come and officiate 

at the opening ceremony. The P.M. clearly 

enjoyed his visit as he was shown around 

by our ex-President and youngest ’53 

Everest team member George Band. Chris 

Bonington, Jim Smith, John Innerdale and 

John Porter deserve special praise for 

their determined hard work to ensure the 

success of the exhibition, as does Andy 

MacNae who acted throughout as the 

Project Manager. With the more recent 

acquisition of the Mallory artefacts 

which are now on display, the exhibition 

has received wide acclaim from the mountaineering 

and general public alike. 

Another initiative, again largely the result 

of the vision of Roger Payne and the 

Access and Conservation team, has been 

the establishment of the Access and Conservation 

Trust (ACT). This significant 

venture for the British, Scottish and Irish 

Mountaineering Councils received its 

first £3,000 donation from the Outdoor 

Industries Association at Harrogate in 

September and was officially launched 

at the Festival of Climbing in December 

by the Rt Hon. Alun Michael MP, Minister 

of State for Rural Affairs. 

This three day Festival of Climbing at 

the NIA in Birmingham was another great 

event, where an audience of 6,000 people 

enjoyed a mix of competition climbing, lectures 

from eminent climbers and a series of 

workshops. It was also at the Festival 

that we gave an “official” farewell party 

for Roger Payne. Roger has made a major 

contribution to the growth of the BMC 

over the last 12 years as National Officer 

and General Secretary and I should like 

once more to thank him for his efforts. As 

I complete my term as President in April, 

so too do Vice Presidents Crag Jones and 

Cathy Woodhead, both of whom have 

worked tremendously hard over the last 

three years on many different aspects of 

BMC work. Finally I should thank the 

staff and all the very many volunteers who 

have contributed so much to the BMC 

during my period in office. 

Derek Walker 

President 

4 BMC 2001 Annual Report

Welcome to the BMC’s Annual 

Report. This is a record of the 

main work and activities that the 

BMC undertook during 2001. 

Despite the impact of foot and mouth 

disease in the UK and the impact of 11 

September on international travel in 2001 

trading activities and membership continued 

to grow. The various development 

programmes and other good causes were 

again very active with many having the 

BMC and Entre-Prises Festival of Climbing 

as their focus at the end of the year. 

The work of the specialist programmes is 

summarised in the relevant sections of the 

report. This growth in programmes is only 

possible thanks to the support of the many 

sponsors, partners, grant giving bodies, 

income from BMC trading and support 

from BMC members: which is gratefully 

acknowledged. 

As a voluntary body with a wide range 

of programmes it is impossible to record 

every achievement during the year. However, 

through this report and the news and 

information published on the website, in 

Summit magazine, and in BMC news in 

High members have an opportunity to 

understand the wide range of work programmes, 

policy issues, and services to 

members that the organisation is engaged 

in. With Summit magazine in its sixth year 

and visits to the website growing communication 

with BMC members continues 

at a very high level. The network of regular 

area meetings provide members with 

the opportunity to hear directly from their 

elected area representatives and to discuss 

issues arising at the Management Committee. 

The National Open Forum at the Annual 

Gathering week-end provides an open 

opportunity to raise any issues with the 

elected officers and staff. With the very 

wide distribution and availability of information 

on the BMC’s activities and the 

very excellent response to the membership 

survey awareness of members’ views 

and opinions and open accountability has 

probably never been better in the BMC. 

With a number of key planning issues finalised 

during 2001 the BMC is in a very 

good position to implement the development 

plan for 2002 to 2005. 

As this is my final contribution as the 

General Secretary of the BMC I would 

also like to pay tribute to the elected officers, 

the many area and specialist volunteers, 

and staff team who always work 

extremely hard and combine their efforts 

to such good effect. 

Roger Payne 

General Secretary 


Management Report 

The Management Committee is made up 

of representatives elected annually at Area 

meetings and the Elected Officers (i.e. the 

President, Vice Presidents, and Hon Treasurer) 

who are elected by the membership 

at the AGM. In 2001 the Management 

Committee met on five occasions. Summaries 

of Management meetings were 

published in Summit, placed on the 

website, and circulated to members attending 

Area meetings. The following is a 

summary of the main items discussed during 

2001. 

There were specialist presentations on 

future work programmes from all the specialist 

programmes and the membership 

and terms of reference for each specialist 

sub-committee were approved. Foot and 

Mouth Disease, progress with the CRoW 

Act, and raising awareness and good practice 

about Equal Opportunities and Dyslexia 

were noted and discussed. Reports 

were given about plans for the Festival of 

Climbing. Reports were given from the 

Organisational Structure Working Group, 

and the Mountain Heritage Trust. The 

Prime Minister officially opened the National 

Exhibition of Mountaineering in 

July. Recommendations for improved area 

representation and Management Committee 

proceedures were discussed and 

adopted. Final decisions were made to 

create the Mountain Services Limited Liability 

Partnership and the Access and 

Conservation Trust. Draft accounts for 

2000 and revised budgets for 2001 were 

approved. The guidebook programme was 

reviewed and completely re-structured 

with Richard Wheeldon appointed as the 

new Chair and Niall Grimes as a full time 

guidebook co-ordinator. 

John Horscroft and Michael Hunt were 

elected as Management Representatives 

on the Executive Committee. Fern Levy 

stood down as Chair of HCAP and was 

replaced by Iain McCallum. A draft Huts 

Policy was discussed. Paul Dewhurst 

stood down as Chair of the Competitions 

Committee and Team Manager. The Competition 

Committee, the High Performance 

Steering Group and Youth Advisory Panel 

drafted an action plan for competitions. 

There was a report from the Executive 

Committee about succession planning for 

a new President and new Vice Presidents 

to be elected at the 2002 AGM. After 12 

years service to the BMC the General 

Secretary stood down at the end of the 

year and a new Chief Officer was recruited. 

At the end of the year because of personal 

circumstances the BMC Financial Controller 

resigned. 

Democratic representation and decision making 

Annual General Meeting 7 April 

2001: Summary 

The Annual Report and Annual Accounts 

were adopted. The Auditors were 

re-appointed and their report noted. The 

objectives in the 2002 to 2005 Development 

Plan were adopted. Gordon Adshead 

was thanked for completing his term as 

Honorary Treasurer. All the other officers 

were re-elected. Alex Lawrence was 

elected as Honorary Treasurer. A motion 

to increase subscritions was adopted. The 

resolution that “as part of the BMC’s organisational 

review a new identity and 

structure in Wales should be created to 

represent climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers 

within a co-ordinated UK framework” 

was also adopted. 

National Open Forum 7 April 

2001: Summary 

The National Open Forum followed the 

AGM. Topics discussed included: election 

of officers, AGM 2002, youth training, 

insurance, and guidebooks. 

Management Committee 

Members 

President 

Derek Walker 

Vice President Dave Musgrove 

Vice President Cathy Woodhead 

Vice President Crag Jones 

Treasurer 

Alex Lawrence 

General Secretary Roger Payne 

Lakes 

David Staton 

Lakes 

John Burrows 

North West 

John Mason 

North West 

Carl Spencer 

London & South East Andrew McLellan 

London & South East Roy Court 

Midlands 

Charles Gameson 

Midlands 

Peter Stacey 

North East 

Neil Harold 

North East 

Peter Simcock 

Peak District John Horscroft 

Peak District Mike Hunt 

South West & Southern Brian Dent 

South West & Southern Jonathan White 

Wales 

Gareth Lambe 

Wales 

David Meeson 

Yorkshire & Humberside Alex Lawrence 

MCofS 

Nick Halls 

MCofS 

John Donohoe 

Co-opted Members 

Joint Services Steve Jackson 

BMG 

Dick Peart 

MLTB 

Doug Jones 

Competition Climbers Gareth Parry 

Observers Present 

High Magazine Geoff Birtles 

Plas-y-Brenin Iain Peter 

MCofI 

Donal O’Mahony 

/ Peter O’Neil 

MLTB 

Mike Rosser 

/ Andy Say 

MRC 

David Allan 

UK Sports Council Jane Swan 

English Sports Council Chris Dodd 

Sports Council for Wales Sarah Powell 

Technical Group Neville McMillan 

Finance & YAP John Shaw 

Climbing Walls Nick Bond 

HCAP 

Iain McCallum 

Access & Conservation Iain McMorrin 

HRMG 

Bob Moulton 

International Committee Lindsay Griffin 

ABC 

Steve Richardson 

HPSG 

Dave Binney 5

The finance committee meets regularly to monitor 

and advise the Management and Executive 

Committees on the BMC’s financial position. 

The summary of income and expenditure appears opposite. 

For all of us 2001 has been a year of ups and downs. The 

BMC is no exception and lows included both Foot and Mouth 

(FMD) and the departure at short notice of the financial controller 

in November. The latter situation resulted in a very difficult 

period for both accounts staff and key volunteers and following 

a full review of the financial situation we are reporting a 

significant unplanned loss. 

Although the directors initially approved a deficit of £50k the 

reported loss of £168k far exceeds this. Whilst we can look 

forward to a much better 2002 we must understand the reasons 

for the 2001 performance and address the issues raised. 

Year 2001 deficit 

Insurance has also grown well by volume with an 18% increase 

on the year. However our surplus from the scheme was 

sharply reduced in the early summer as the underwriters felt it 

necessary to raise prices to us by 35%. We chose not to pass 

this on to members but have successfully challenged the price 

increase and renegotiated the agreement. This process has resulted 

in the expectation of a very significant claw back on lost 

2001 revenue to be paid during 2002. This also leaves us with a 

better deal for 2002 and beyond. 

Videos and guidebooks also suffered in 2001 with FMD depressing 

sales and a write off of the Wye Valley Guidebook 

stock significantly depressing profit. 

On the development program side the Festival of Climbing 

and Volunteer Leaders Conference were a significant cost and 

this impact was not properly forecast. This spend has raised 

important cost control issues. Although these were to an extent 

due to the departure of the financial controller, the directors and 

senior management have none the less instituted a new cost 

control and reporting process. The BMC also incurred a cost in 

setting up the new Access and Conservation Trust and in promoting 

its initial fund raising efforts. Foot and Mouth also diverted 

significant resources and as well as affecting sales, costs 

were incurred in keeping the membership informed of restrictions. 

All of the key development programmes were carried out 

as planned. 

Positive aspects of 2001 performance include Membership 

which showed strong growth in 2001 with a 6% increase overall 

and we finished the year with the numbers of individual members 

exceeding club members for the first time. Publications 

have done well and sales are expected to increase. 

specialist reportsFinance 

2002 

The BMC and Mountain Services teams will be focusing on 

improved performance in several areas. There is good reason to 

believe that Membership will continue to grow. Core BMC 

development & access activities will be suitably supported by a 

realistic increase in trading income, deriving from insurance, publications 

and the new Stanage guidebook. 

Following a stringent review of forecasts and the implementation 

of improved cost controls the directors are determined to 

achieve an overall budget surplus of £50K for 2002. It is the 

directors’ view that the reported 2001 loss was due to one off 

factors and that underlying performance is strong. 

Financial Statement 

Income 2000 2001 

Membership Subscriptions 571,447 641,704 

Sports Council Grants 155,000 147,500 

UK Sport International Grant 16,750 15,260 

Harrisons Rocks Contract 30,094 30,912 

Other Grants & Donations 69,768 74,170 

Surplus from Insurance Scheme 224,150 220,375 

Surplus from Guidebook Sales 6,441 (21,986) 

Other Publications 2,342 15,406 

Income from Videos 27,325 5,213 

Sundry Income (Hut, RR, Coaches,) 1,533 7,272 

Release of Grants 2,136 2,136 

Bank Interest and Royalties 24,197 23,704 

Admin Fees (MLTB,BUFT,MTT) 64,473 56,868 

1,195,656 1,218,534 

Expenditure 

Salaries & Personnel 415,570 500,801 

Office Accommodation & Costs 51,504 66,164 

Printing, Stationery & Postage 91,256 99,052 

Marketing and Publicity 28,249 27,964 

Finance, Consultancy & Bank Charges 31,132 36,764 

IT, Maintenance & Software 32,403 16,628 

Depreciation 26,694 28,228 

Irrecoverable VAT 25,213 17,323 

Magazines - High & OTE 92,390 95,693 

Summit Magazine 80,959 94,919 

PA & CL Insurance 108,906 79,090 

AGM, Area Meetings and Events 20,347 30,525 

Net Cost of Development Activities 253,938 239,234 

Festival of Climbing 49,296 

1,258,562 1,381,681 

Loss on Ordinary Activities 

before Taxation (62,906) (163,147) 

Less Corporation Tax (5109) (4,799) 

Loss on Ordinary Activities 

after Taxation (68,015) (167,946) 

Transfer from Access Fund 16,936 - 

Transfer to Accumulated Fund (51,079) (167,946) 

(full audited accounts available on request) 

Finance Committee 

John Shaw Chair 

Alex Lawrence Hon Treas. 

Roger Payne General Sec. 

Iain Blair Financial Controller* 

Derek Walker 

Alan Heron Finance Co-ordinator 

Brian Griffiths MLTB 

Bob Astles 

Mike Watson 

Gordon Adshead 

*May to November 


specialist reports 

Management Information 

The following chart shows is the BMC’s overall allocation of resources (including staff time) to its 

development programs. Also shown is a five year income summary, year end membership figures and 

the trend in Insurance income over the years. For a graph of membership growth please see page 22. 

Distribution of total costs of 

Development Programmes in 2001 

26% Access and Conservation 

9% 

9% 

6% 

26% 

15% Youth and Equity 

13% Safety (Training and 

Technical) 

12% Competitions 

10% 

10% Expeditions 

15% 

9% Facilities (Walls, Harrisons & 

Huts) 

12% 

13% 

9% International Meets & Coaching 

6% UIAA 

Maximum individual and club 

End of 2001 Individual 28,501 

In clubs 27,072 

Total 55,573 

Five year income summary 

Subscriptions 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 

Individual (inc High) 514 435 374 297 222 

Club 110 120 89 98 78 

Associate 18 16 15 13 11 

642 571 478 408 311 

Other income 

Sports Council Grants 147 155 152 107 198 

Publications (1) 36 22 27 32 

Insurance Scheme 220 224 221 184 126 

Interest, Grants, etc. 210 210 213 189 172 

1218 1196 1086 915 839 

Insurance Income 1994-2001 

(before marketing) 

300000.00 

250000.00 

200000.00 

150000.00 

100000.00 

2001 

2000 

1999 

1998 

1997 

1996 

1995 

1994 

50000.00 

0.00 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 


7


Access & Conservation 

Improving access - conserving the cliff and mountain environment 

The Access and Conservation work of the 

BMC is guided by three principles: to improve 

access to hill, mountain and cliff areas 

for those who wish to enjoy the freedoms 

they offer - to conserve the hill, mountain 

and cliff environment and wildlife for future 

generations - to encourage a concern for the 

social and economic life of rural communities. 

Access and Conservation remains the 

largest of the BMC’s development programmes 

which is supported by two fulltime 

officers, a committee of specialist advisers 

and a network of 26 regional Access 

Reps with expert knowledge of local access 

and conservation issues. 

CRoW Act 2000 

With the passage onto the Statute Book 

of the Countryside and Rights of Way 

(CRoW) Act at the end of 2000 much of 

the work over the past year has been directed 

towards ensuring that the exclusions 

and restrictions in Part 1 of the Act take 

into account both the interests of the landowner 

and those of the recreational user. 

Much time and effort has also been directed 

towards monitoring the mapping 

process and responding to consultations 

in order to ensure that climbing and mountaineering 

interests are fully represented. 

As members will be aware the CRoW 

Act will give a statutory right of access to 

land described as ‘mountain, moorland, 

heath, down and registered common land’ 

- an area totalling between 8% - 12% of 

the countryside in England and Wales. 

However, this statutory right will not 

apply until the ‘access land’ has been determined 

by detailed mapping. Although 

draft maps for the south-east and northwest 

of England have been completed and 

made available for public consultation, the 

mapping process for the whole country 

will not be completed until 2005. 

Concerns have been expressed about the 

delay in the implementation of the Act 

and about access during the interim period. 

It should be remembered that the 

CRoW Act gives an additional statutory 

right of access to land defined in the Act 

as “access land”. In general terms it is fair 

to say that the Act does not withdraw 

any existing rights of access. In practice, 

therefore, climbers hill walkers and mountaineers 

may continue to enjoy access to 

the hills and mountains as before, although 

when the Act has been implemented they 

will enjoy clearer rights. An additional 

matter during the year has been to urge 

Government Ministers and the National 

Assembly for Wales to extend open country 

to include coastal land under Section 3 

of the Act. 

Foot and Mouth Disease 

The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) 

epidemic was a major cause for concern 

throughout most of the year and the BMC 

took a major role in making the Government 

aware of the economic implications 

of a closed countryside for rural communities, 

the leisure and tourism industry, 

and education and training. In August, after 

a meeting of interested groups, the 

BMC called for a full public inquiry into 

the FMD crisis. 

On-going during high-level consultations 

with MAFF and latterly DEFRA over 

national guidance, were regional consultations, 

negotiations and lobbying for land 

to be opened. Even into 2002 some crags 

are still closed because of Foot and Mouth 

restrictions - despite the country being 

declared Foot and Mouth free. Information 

on the opening and closure of crags, 

during 2001, was put onto the BMC 

website. As a result, the website received 

a massive increase in hits, and lots of positive 

feedback from members. 

Towards the end of 2000 the Access Executive 

Group had discussed the establishment 

of a Rural Development Panel whose 

purpose would be to encourage in the 

membership an active concern for the economic 

well-being of the rural communities 

amongst whom the sport of climbing and 

mountaineering is practised. This group was 

established early in 2001 headed by Ken 

Taylor. The importance of the initiative that 

formed the Rural Development Panel was 

highlighted during the FMD crisis when 

rural areas were badly affected economically 

by countryside closure. 

Access and Conservation Trust 

Throughout the year the establishment 

of an Access and Conservation Trust 

(ACT) had been discussed. The Trust, 

which brings together the Mountaineering 

Council of Scotland, the Mountaineering 

Council of Ireland and the BMC, 

was set up during the autumn and formally 

launched by The Rt. Hon Alun 

Michael, Minister for Rural Affairs, at the 

BMC and Entre-Prise Festival of Climbing 

in Birmingham on 9 December. The 

Trust will raise funds for and support the 

mountaineering councils’ access and conservation 

work in the United Kingdom and 

Ireland. The BMC would like to thank all 

those who have already contributed to the 

Trust, as well as those who have contributed 

to the BMC Access Fund. 

Regional Access Issues 2001 

All the areas were dramatically affected 

by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and 

associated issues in 2001. Practical access 

and conservation work was therefore curtailed 

for much of the year, whilst the restrictions 

on access to the countryside 

were in place. However, the determination 

of many of the area access reps was 

fired-up by FMD restrictions and most 

areas have been active not least in helping 

to negotiate access back to areas. Many 

thanks for all the time and effort that many 

volunteers have spent. 

London and SE 

Work continued on the erosion at 

Harrison’s Rocks, with cement work on 

rope grooves and resin work on badly 

eroded features. The annual southern sandstone 

open meeting, held in May, was a 

relatively quiet affair, despite it being a 

very busy day at Harrison’s Rocks. At 

the end of 2001 the BMC’s purchase of 

Stone Farm Rocks was finalised and 

ground erosion work began straight away. 

Croydon M.C got the erosion work off to 

a good start with a day of voluntary work 

under the guidance of Soft Rock and area 

access rep John Galloway. The work was 

funded by grants from Mid-Sussex Council, 

the Climbers Club Kirkus Fund and 

English Nature. The BMC would like to 

thank them all for their support. 

South West 

Devon was badly affected by FMD, but 

thankfully other areas were able to open 

fairly quickly. There were few major access 

and conservation concerns in the South 

West and the annual West Penwith liaison 

meeting was dominated by Foot and 

Mouth discussions as at this time most of 

Cornwall was still closed. 

South Wales 

In the Brecon Beacons, the Access Fund 

continued to support management costs 

at Llangatock and committed to continue 

this support for a further three years. The 

Brecon Beacons National Park was closed 

for a significant period during the FMD 

crisis and local outdoor providers and traders 

were badly affected. The BMC attended 

a meeting in Brecon to help identify 

areas which could be opened and to 

help publicise their opening on the BMC 

website. In Pembrokeshire the annual liaison 

group meeting agreed that a review 

and plan should be put together to change 

the current blanket restrictions in Range 

West to negotiated variable restrictions, 

like those that already exist in Range East 

and on other sea cliffs in England and 

Wales. This was a major break through in 

an area that the BMC has been lobbying 

for since the Range opened. The review 

will form part of the Integrated Land 

Management Plan for the Ranges which 

was published in draft format in 2001. 

North Wales 

It seemed to be a busy year in North 

Wales, with lots of very positive work 

taking place, despite no official area access 

representative for the area. The BMC 

benefited enormously from its close contacts 

at Plas-y-Brenin and the MLTB, as 

well as from friends in the National Trust 

and Park who worked with us to get many 

areas opened up quickly after FMD. The 

first of many crags to open was the BMC’s 



BMC Access Representatives 

The north 

Lakes - Colyn Earnshaw 015394-37166 

Eden Valley - Ron Kenyon 01768-864728 

Northumberland - Bill Renshaw 01434 603 052 

Durham/NY Moors - Peter Hay 01325-469958 

North Lancs - Les Ainsworth 01539-536678 

South Lancs - Carl Spencer 01257-260791 

Cheshire - Gary Smith 01925-266837 

Yorkshire (Grit) - Robin Costello 01943-464431 

Yorkshire (Limestone) - John Belbin 01282-661291 

Peak (East Grit) - Del Tomkinson 01246-273939 

Peak (West Grit) - David Bishop 01270-841379 

Peak Limestone - Henry Folkard 01298-871849 

Midlands 

Leistershire - Brian Davies 01509-217773 

West Midlands - Richard Law 01952-463207 

The south 

West Penwith - Steve Elliot 01209-715633 

North Devon - Rick Abbott 01271-814716 

South Devon - Brian Dent 01364-73274 

Avon/Cheddar - Chris Newton-Goverd 07880 773786 

Wye Valley - John Wilson 01291-625433 

Portland - Neil Heanes 01305-823100 

Swanage - Steve Taylor 01929-550193 

Southern Sandstone - John Galloway 01732-761626 

Wales 

Clwyd Limestone - Gary Dickinson 01585-667140 

Pembroke - Dee de Mengel 01437-891365 

South East Wales - John Custance 01222-594398 

Gower - Steve Lewis 01792-414206 

Access and Conservation 

Committee Members 

The BMC’s Access and Conservation 

programme is co-ordinated by the Access 

Executive Group (AEG), supported 

by advisory panels convened 

to research topical issues. The AEG 

outlines the future work programme 

and approves expenditure for Access 

Fund projects. Specialists in these 

groups during 2001 include: 

A & C Executive 

Chair: Iain McMorrin 

Secretary: Dave Turnbull 

Ken Taylor 

Barbara Jones 

Elfyn Jones 

Dave Bishop 

Bob Lowe 

Clare Bond 

Mike Dales (MCofS) 

Alan Blackshaw (paper) 

Crag Jones (exec) 

Access Fund Projects 2000/01 

Donations 

Yorkshire Mountaineering Club 603 

MLTB 2,500 

Climbers Club 2,500 

Berghaus 2,50 

Lake District National Park 200 

BICC raffle 120 

Donations in memory of L. Lambe 295 

Donations & other 5,339 

Expenditure 

Noticeboards 420 

Projects in the NW 277 

Access Focus Leaflets 1,935 

Lake District Bird Restriction notices 576 

Respect’ Due poster 737 

National Welsh Access Forum 250 

International Year of the Mountains 500 

Peak District projects 400 

Subscriptions (CNP, WCL, WWCL) 600 

Projects in other areas 810 

Income 14,066 

Expenditure 6,505 

Balance 7,561 

own Bwlch y Moch at Tremadog. The 

BMC would like to thank all those involved, 

particularly the farmer, who allowed 

some of his land to be fenced off, 

and to Eric Jones who filled up disinfectant 

baths and helped manage the opening. 

At the very end of 2001 the Northern 

Snowdonia Transport Study reappeared 

under a new name ‘the Snowdonia Green 

Key Strategy’ and will no doubt form the 

focus for access discussions in 2002. 

Peak 

The Stanage Forum continued in 2001 

and passed all expectations, not least in 

the number of meetings that took place. 

By the end of the year Henry Folkard 

had been to most if not all of the relevant 

meetings on the BMC’s behalf and late in 

2001 a management plan for the North 

Lees estate was sent to the steering group 

for comment. The Access Fund once 

more supported the Stanage Bus, but with 

FMD the starting of the bus was delayed 

and the scheme lost momentum. The service 

was pulled in early summer when usage 

figures did not look like improving. 

The first of the Peak District’s moorland 

edges to open, after closure due to FMD, 

was Stanage under pressure from the 

BMC and local businesses. In the Limestone, 

the BMC met Derbyshire Wildlife 

Trust to discuss gardening and environmentally 

sensitive areas in Chee Dale. 

Gary Gibson and Ian Dunn helped the 

BMC by removal of tat and shiny ‘gold’ 

fixed equipment which had caused offence 

to the Trust. The owners of Willersley 

Crag decided they no longer wanted climbing 

on the crag and negotiations for access 

to this site will continue in 2002. 

North West 

The area access reps in the North West 

worked hard to encourage the re-opening of 


crags closed due to FMD and fed lots of 

information back to the office to go on the 

BMC’s Foot and Mouth web page. The access 

reps also worked closely with United 

Utilities (North West Water) over the year 

and completed clean-up work and crag environment 

improvement at Anglezarke. The 

proposed trial opening of Hoghton Quarry 

unfortunately did not take place due to FMD, 

but will be back on the agenda in 2002. Access 

was also threatened to Craig-y- 

Longridge, and discussions continue with the 

land agent for the new owners. 

Lake District 

The ground erosion work at Castle Rock 

was completed in 2001 with the support 

of owners United Utilities, the Fell and 

Rock CC and the BMC Access Fund. The 

work will hopefully make a big difference 

at the crag. Despite reviewing the bird nesting 

restrictions and the BMC Access Fund 

financing the making of new signs, FMD 

meant that the Lake District was effectively 

closed during the bird nesting season. 

Cumbria had more than twice the 

number of FMD cases than any other 

county and the BMC sat on Cumbria 

County Councils Restrictions Review 

Panel and worked towards the opening of 

parts of the high fells during the summer. 

One of the first crags to open was Shepherds 

Crag Borrowdale with the help of 

the local farmer. The bi-annual mountain 

liaison group meetings were well attended, 

with good discussions on a wide range of 

issues, many of these issues will continue 

to be worked on in 2002. 

Yorkshire and Humberside 

Yorkshire was badly affected by FMD, 

in many ways more so than Cumbria, because 

the controlling authorities were less 

proactive in opening land. The access reps, 

supported by area chair Dave Musgrove, 

worked hard to negotiate considered reopening 

of land, but the authorities were 

slow to respond. This resulted in some of 

Yorkshire’s gritstone, being off-limits until 

Christmas Eve and access restrictions 

to some of the limestone areas continuing 

into 2002! The BMC improved its connections 

with the National Trust at 

Brimham and helped out at a tree clearing 

and climbing day, at which both National 

Trust wardens seemed to enjoy the climbing 

far more than the tree clearing. In the 

Calderdale area the council allowed climbing 

to continue throughout Foot and 

Mouth Disease at Heptonstall and 

Woodhouse Scar, and climbers travelled 

from across the country to climb there. 

North East 

In the North East, climbing was restricted 

for some time due to the FMD crisis. In 

this area more than any other, the situation 

with regard to access was harder to 

establish, as many of the crags cannot be 

approached by public rights of way and 

the importance of good relations with landowners 

was highlighted. Many local clubs 

as well as the area access reps did a good 

job in trying to negotiate access. 

Midlands 

At Markfield Quarry further moves were 

made by Tarmac to relinquish the quarry 

to the local council for recreation and conservation. 

Area access rep Colin Knowles 

organised an Open Meeting for climbers, 

which was well attended and gave climbers 

the opportunity to speak to representatives 

from the council. A small focus 

group was set-up at the meeting to follow 

the development of the sale of the quarry 

and to advise the council on their future 

management plans for the site. 

9


Heritage 

The Mountain Heritage Trust and the British Exhibition of Mountaineering 

The Mountain Heritage Group aims to the preserve mountaineering history and 

heritage, through an exhibition at the Rheged Discovery Centre. 

The Helly Hansen National Mountaineering 

Exhibition was opened on the 26th 

of July by Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

Fittingly he was shown round by George 

Band, whose story features largely in the 

exhibition. In his speech George revealed 

that on the day on the Prime Minister’s 

birth he was camped in the Western Cwm, 

sharing a tent with Tenzing Norgay - an 

observation that went down well amongst 

the many guests. This opening was the 

culmination of over a year of hard work 

and the origins of the exhibition go back to 

the AGM of 1996 when Barbara James 

called for a National Collection to be established. 

Now that the exhibition is open and 

going strong I would like to thank the Chairs 

Huts 

Accommodation for climbers, hill 

walkers & mountaineers. 

The Hut Co-ordination and 

Advisory Panel co-ordinates the 

BMC’s support for huts where the 

BMC has a direct interest and 

offers guidance and advice where 

it is sought by clubs and users. 

HCAP met three times in 2001 to discuss 

its works programme. During the 

year the Panel’s work included the following 

matters: the electronic late-availability 

bookings facility, the draft Hut 

The most important development has 

probably been the acquisition by the 

BMC of Stone Farm Rocks with the conveyancing 

finally being completed in December. 

In the short term this may not 

make much difference but it should ensure 

access to the Rocks for climbers in 

perpetuity. The management of the Rocks 

is being undertaken by HRMG, with the 

Deputy Chair, John Galloway, taking the 

lead. In fact, phase two of the ground 

erosion work, in the Cat Wall area, was 

completed at Stone Farm just prior to 

completion of the conveyancing. The work 

was funded mainly by grants from the 

Climbers’ Club Kirkus Fund and from 

English Nature, and was undertaken by 

Soft Rock, with useful preparatory work 

being undertaken by Croydon MC members. 

The main thrust of the group’s work, 

however, continues to be at Harrison’s. 

Here the ground erosion work (by Soft 

Rock) is now almost entirely maintenance 

and some improvement of the work done 

of the Mountain Heritage Trust and Mountain 

Exhibitions Limited - Chris Bonington 

and Jim Smith - for giving tremendous and 

often very hands on support to the project. 

Great credit must also go to the rest of the 

voluntary team - John Innerdale, John Porter, 

Audrey Salkeld, George Band, Roger 

Chorley and Jerry Lovatt who all contributed 

hugely to developing the exhibition’s 

content. Since it opened the exhibition has 

attracted over 25,000 visitors and the comments 

have been wonderfully positive. In 

the new year more will be added to the 

exhibition and in April a collection of 

Ruskins will arrive on loan. In the meantime 

BMC members can visit the exhibition 

at half price and so now is a great 

Harrison’s Rocks Management Group 

in the previous three years, together with 

woodland management. As reported last 

year, cement work (on rope grooves) has 

been a priority and most of the outstanding 

work was completed during the year. 

Maintenance of the resin work was also 

undertaken. We continue to be grateful to 

Sport England for their support with 

Harrison’s. During the summer extensive 

renovation work on the toilet block was 

completed. The acquisition of the strip of 

land in the North Boulder area is still in 

hand (somewhat against the odds the BMC 

won the conveyancing race by completing 

on Stone Farm before Sport England did 

on North Boulder!). As part of this Sport 

England have paid for fencing off the land 

and installing a gate from the public footpath. 

We welcome Clare Bond as the Secretary 

of the group. She took over from 

Dave Turnbull in January, and we thank 

Dave for having seen HRMG through the 

first four years of its existence and we now 

wish him well in the new job. The only 

Policy, access for disabled mountaineers 

to huts and the definition of the term “hostel”. 

The late availability bookings facility 

has still to come on stream. The draft 

Hut Policy document has been considered 

by the Management Committee. The 

Policy document should be finalised in the 

coming year. Although no agreement has 

yet been reached on the Trust Deeds for 

AMMH negotiations continue. In the 

meantime a draft management operating and 

rules document has been prepared and discussed 

by the AMMH Committee. Work 

continues on extending disabled access to 

huts. Legal advice has been sought and 

received in respect of the definition of the 

term “hostel”. Meetings of the Don 

Whillans and the AMMH Hut Committime 

to go if you haven’t been already. 

On behalf of the BMC I would also like 

to thank all the bodies and individuals who 

have contributed material to the exhibition. 

Amongst many I must mention specifically 

the Fell & Rock and Alpine Clubs 

who have been incredibly generous and 

the Mallory family, the RGS-IBG and the 

Sandy Irvine Trust who’s loans have made 

possible the unique Mallory and Irvine 

display. I don’t have space to thank everyone 

individually but each loan or donation 

is a vital part of the exhibition - so 

thank you all. - Derek Walker. 

Chair Iain McCallum 

Secretary Graeme Alderson 

Members Bob Adams 

Gordon A dsheadDave Ellis 

Craig Harwood Tony Heneghan 

Ken Jackson Fern Levy 

Nick Kempe John Leftley 

Mark Mansley Dave Roberts 

tees have been attended by the Panel’s 

Chair. Currently the Panel is planning the 

third Hut Seminar to be held at Plas y 

Brenin on 19 th October 2002. There have 

been several panel membership changes – 

Dave Brown has now left and Fern Levy 

(the Chair) resigned in February, however, 

Fern continues as a member. Thanks are 

due to both of them for all their hard work. 

++ 

other change in personnel is that we look 

forward to working with Councillor 

Wilkinson, who has taken over from Lord 

Abergavenny as the co-opted member of 

the group from Wealden District Council. 

HRMG currently meets two times a year 

at Groombridge. Jointly with the London 

and South East Area Committee it holds 

the Annual Sandstone Open Meeting in 

May, also at Groombridge. 

Chair Bob Moulton 

Deputy Chair John Galloway 

Secretary Clare Bond 

Members 

Nigel Head Geoff Pearson 

Tim Skinner John Horscroft 

Co-opted members: 

Cllr Wilkinson (Wealden DC) 

Sylvia Sutton Local resident 

Chris Tullis 

Soft Rock 

Zoe Algar-Dixon Sport England 

Richard Hayden Kent CC 



2001 was a year of change for the committee; 

Paul Dewhurst resigned as Chair 

due to other commitments, Gareth Parry 

took over as Acting Chair, Abigail May 

resigned as Competitors Representative 

also due to other commitments. New 

blood, in the shape of Rob Elliot and Alex 

Lawrence was brought in. The Committee 

also started work on a new structure 

and action plan that should lead to increased 

success internationally. The Troll 

British Indoor Climbing Championship 

2001 was held over five rounds, and again 

proved to be tremendously successful and 

exciting up until the last climber on the 

last route. The British Champions for 

2001 were Chris Cubitt (male), Lucy 

Creamer (female), Jamie Cassidy (junior 

male) and Jemma Powell (junior female). 

The S7 British Bouldering Championship 

2001 ventured east to Rock City in Hull 

for the first time. Another excellent turn 

out and an exciting and inspirational day. 

The British Champions for 2001 are 

Malcolm Smith (male), Lucy Creamer (female), 

Paul Smitton (junior male) and 

Emma Twyford (junior female). British 

Competition Climbing Team members 

competed in the following UIAA International 

events, Bouldering World Cup, Difficulty 

World Cup, World Championships, 

World Youth Championships and European 

Youth Cup. The British Regional 

Youth Competition Series (BRYCS), run 

by the YAP, again attracted young climbers 

from all over the country. Each BMC 

region and Scotland North & South sent 

Equity 

Supporting equal opportunities for all. 

The BMC’s Equity programme is coordinated 

by Anne Arran and supported 

by Cathy Woodhead, Bob Moulton and 

Ivor Delafield. Funding support was received 

from Sport England, MTT, the EU 

and the Andy Fanshaw Memorial Trust. 

Women Mountains Words was formed by 

Cathy Woodhead, Elaine Bull, Jan Levi 

and Rosemary Cohen to bring together 

women who were writing about the outdoors. 

The year also saw the rapid growth 

of a club, ‘Rock Katz’ for young people 

mainly with learning difficulties in Birmingham. 

A multi cultural meet took place 

in Fontainebleau involving 32 children. 

The EU also supported the return leg to 

visit the Festival of Climbing . Many valuable 

lessons were learned and ideas shared 

from the exchange. Materials produced 

by the foreign participants included a CD 

Competitions 

Supporting opportunities for events at all standards. 

The BMC provides a wide range of support to competition climbing 

through the Competition Committee and Competitions Officer and a 

large network of volunteers, sponsors and venues who are all thanked 

for their support. 

the top three boys and girls in each age 

category to the finals at The Foundry. The 

year ended with the hugely successful 

Climb’01 at the Entre-Prises and BMC 

Festival of Climbing. The final rounds of 

the European Youth Cup and Bouldering 

World Cup, and an International Masters 

Leading event were the main attractions 

at the Festival. The BMC’s involvement 

with competition affairs internationally 

continues to develop. Despite loosing 

Graham Desroy from the ICC Management 

Committee (his term was up) the 

BMC still has a presence with Graeme 

Alderson replacing him. Martin Wragg 

was appointed to the UIAA-ICC Appeals 

Commission and Ian Alderson to 

the Disciplinary Commission. 

Committee Membership 

Chair: Paul Dewhurst (resigned) 

Secretary: Graeme Alderson 

Members: Neil Bentley 

Michael WatsonIan Smith 

Jo Butler Rob Elliott 

Mike Turner Dave Musgrove 

Dave Binney Margaret Dewhurst 

Gareth Parry Tony Mitchell 

Kevin Howett Sandy Ogilvie 

Alan Murray Abigail May (resigned) 

The BMC encourages its members to adopt a positive approach to 

equal opportunities and the elimination of discrimination. The BMC 

values the support of all sections of the mountaineering community 

and welcomes the opportunity to assist all groups in its work to 

promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers. 

The Competition Climbing Team 

Senior Difficulty 

Chris Cubitt Gareth Parry 

Steve McClure Adam Dewhurst 

K.Clemmow Richard Bingham 

Robert Elliot Adrian Baxter 

Guy Dixon Ben Bransby 

Lucy Creamer Karin Magog 

Abigail Egan Alison Martindale 

Anne Arran April Marr 

Lucinda Hughes Abigail May 

Rebecca Allen Katy Holden 

Bouldering 

Malcolm Smith Gareth Parry 

Nick Sellers Tom Sugden 

Neil Bentley Neil Travers 

Ian Bitcon Stuart Littlefair 

Lucy Creamer Claire Murphy 

K.Schirrmacher Jo Gordon 

Rachel Seymour Alison Martindale 

Juniors 

Jamie Cassidy Paul Smitton 

Stewart Watson Ian Hollows 

A.Mulholland Tom Lawrence 

Ashley Clarke Chris Whiteman 

Jemma Powell Sadie Renwick 

Emma Twyford Rosemary Shaw 

Victoria Hurley Hazel Duff 

Adam Dewhurst Bob Elliot 

Adrian Baxter Danny Cattell 

Holly Reay Julia Worboys 

Abigail Egan James Woolley 

Support Team 

Team Manager Paul Dewhurst (resigned) 

Jnr Team Jo Butler 

Head Coach Mike Lea 

Sports Scientist Dave Binney 

Jnr Coach Chris Cubitt 

Jnr Coach Anne Arran 

Jnr Coach Rebecca Allen 

Jnr Coach Abigail May 

Jnr Coach Guy Dixon 

Team Doctor Tony Mitchell 

rom as well as suggestions for ongoing initiatives. 

The come and try it walls saw 

disability workshops and also a workshop 

at the Volunteer Leader Conference. 

Over 400 young climbers from mixed backgrounds 

used the come and try it walls 

supported by Urban Adventure Support 

and Birmingham Head of Outdoor Education. 

The Equity Officer provided performance 

training information and participated 

in a cultural exchange with the Iranian 

Women’s climbing team supported 

by the British Embassy in Tehran. Research 

has also been done that will provide 

useful information for the broader 

climbing community on disability and ethnicity. 

In April 2001 Cathy Woodhead 

headed up a campaign into dyslexia awareness, 

following her chance meeting with a 

dyslexic outdoor instructor. Material 

downloaded from the British Dyslexia 

Association was circulated throughout the 

BMC office and to many of the speicialist 

committees and all members of the Management 

Committee. Everyone was encouraged 

to consider how they might make 

anything produced easier to read. This 

was partially based on the supposition 

that this would encourage everyone to read 

the material produced. In October 2001 

with the help of the BMC Pat Mee and 

Mary Twomey produced a pack called 

“That’s Me” aimed at Dyslexia awareness 

in Outdoor Education. It costs an incredibly 

low £3 and is available from the BMC 

Office. 


11


Youth Advisory Panel 

Support and advice for a new generation 

With many opportunities available through the increasing number of 

indoor climbing walls, associated youth clubs, and outdoor activity 

centres youth participation continues to grow rapidly. 

However, the opportunities for young 

people to go climbing or hill walking independently 

or in clubs are limited often because 

of misconceptions about liability, 

safety and child protection. The BMC is 

continuing to develop a programme to help 

overcome these obstacles. YAP gives practical 

advice on helping young enthusiasts 

learn the sport in a responsible manner so 

that they become aware of how to minimise 

the risks and develop the skills that will enable 

them to enjoy a healthy sport. 

gripped Membership 

gripped is the U18 membership of the 

BMC and during 2001 this increased to 

over 1000. Benefits include a quarterly 

magazine, access to all youth and training 

events, personal accident and liability insurance 

and Summit magazine. 

Publications 

Because of the support of HB climbing 

equipment gripped magazine became full 

colour, with Jemma Powell as editor. Work 

Guidebooks 

Up to date and definitive 

The Guidebook Committee 

produces a definitive set of 

guidebooks for the Peak District 

and assists other groups to also 

publish guidebooks. 

2001 heralded major changes in the way 

the BMC was to go forward in producing 

Guidebooks to the English Peak District. 

Following the resignation in April of Adge 

Last, who chaired the Guidebook Committee 

during the previous year, it was 

agreed by the Management Committee 

that a complete reorganisation would be 

the best way to proceed. The Guidebook 

Committee of old was disbanded altogether 

and in its place a Guidebook Steering 

Group was set up. It was also felt that 

due to the sheer volume of work involved 

in the production and publishing of Guides 

the BMC would employ a Guidebook 

Production Co-ordinator. Richard 

Wheeldon was invited to chair the newly 

formed Steering Group and in November 

2001 Niall Grimes was offered the position 

of full-time Guidebook Production 

Co-ordinator. It was decided that the Steering 

Group should ideally consist of 5 or 6 

members. Apart from Richard Wheeldon 

and Niall Grimes, John Horscroft also 

volunteered to sit on the Group. Other 

volunteers are being sought or are in the 

commenced on the Young Persons Experience 

Log that will resemble a significant 

addition to advice for young participants, 

parents, clubs and group leaders, and clubs. 

Policy and Planning 

The Child Protection Policy was consolidated 

with development of the regional 

youth network and guidance notes for indoor 

and outdoor meets. Work on the club 

guidance notes for clubs wishing to accept 

under18 year olds has been updated and near 

miss and emergency procedures for BMC 

youth meets developed. 

Youth meets 

gripped drop-in meets and top performance 

days were popular once more . 

The FRCC and Lakes Area ran another 

excellent meet. Chesterfield youth service 

Outerzone ran a programme with gripped 

members followed by training for volunteer 

parents who wished to set up a regional 

climbing club. South Wales Mountaineering 

Club with support from the 

process of being asked. The Chris Craggs/ 

Cicerone Stanage project alluded to at last 

year’s AGM was shelved following negotiations 

with the publishers, however it 

became clear that Alan James (Rockfax) 

was prepared, along with Chris Craggs to 

“break ranks” and for the first time in recent 

memory produced a purely commercial 

to the Peak District, Peak Gritstone: 

East (published December2001). This 

obviously caused consternation in certain 

quarters as it was felt that Rockfax were 

merely siphoning off the best bits of The 

Peak for financial gain without any thought 

to the long-term consequences in relation 

to voluntary Guidebook production. 

There was much discussion between the 

BMC, represented by Roger Payne and 

latterly by Dave Musgrove, with Rockfax 

about the situation and, eventually, although 

the publication of the Rockfax 

Guide could not have been stopped without 

heavyweight legal action, a licensing 

agreement was reached whereby Rockfax 

would contribute a small percentage of its 

profits to the BMC access fund. The agreement 

also included other terms which will 

hopefully be useful in cases of potential 

future conflict between traditional guide 

producers and Rockfax. 

On a more positive note, while all this 

was going on, David Simmonite and Ian 

Smith (who had both volunteered to take 

over Stanage and inject a sense of urgency 

Chair John Shaw 

Vice Chair Tony Powell 

Secretary Anne Arran 

Members Justin Bolger 

Helen Caudry Chris Simpkins 

Miriam Denney Kev Howett/Scott Muir 

Andy Perkins Alex Lawrence 

Neil Morris Lynda Jensen 

Judith Wilshaw Susan Carrott 

Crag Jones 

Warehouse in Gloucester ran a well-received 

youth meet in South Wales. Funding 

from the Mountain Training Trust and 

Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust meant 

that the BMC was able to co-ordinate a 

broader range of events and support a 

greater diversity of young participants. A 

youth climbing festival was also held in the 

NW area. Urban Adventure Support has 

enabled YAP to broaden its activities and 

carry out useful demonstration projects in 

the Midlands Area. 

ROCKIT BRYCS ‘01 

This series of events in its second year 

was bigger and better with over 450 participants 

climbing in seven English regions, 

Scotland and Wales. The series culminated 

in a closely fought national final at the 

WICC. Urban Rock helped subsidise entries 

for low-income families with 

Greenshires Publishing and HB climbing 

equipment also supporting. 

Guidebook Steering 

Committee 

Chair Richard Wheeldon 

Secretary Niall Grimes 

John Horscroft 

more members tbc 

to proceedings) were quietly working 

away on the definitive Guide. The script 

was re-written, photographs, layout, size, 

first ascents list etc were all finalised. 

Rapid progress was being made with the 

aim of publishing the Guide in April 2002. 

It now looks increasingly likely that this 

deadline will be met with a projected publication 

price of £14.95. It should be noted 

we owe a great debt of gratitude to both 

David and Ian for their sterling efforts in 

achieving this. As a final postscript to 

2001 there is no doubt that with the publication 

of Rockfax’s Peak Gritstone: East, 

and its subsequent success, the BMC will 

have to accept that competition is inevitable. 

Perhaps we should have seen the 

writing on the wall earlier but times and 

fashions in Guidebook production have 

changed quickly in recent years. There is 

no reason, however, why we cannot move 

forward now with a new team and renewed 

confidence to re-establish our position as 

market leader in Guidebook production 

for the Peak. 



International 

Information, advice and support for expeditions and international representation. 

The International Committee provides logistical and financial support, information and guidance for 

British mountaineers travelling overseas, and strives to protect the interests and freedom of all 

mountaineers at an international level. 


Highlights of 2001 

• Grant aid and support to 34 British 

overseas expeditions 

• Representation on the UIAA Expedition 

and Mountaineering Commissions 

• Organisation (with the MCofS) of a 

highly successful international winter climbing 

meet and performance seminar 

• Welcoming the return leg of the 2000 

exchange with Slovenian climbers 

• Preparation for two exchange visits to 

South Africa during 2002 for climbers and 

trekkers in partnership with the MCSA 

• Furthering training collaborations with 

Iranian Mountain Rescue Coordinators and 

climbers in both winter and summer skills. 

• Visit of British climbers to Iran during 

the country’s British week. 

• Providing a national voice on matters 

of International importance 

• Publication of “The Mountain Travellers 

Handbook” 

• Preparation for an international summer 

climbing meet at Plas y Brenin 

• Preparation of a varied programme as 

part of the IYM 2002 

• A high standard climbing exchange meeting 

with Chinese climbers during April 

• Encouraging international agreement 

on drilled equipment in the Alps 

• Logistical support to the competitions 

programme whilst hosting international 

events like the Festival of Climbing 

Grant Support 

As in previous years, 2001 saw British 

mountaineering teams make their mark on 

all corners of the globe, completing some 

of the most audacious and significant ascents 

by anyone anywhere! Of particular 

note were the marathon routes at the highest 

level of technical difficulty in Alaska, 

high standard rock, ice and big wall routes 

in Greenland’s winter, and the stunning new 

line on Ama Dablam’s NW ridge – a climb 

previously attempted by some of the 

world’s top alpinists. 

This was all made possible with the support 

of the UK Sports Council and International 

Committee grants. A total of over 

£45k was awarded, although some trips 

later cancelled, with both foot & mouth 

and Sept 11 having an impact. The Committee 

works closely with the Mount 

Everest Foundation in administering 

awards, and has two representatives on 

both the MEF Screening and Management 

Committees. The criteria for BMC support 

are similar to those of the MEF, favouring 

small teams climbing in good style 

and attempting innovative first (or first 

British) ascents in the world’s greater 

ranges - irrespective of technical difficulty. 

In 2001 the UKSC Grant was again increased 

as a result of the policy towards 

World Class Excellence. Most British expeditions 

have benefited and some of the 

more notable and needy projects have been 

encouraged with greater financial assistance. 

As part of the grant process all expeditions 

supported by the BMC are now issued 

with three sets of environmental and ethical 

guidelines. Conservation and sustainable 

development of the mountain environment 

must now be a top priority for 

every mountaineering expedition. 

International Meets 

The international winter climbing meet 

and performance seminar was held at the 

Scottish National Mountain Centre 

Glenmore Lodge in February, and was 

again a resounding success despite virtual 

cancellation due to the FMD outbreak. 48 

overseas guests were teamed with British 

hosts and shown the delights of modern 

Scottish winter climbing, and many significant 

repeats and first ascents were 

made. The visitors also benefited from a 

range of performance seminars and workshops, 

and valuable discussion of matters 

of mutual concern. The BMC also welcomed 

six climbers from Slovenia on the 

return leg of the exchange programme initiated 

in 2000. The climbers and their British 

hosts made many adventurous first 

winter ascents in the far North of Scotland 

before dropping in on the international 

meet. Traditionally, Slovenia has an 

adventurous climbing ethic similar to the 

UK and there can be no doubt that both 

parties continue to benefit from their ongoing 

co-operation. 

Work in progress in this area includes 

preparations for two exchange visits 

(climbing and trekking) to South Africa, 

continuing instruction partnerships with 

the Iranian Mountaineering Federation, 

and return visits and training exchanges 

with the Chinese Mountaineering association. 

One of the Committee’s priorities 

is to offer climbing and training opportunities 

to countries that would not normally 

have the available resources or experience. 

UIAA Expeditions Commission 

The Commission continues to develop 

its relationship with mountaineering host 

countries, encouraging them to look more 

favourably at teams attempting exploratory 

first ascents in good style, as well as 

trying to streamline administration. The 

most recent result has been the opening of 

over 100 new Himalayan peaks and the 

abolition of the requirement for a Liaison 

Officer on peaks below 6,500m. Many of 

the new peaks were recommended by the 

commission. In addition, the Nepalese 

Government has abolished the procedure 

of requiring an official letter of recommendation 

in order to secure a peak permit. 

The Expeditions Commission has also 

been regularly updating its information on 

fees, regulations etc for distant ranges and 

these are currently displayed on both the 

MEF and UIAA website. Current relations 

with China and Pakistan are especially 

good, and administration in these 

two countries continues to improve. 

Expeditions Supported in 2001 

British Kun Lun Shan £1,000 

SMC Greenland £1,000 

Greenland Winter £1,800 

British Greater Trango £2,000 

Anglo-NZ Racksha Urai £1,800 

British Peak 43 Expedition £1,400 

British Female Bolivian Cord. £1,000 

Alaskan Fake Glacier £1,100 

Cathedral Mountains £1,100 

Lakeland Quimsa Cruz £800 

Scottish Cordillera Blanca £1,000 

British Nampula Towers £1,000 

Lanchester Greenland £700 

British Chakula Expedition £900 

Arganglas £1,800 

Lobuche/Ama Dablam £2,000 

British Western Kokshaal-Too £1,100 

Totally Forakered Expedition £1,200 

Quitaraju South West Face £1,100 

British Solu Expedition £1,100 

British “Baroness” Expedition £1,000 

Sail Greenland £800 

SmoG in Greenland £700 

South Greenland £1,000 

Tagne £900 

British Pik Dankova £1,100 

Sirunanch Glacier £1,600 

British - Musamdam Peninsula £900 

British Broken Tooth £1,000 

Tilman in a New Millennium £700 

Committee Notes 

The Committee met twice in 2001 and 

has the following members: 

Chair 

Lindsay Griffin 

Vice Chair Dave Wilkinson 

Secretary Andy MacNae 

Members: Bill Ruthven (MEF) 

Brian Hall Alan Hinkes 

Tich Horsburgh (MCofS) 

Nick Lewis Andy Perkins 

Paul Braithwaite Ron Rutland 

Mike Turner Cathy Woodhead 

13

Providing an informed source of technical knowledge 

The purpose of the Technical Committee is to provide an informed source 

of technical knowledge and advice on safety-related mountaineering 

equipment and its use to climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers. 

Equipment Investigation Panel 

The analysis and reporting of equipment 

incidents submitted to the BMC for investigation 

continues as a key activity of 

the Technical Committee. The EIP held 

five meetings in 2001 and at the year end 

was actively investigating eight incidents. 

Ten more incident reports have been formally 

approved during the year. Over the 

last few years the Panel has seen an increasing 

number of non-standard failures. 

Two separate failures of karabiners at relatively 

low loads are proving difficult to 

explain. It appears that some unlikely, but 

not impossible, failure modes are occurring. 

A presentation on the work of the 

Panel was again given to the Mountain 

Rescue Conference and generated considerable 

interest. 

Mountaineering Rope Standard 

At the end of 2000, Neville McMillan 

as the English language “Principal Expert” 

produced a document proposing detailed 

wording changes to the CEN standard for 

dynamic mountaineering ropes, in accordance 

with the technical changes agreed over 

the last two years. In January 2001 a meeting 

was held in Munich which spent two 

days going through the six pages of proposals 

line by line. Agreement was reached 

on most points, but a few items needed 

further consideration. In June a further 

meeting was held, and a revised text and 

figures agreed. After final editing by the 

Secretariat (The Austrian Standards Institute), 

the agreed English language version 

has been sent to CEN in Brussels for 

translation into French and German, and 

issuing for Public Comment. With luck, 

formal approval should be given to the 

specialist reports Technical 

Climbing Walls 

Encouraging sensitive management and sustainable developments 

Through a network of area representatives and regional development 

strategies the Climbing Wall Committee gives guidance and support 

for new and re-developed climbing wall facilities. 

The new look Climbing Wall Committee 

incorporating C.W.A.G. (Climbing Wall 

Advisory Group) met four times over the 

past 12 months. Due to it transitory nature 

and many new members, some advising 

in a technical capacity the committee 

now has many topics, which are starting 

to move forward. Certain issues took the 

lead and a programme of research is now 

being undertaken on matting under walls. 

revised standard for Dynamic Mountaineering 

Ropes during 2002. 

UIAA Safety Commission 

At the Plenary Meeting of the Safety 

Commission, held in Innsbruck in June, 

one new UIAA standard was formally 

approved – Snow Anchors (Deadmen). 

Discussion also took place on standards 

for via ferrata protection equipment, and 

shock-absorbing tape slings. Working 

Groups were set up under the leadership 

of the UK National Delegate, charged with 

producing draft standards for abseiling 

devices, and belaying devices, and defining 

a test method for the strength of gatelocking 

sleeves on connectors. The Working 

Group set up one year earlier to work 

on revision of the helmet standard was 

reconstituted, also under the leadership 

of the UK National Delegate. 

Other standards modifications under 

consideration are a sharp-edge test for 

ropes (Italy), ice anchors (Germany), and 

bolts (Canada). During the meeting, 

Neville McMillan, the UK National Delegate, 

was elected Vice President of the 

Safety Commission to replace Jean-Franck 

Charlet, who was retiring. Members of 

the BMC Technical Group are involved 

in the UIAA Working Groups through the 

UK National Delegate. 

Research Project on Lightweight 

Helmets 

This research project at Leeds University 

has continued throughout the year, and 

the results will be fed into the UIAA Working 

Group revising the helmet standard. 

Technical Conference 

The Technical Group held a weekend 

conference at Plas y Brenin on 3 - 4 November. 

On Saturday there were lectures 

on equipment failures, helmet research, 

care & maintenance, and a very useful twoway 

discussion on standards for belaying 

devices. Sunday was devoted to practical 

workshops on the GriGri, via ferrata gear, 

climbing instruction, and use of safety gear. 

Publications 

The final revisions and final editing of the 

booklet on Care and Maintenance of Climbing 

Equipment were, at long last, completed. 

After proof-checking, the booklet 

was ready for printing in December. 

Future Trends 

The tendency for fewer failures due to 

bad design or manufacture, and more incidents 

due to problems in use, has continued. 

New failure modes continue to occur, 

and some failure modes have been difficult 

to explain in detail. It is important 

to give publicity to such incidents in Summit, 

and give advice on good practice in 

the use of equipment. The Technical 

Group sees an increasing need for booklets, 

information sheets, and articles in 

Summit giving advice on the selection and 

use of safety-related equipment. 

Technical Group 

Technical Committee 

Neville McMillan Chair 

Andy MacNae Secretary 

Trevor Hellen Independent 

Alan Huyton Independent 

George Steele Independent 

Ben Lyon 

Trade 

Andy Perkins ABMEM 

Equipment Investigation Panel 

Committee members plus: 

Rob Allen 

Independent 

Jane Blackford Independent 

Dave Brook 

Independent 

Andy Kirkpatrick Independent 

Vin Machin 

Independent 

Hugh Banner Trade 

Fred Hall 

Trade 

Dick Peart 

BMG 

Steve Long 

Plas y Brenin 

Richard Terrell MRC 

The Wall Accreditation Scheme was 

moved forward and a timescale of January 

2003 is currently in place. Other issues 

discussed were accidents, litigation, 

and Regional and National facility strategies. 

The committee forged stronger ties 

with other associated organisations, the 

A.B.C. (Association of British Climbing 

Walls), C.W.M.A. (Climbing Wall Manufacturers 

Association) and have contin- 

Chair Nick Bond 

Secretary Graeme Alderson 

Members Steve Taylor 

Peter Dyson Steve Gille 

Ian Dunn Tony Bird 

John Hartley Paul Myers 

Don Robinson Gary Lewis 

Roy Court Mike Browell 

Mike Rosser Kate Phillips 

Anna Gregory Mike Turner 

Steve Jones Kevin Howett 

Lee Earnshaw Julie Goodacre 

Alex Williams Joe Patton 

Cathy Woodhead 

ued to support area representatives. This 

year the Climbing Wall Manager’s seminar 

was incorporated into the Volunteer Leader 

Conference at the Festival of Climbing and 

was a resounding success. The committee 

has in place a long-term strategy to have in 

place a National English Climbing Centre 

within the next five years. 



TAG focuses primarily on those aspects 

of training that do not directly relate to 

group leader and instructor qualifications. 

Membership changes this year have seen 

Iain McBurnie of Sheffield Hallam University 

replacing Ben Atkinson as student 

club representative. Kate Phillips stepped 

down after five years on the Group, and 

Fran Pothecary finished her time as MC 

of S representative. TAG currently has a 

number of vacancies, and we are looking 

for individuals with an interest in informal 

training to join the group. 

Lecture Programme 

The Alpine and Winter Skills lecture 

series continued with their successful formats, 

at varied locations across the country. 

Speakers were Andy Perkins, Helen 

Caudrey, Libby Peter and Steve Bell, and 

the series’ were made possible through 

the continued support of British University 

Sports Association; Cotswold Essential 

Outdoors; Jagged Globe; Troll and the 

Mountain Training Trust. 

Support for Individuals 

Courses were again provided in conjunction 

with the Jonathan Conville Memorial 

Trust, providing over 200 young participants 

with highly subsidised skills based 

courses in the UK and the Alps including 

winter, mountain craft and alpine. 

The HPSG acts as an advisory body providing 

scientific expertise to relevant Committees. 

We also liaise with other federations 

both within the UK and abroad on 

strategies to raise the level of performance 

in climbing and mountaineering. The High 

Performance Steering Group began its work 

in late Spring of 2000. In 2001 two subgroups 

of HPSG were formed, these are 

Sports Medicine and Sports Science/Coaching. 

HPSG acts to provide policy and the 

subgroups act as action groups. 

Areas of activity 

To run events, make guidelines and produce 

other publications based on quality 

research that will raise the level of performance 

of elite climbers. To deliver and facilitate 

elite coach education. Work with other 

committees to disseminate information to 

novice, intermediate and elite climbers. Identify 

target areas for research looking both 

Internationally and Nationally across the 

spectrum of high performance from competition 

climbing to high altitude mountaineering. 

Consider the needs of research 

scientists and how or if their work is useful 

to elite climbers. To liaise with and learn 

from other relevant sports in the construction 

of training programs and principles. 

The HPSG have supported Dave 

Binney to attend an international conference 

in Erlangen, Germany and the UKSC 

high performance coaches’ course. Attendance 

of NCF courses has also been supported. 

Anne Arran also ran a coaching 

session at an International Youth Leader 


Support for Clubs 

The seventh annual Safety and Good 

Practice Seminar was held at Plas-y- 

Brenin in October. This flagship event 

continues to reach capacity, providing student 

clubs with valuable information and 

an opportunity to network with the BMC 

and other clubs. The format is a mix of 

outdoor practical workshops and internal 

presentations and discussions: the session 

on legal issues always drawing a particularly 

attentive audience. 

Support for Volunteer Leaders 

The conference: “Adventure and Risk – 

A Sporting Balance” was held as part of 

the 2001 Festival of Climbing, and attracted 

240 delegates from all facets of 

our sport. Under the chairmanship of 

Margaret Talbot, CCPR CEO, and Richard 

Callicott, UK Sport CEO, addresses 

included ‘the need for good leadership’, ‘ 

why adventure is essential’, and ‘volunteer 

leaders and the law’. The highly successful 

MCI Millennium Initiative was 

examined, with presentations from both a 

leader and participants. A wide variety of 

workshops followed in the afternoon, 

providing opportunities to discuss the 

morning’s and further topics. Proceedings 

from the conference will be available from 

the BMC office. Volunteer training bursa- 

Seminar in Obernberg and coaching sessions 

for the Iranian women’s competition 

climbing team. 

International collaboration 

International links initiated at the High 

Performance Seminar have enabled us to 

identify partners for future joint projects. 

We plan to visit the French National 

Climbing Centre in Aix en Provence. To 

monitor and evaluate programs of top athletes 

and successful federations. 

Talent Identification 

To identify UK talent and instigate a 

national coaching structure for developing 

that talent. Monitor standards of 

youth performance and success of any 

programs being followed. 

Coaching 

Our on going coaching programme is 

designed to increase the quality of performance 

services for identified elite athletes 

in non-competition mountaineering 

disciplines and competition climbing. We 

recognise the need to develop a regional 

network of high performance coaches, 

workshop modules that enable instructors 

to specialise and attain Elite Coach level, 

and an Elite Coach qualification and educational 

support framework for competition 

climbing. 

Injury Prevention 

Continuing investigations into the causes 

of injury and from this provide information 

for coaches and climbers to help them 

avoid injury. The development of an injury 

prevention strategy for climbing is to 

Training 

Guidance on good practice & safety 

The Training Advisory Group 

provides guidance and advice for 

safety and good practice for 

climbers, hillwalkers and 

mountaineers. 

ries were also provided by the BMC for 

youth and training volunteers supported 

by the Mountain Training Trust. 

Support for Qualifications 

TAG provides the BMC with a regular 

means of contact with the mountain training 

boards. MLTB meetings have been 

attended this year by Anne Arran, John 

Mason, and Roger Payne; with John Mason 

attending the UKMTB. 

Chair 

Deputy Chair 

Secretary 

Members 

Brian Griffiths 

Mike Margeson 

Dave Musgrove 

Peter O’Neill 

Paper Mems. 

Adge Last 

Andy Say 

Jonathan White 

John Mason 

Anne Arran 

John Cousins 

Howard Jeffs 

Iain McBurnie 

Andy Newton 

Dave Binney 


High 

Performance 

Supporting excellence in 

climbing and mountaineering 

be tackled by way of; identification of 

risk factors, prioritisation of the modifiable 

risk factors for time and cost effectiveness, 

standardisation of objective testing 

protocols for prioritised risk factors 

and format for musculoskeletal profiling. 

Research on the incidence and aetiology 

of mountaineering related injuries is limited, 

and nonexistent for young 

populations of elite athletes, therefore a 

working party of clinicians, sport scientists 

and coaches is being established to 

aid in the risk factor identification stages. 

Chair 

Secretary 

Members 

Steve Bollen 

Dominic Dorran 

Jo Farrington 

Stan Grant 

Lew Hardy 

Mike Lea 

Jim Milledge 

Martin Rhodes 

Gordon Turner 

Tony Westbury 

Dave Binney 

Anne Arran 

Charles Clarke 

Tim Emmett 

Chris Forrest 

Neil Gresham 

Guido Koestermeyer 

Alison MacFarlane 

Ian Parnell 

Alun Richardson 

Ian Vickers 

Mike Rosser 

15

area reports 

Lake District 

Our activities were severely restricted 

by FMD, and most access issues were 

delayed. With the onset of FMD the Council 

closed all paths. The Mountain Liaison 

Group meeting was postponed and it 

became difficult to make representations. 

It soon became apparent despite the announcements 

that Cumbria was ‘open for 

business’, it wasn’t and tourism and businesses 

were being severely hit. Whilst 

climbers and walkers have shown great 

responsibility, the reward for their patience 

seems to have only come about because 

of pressure from local business and 

the government. When everywhere was 

closed the farmer at Shepherd’s Crag, 

Martin Weir stated he had no objections 

to access. The Council provided funding 

for fencing and Stephen Reid printed 

signs.Stephen went on to be instrumental 

in opening other crags in the Lakes, communicating 

via his website. The MLG 

supported our proposal for the Council 

to be asked to hold a public enquiry into 

the handling of the outbreak so that lessons 

may be learnt. However owing to 

the restrictions we were unable to conclude 

our negotiations with the Eskdale 

OB over the their fixed gear at Brantrake. 

Similarly, we have been unable to check 

London & South East 

2001 has been a hard year for L&SE 

members whose lungs have suffered from 

the lack of unpolluted oxygen at weekends, 

due to FMD. Clubs suffered from 

reduced membership, huts have been 

underbooked and the few local areas have 

been crowded. Our objective to encourage 

higher attendance at meetings was not 

achieved, although we maintained our welcoming 

atmosphere. At our last meeting 

we saw results from the BMC’s hard work 

on Access to Open Country with full mapping 

of the Southern half of our area from 

London to the South Coast. Details are 

available from John Galloway. John has 

also worked with HRMG to acquire Stone 

Hill Rocks and commenced a programme 

of ground erosion on the site. Roy Court 

has ensured that walls have kept pace with 

developments and kept climbers going 

By David Staton 

the abseil chain at Sergeant Crag Slabs. 

There was also a delay in completing the 

landscaping to the new descent path at 

Castle Rock. Also United Utilities has 

introduced parking meters to its car park 

for Castle Rock despite pledges to the 

contrary. Also the National Trust has withdrawn 

its Planning Application for stepping 

stones across the Derwent. However 

the Trust has agreed to call a meeting. Finally 

on matters of access we are concerned 

over recent action by the Commoners 

to fence Langdale Common which contains 

Copt Howe. Access is still possible, 

but the normal route is blocked and we 

have questioned the legality of the fence. 

At the request of the Mountain Liaison 

Group the NPA has agreed to investigate. 

We have much to deal with next year which 

is likely to be busy with the publication 

of the draft CRoW. In this regard we were 

successful in our nomination of Andy 

Prickett to the Local Forum and we hope 

our bid for Dave Rogers to join will also 

be accepted. Once again a successful 

Bouldering League was held . Thanks go 

to Stephen Reid and John Burrows. Also 

we have Ron Kenyon to thank for another 

successful Youth meet. 

By Miriam Denney 

during FMD. In particular, the Westway 

Wall reopened in October as one of the 

largest in the country. Mile End, the Castle 

and Amersham walls hosted the area 

Youth Events and we are grateful to Rob 

Naylor for organising them. Objectives 

for 2002 include improving attendance at 

meetings by improving our communications 

via email and the web. We will be 

reviewing the Sandstone Code of Practice 

with HRMG, and welcome comment at 

the annual Sandstone Open Meeting in 

May. L&SE members participated in the 

BMC Reorganisation Working Party and 

the area will be working to ensure recommendations 

are implemented during 2002. 

We will also be keenly monitoring the 

progress of Mountain Services to ensure 

BMC members’ interests and concerns 

remain its key focus. 

Midlands 

The Midlands Area meets across the 

region, aiming to provide accessibility to 

clubs and members as far apart as Shrewsbury 

and Leicester. This year, meetings 

were held in Walsall, Coventry, Birmingham 

and an additional meeting was held in 

Leicester. This latter meeting was called 

to discuss the access issues related to 

Markfield Quarry. Good effective liaison 

with the local Council was established and 

all the hard work by Graham Richmond 

and Brian Davies has resulted in a posi- 

By Peter Stacey 

tive future for the quarry and for climbing. 

Like all areas, Foot & Mouth badly 

affected the Midlands, and the contact 

with landowners in previous years resulted 

in restrictions being kept to a minimum. 

The importance of good regular liaison 

with landowners and countryside ranger 

services was emphasised with a private 

business ignoring the restrictions to a crag. 

The Council were able to respond and recognise 

the support offered by local BMC 

access reps, and other bans were lifted 

Lake District Area Notes 

5 meetings were held in 2001 and the 

average attendance was 11 

Chair David Staton 

Secretary John Burrows 

Management Representatives 

David Staton John Burrows 

Access Representatives 

Colyn Earnshaw (Principal Access Officer) 

Jim Loxam (S) Andy Prickett (N) 

Ron Kenyon (Eden) 

Climbing Wall Representative 

Kate Phillips 

Youth 

Kate Phillips 

Members 2000 2001 

No of clubs in area 9 11 

Club membership of 484 657 

Individual members 778 839 

Share of national clubs 260 316 

Total Members in area 1531 1823 

London & South East Area Notes 



Chair Miriam Denney 

Secretary Lech Bogdanowicz 


Roy Court Andrew McLellan 


John Galloway 

Climbing Wall Representatives 

Roy Court Anna Gregory 

Youth 

Rob Naylor 

Members 2000 2001 

No clubs in the area 116 118 




Total members in area 14880 15703 

Midlands Area Notes 



Chair Peter Stacey 

Secretary Charles Gameson 


Peter Stacey Charles Gameson 


Brian Davies (E)Richard Law (W) 

Youth 

Paul Smith / Gareth Cushen 

Members 2000 2001 

No clubs in the area 60 59 





with local dialogue around risk assessments. 

2001 finished off on a high note, 

with the Festival of Climbing being held 

in that Mecca of outdoor activities, Birmingham. 

The turnout by local climbers 

in supporting the event and by acting as 

stewards and volunteers, ably led by Mike 

Ratty, is indicative of their commitment 

to our sport. I wish my successor Graham 

Richmond all success and know he will be 

well supported as I was, in leading the 

Midlands into 2002 and beyond. 


area reports 

North East 

North West 

The year was dominated by FMD and 

at its worst, only three minor crags were 

open. Fortunately the situation improved 

more quickly in the NW than in other areas. 

Partly due to the number of cases but, 

more importantly due to the hard work of 

the access reps and the cooperation of the 

landowners. By the summer there were a 

good range of crags open to keep climbers 

occupied. There was little in the way of 

conservation work undertaken during the 

year however, two projects were completed 

making improvements to 

Anglezarke and Wilton. Anglezarke received 

a new ledge above Coal Measure 

Crag making exit from the routes possible 

Peak District 

This year has been defined by one event 

– foot and mouth. Even in the relatively 

unscathed Peak District it was a disaster 

for the farmers and it would be fair to say 

that none of us could foresee the havoc it 

would wreak in the rural community as a 

whole. Climbers and walkers were pretty 

much alone in coming out of the affair with 

enormous credit. We followed the government’s 

advice even though no outbreak 

was ever traced to a walker or climber. We 

walked the roads, we avoided the farms, 

we did our best to use local facilities and 

in the end, through careful negotiation, 

persuaded the authorities that some relaxation 

was not only warranted but absolutely 

essential. One damp day back in 

the spring a deputation, led by Dave 

Turnbull and including local access volunteer 

Henry Folkard, met a team from the 

Peak Park to discuss the situation. We 

were joined by Martin Atkinson, Managing 

Director of Wild Country. His impassioned 

plea for some relaxation of the draconian 

bans was probably instrumental in 

moving the debate from a position of total 


This year the outbreak of FMD made 

virtually all crags in the region out of 

bounds. Our access representatives Martin 

Cooper and Pete Hay worked with 

the authorities to ensure information on 

restrictions was posted on the BMC 

website. Climbers in the NE were still 

able to use the Hartlepool Bouldering Park 

, a project previously developed with help 

from the BMC.With no option for an outdoor 

meet Youth activities were centred 

on the BRYCS. The NE area combined 

with the Lakes Area to run three events. 

Once again Rock Antics played host. 

Thanks go to Stephen Porteus and his 

team of volunteers for their efforts and to 

Rock Antics. On a positive note the five 

Lamps Project at Thornaby on Teesside 

has funding for a beginners’ climbing wall 

as part of a Youth Centre. The construc- 

By Peter Simcock 

tion of the centre will start in the New 

Year. On Tyneside, a feasibilty study, into 

a Newcastle Climbing Wall, was prepared 

by Bill Wright on behalf of the Northumberland 

Mountaineering Club. The NMC 

presented the findings of the report to a 

well attended area meeting. The report 

considered two options: a new wall at 

Ouseburn and a wall within the Eldon Leisure 

Centre complex. The report concluded 

that the Eldon Centre was the most feasible 

option. However Newcastle City 

Council were not in a position to support 

such a development with further funds. 

The BMC will be approaching other Local 

Authorities to seek support and alternative 

venues. Thanks to all the volunteers 

who have supported the BMC in the 

NE during 2001. 

By Carl Spencer 

and all the Wilton quarries received new 

belay stakes, making the belays safer as 

well as keeping the neighbouring landowners 

happy. The youth have had a successful 

year starting with the NW Schools Challenge. 

Then followed the BICC’s, which 

was won by Jamie Cassidy with Paul 

Smitton runner up, and Jemma Powell taking 

the Girls title. The BRYCs then got 

under way, with the area producing a strong 

team who eventually took the title. The 

North West Climbing Festival was well attended, 

held in June at West View. In October 

the BMC organised a trip to 

Fontainebleau. 13 kids attended with 

Jemma, Jamie and Rosie all getting invites. 

By John Horscroft 

intransigence to a growing awareness that 

livelihoods were at stake. Wild Country 

employs fifty local people in Tideswell. 

The lack of visitors to the Peak meant 

those people stood to lose their jobs if 

something drastic didn’t happen. The 

opening of Stanage was a triumph for the 

BMC. One local farmer was heard to remark 

that “it was all the BMC’s fault.” A 

magnificent if unintentional compliment. 

However, this victory has come at a cost. 

This year has been one of remorseless pressure 

for volunteers. On a number of fronts 

including access, BMC reorganisation, 

Stanage Forum, car crime and the democratic 

process, volunteers have spent many 

precious hours working so that others may 

climb. The cost in terms of time, money 

and stress should not be under-estimated. 

The BMC is fortunate to have a dedicated 

and efficient team at headquarters. Little 

would be achieved without their commitment 

which, on many occasions, is above 

and beyond the call of duty. However, the 

organisation as a whole has to address the 

difficult issue of volunteer recruitment. 

North East Area Notes 



Chair Peter Simcock 

Secretary Neil Harold 


Peter Simcock Neil Harold 


Peter Hay (N. Yorks & Durham) 

John Earl (Northumberland) 


Peter Dyson 

Youth 

Stephen Porteus 

Members 2000 2001 

No of clubs in the area 12 14 





North West Area Notes 

Five meetings were held in 2000 and the 


Chair Nick Bond 

Secretary Carl Spencer 


Nick Bond John Mason 


Les Ainsworth (North) 

Carl Spencer (South) 

Gary Smith (Cheshire & Merseyside) 


Nick Bond Steve Gille (Merseyside) 

Youth Tony Powell 

Members 2000 2001 






Peak District Area Notes 



Chair John Horscroft 

Secretary Michael Hunt 


Michael Hunt John Horscroft 


Alex Ekins, David Bishop, Henry Folkard 

Youth Diane Staniforth 

Walls Mike Browell 

Members 2000 2001 






Other Area Notes 

Membership figures for members resident 

outside the 9 BMC areas and overseas 

No of clubs 2 

With club membership of 37 

Individual Members 2623 

Share of National clubs 17 

Total members 2679 

Simply relying on the same old faces is 

no longer an option. We have to be 

proactive and persuasive, we have to 

convince potential volunteers that the 

work is rewarding and we have to create 

a big enough team of volunteers that 

the demands on any individual does not 

become overwhelming. 

17

area reports 

South West and Southern 

Operating under our new format of two 

meetings a year instead of the traditional 

five, this has been an important test year 

for the South and SW Area Committee. 

The proposal that the Chair can call an 

‘issue based’ meeting in any of the five 

Counties should the need arise has only 

been tested once this year with a further 

meeting arranged at Bristol in March to 

consider, in more detail, the replacement 

of fixed gear in the Avon Gorge. This was 

proposed at our well-attended second 

meeting of the year at The Charterhouse 

Centre in the Mendips in January. A lively 

debate on replacing fixed gear in the Avon 

Gorge was followed by an excellent talk 

and slide show of Jonathan White’s recent 

expedition to explore the northern 

Lindbergh Mountains of East Greenland. 

Yorkshire and Humberside 

Wales 

In what can be described as a most extraordinary 

year, the BMC Committee for 

Wales has continued to work well. On the 

committee side of things, not one but two 

secretaries volunteered their very hard 

working services. Rob Platt for North 

Wales meetings and Carolyn Cummings 

for the South. Gareth Lambe stood down 

at the end of the year as Management representative 

and thanks should be given to 

him for many years service. Like many 

other areas FMD claimed its fair share of 

restrictions in Wales and many clubs and 

individuals suffered as a result. Credit 

should be given to those who helped and 

managed to see through a very difficult 

time for all. Continuing on the access 

theme, a positive gain was made at 

Pembroke by the bringing forward of the 

By Brian Dent 

This fundamental change in the way we 

now ‘manage’ BMC affairs in the SW has 

resulted in a service that has now, I think, 

become reactive rather than proactive. It 

is important therefore that we act on John 

Willson’s proposal to set up a South West 

Area web page as part of the BMC 

website. Any reported access issues 

(mainly foot and mouth related) have been 

effectively dealt with by our committed 

team of Access Reps and my thanks to 

John Baker who, following a job change, 

has had to step down as Access Rep for 

Avon/Cheddar. Welcome to Chris Newton-Goverd 

who will be replacing him. We 

welcomed the news that Portland is to 

become a World Heritage Site. At our 

AGM in June, we will be looking to elect 

a Secretary and a new Chairperson. 

By Dave Musgrove 

In 2001 the area’s access volunteers have 

been even more active due to FMD. Early 

consultation secured access to a few crags 

such as Woodhouse Scar, Caley and 

Heptonstall but there has been little climbing 

on limestone this year and access to 

many gritstone crags has been limited. 

Andy Say, Dave Musgrove and others 

have supported the valuable access work 

of John Belbin and Robin Costello. The 

extra hard work by the volunteers has 

helped to improve relationships with various 

bodies connected with access. At 

Brimham Rocks good liaison has enabled 

several issues to be resolved effectively. 

Earl Crag has again benefited from footpath 

work. FMD has limited access in 

Yorkshire so much that bird-nesting restrictions 

were almost irrelevant in 2001. 

At Woodhouse Scar further tree clearing 

has opened up the crag and more is due in 

the Spring, but the situation is delicate 

due to some locals hacking down trees carelessly. 

At Baildon Bank the committee 

supported a local protest against a council 

scheme which sought to change the area 

from green Belt to Urban Green Space. 

Towards the end of the year the CRoW 

Act mapping consultancy process got 

underway. John Belbin and a team of helpers 

are co-ordinating our region’s response. 

Robin Costello and Dave Musgrove have 

attended a meeting organised by the YDNP 

as a pre-cursor to the setting up of Local 

Access Forums. The YMC are again 

thanked for donating to the Access Fund 

from sales of their guides. The British 

Bouldering Championships were held at 

Hull and the final round of the BICC series 

was held at The Leeds Wall . Local 

volunteers again supported BRYCS. In 

the European Youth Cup, Abigail Egan 

climbed well throughout her last year as a 

junior, reaching three finals and came 9th. 

Robert Elliot climbed even better and finished 

7th. His greatest achievement was a 

formidable podium place at the Festival 

of Climbing, when he came third against 

the best climbers in the world! 

By Wayne Gladwin 

entry date into Range West to the 28 th 

July. Moving along are the National Access 

Forums and a lot of work by amongst 

others Crag Jones. It is important that we 

have a representative on as many of these 

forums as possible as they arise to ensure 

our voice is being heard around the Principality. 

Without doubt the biggest discussion 

point focused on the proposals of a 

new identity and change in structure for 

mountaineering in Wales. Raised and 

passed unanimously at the BMC AGM 

in Cardiff, this idea has prompted the largest 

amount of discussion and response 

since the bolt debates of the late eighties. 

Two very well attended meetings in both 

the North and South, has helped to move 

the debate forwards and will be finalised 

next year. In tandem with these thoughts 

SW & Southern Area Notes 

One meeting was held in 2001 and the 

attendance was 8 

Chair Brian Dent 

Secretary Vacant 


Jonathan White 


John Willson (Wye Valley) 

John Baker (Avon & Cheddar) 

Steve Taylor (Swanage) 

Neal Heanes (Portland) 

Brian Dent (S.Devon & Dartmoor) 

Rick Abbott (N.Devon & Cornwall) 

Steve Elliott (Cornwall-W.Penwith) 

Youth Mandy Homer 

Members 2000 2001 






Yorks & Humberside Area Notes 



Chair Dave Musgrove 

Secretary Alex Lawrence 


Dave Musgrove Alex Lawrence 


Robin Costello (Grit) 

John Belbin (Limestone) 


Matthew Farwell / Ben Myers 

Youth Justin Bolger 

Members 2000 2001 






Committee of Wales Notes 



Chair Wayne Gladwin 

Secretaries 

Caroline Cummings (South) 

Robert Platt (North) 


David Meeson Gareth Lambe 


John Custance (South East Wales) 

Dee de Mengel (Pembroke) 

Steve Lewis (Gower) 


Gary Lewis 

Members 2000 2001 






is not only the important point of employing 

a development officer for Wales 

but also the recognition that a larger volunteer 

network is desperately needed. 

Without both a new identity and structure 

for Wales is not a reality. Youth meets 

have continued via some very pro-active 

clubs, as has climbing at the highest standard 

around the globe with the help of some 

funding from the Sports Council for Wales 

Overseas Expedition Fund. 


other reports 

Other Reports 

The BMC has many connections, involvements, and responsibilities to other bodies. 

In many cases reciprocal representation arrangements exist. The most relevant are reported here. 

BUFT 

Founded in 1992, the British Upland 

Footpath Trust’s aim is to improve the 

quality and standard of footpath work 

and maintenance in the uplands. The 

four founder members – the BMC, 

Camping and Outdoor Leisure Association, 

Mountaineering Council of 

Scotland, and the Ramblers’ Association, 

continue to support the work of 

the Trust for which BMC provides administrative 

support. 

2001 was a frustrating year for BUFT 

with the BMC finding itself unable to commit 

sufficient staff resources to the Trust 

to develop initiatives. The BMC continued 

to provide basic administrative support 

for BUFT by dispatching publications 

to interested parties and answering 

general queries. Proposals for the Upland 

Path Information Network (UPIN) were 

further progressed in 2001. A proposal 

for financial support was submitted to the 

Countryside Agency, CCW and SNH but 

unfortunately this was not successful. 

BMG 

Honorary Sec A.E. Richardson reports: 

Four applications were accepted onto the 

training and assessment scheme. The following 

members were welcomed into the 

BMG as full guides: Marcus Brown, Bruce 

Goodlad, Graham McMahon, Rick 

Marchant, Andy Teasdale and Andy 

Perkins. Graham Austick, an Austrian 

Guide, was also accepted into the BMG. 

At the AGM the association said goodbye 

to George Reid who has done sterling 

work as the treasurer, he will be sorely missed 

and is replaced by Ron James. The association 

also welcomed Nick Banks as the President 

elect. The guest speaker at the dinner 

was the MP Dr Kim Howells, other guests 

included Daniel Stolzenberg, director of 

equivalence at ENSA and ex president of 

the French Mountain Guides Association. 

It was with great sadness that the BMG 

reported the loss of one of its founder members 

this year with the death of Fred Harper. 

A memorial trust in honour of Fred has exceeded 

all expectations. Robin Andrews and 

KC Gordon completed their work on the 

Code of Professional Practice and the first 

draft of the duty of care document has been 

circulated. Steve Jones attended the IFMGA 

technical commission in Lecco, Italy. The 

chairman and training officer continue to be 

heavily involved in the IFMGA and have 

contributed to the debate over accepting 

countries that do not ski as a sport. 

The association is grateful to Vango, 

Mountain Equipment and Lyon equipment 

who are all sponsoring the association 

with financial assistance, look out for 

literature with their products. Finally the 

arrangement with the MLTB office works 

well due to the hard work of Shirley Lock 

and her colleagues. 

CCPR 

The Central Council of Physical Recreation 

is a national body for National 

Governing Bodies of Sport. 

The BMC is a member of the Outdoor 

Pursuits Division which is Chaired by 

BMC Hon Member and former President 

Bob Pettigrew. Through division meetings 

and the Annual Conference the CCPR 

provides a very effective forum for putting 

the collective case for sport and recreation 

to Government. In 2001 the CCPR 

provided a very useful focus for lobbying 

the Government on the implementation 

of the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill 

that became an Act in 2000. In 2001 the 

CCPR appointed Margaret Talbot of CEO 

and elected Howard Wells as Chairman. 

.The CCPR also produced a manifesto for 

sport and recreation to press the cause of 

sport with Government. 

High Magazine 

To reach a wide audience on a 

monthly basis BMC news is published 

in High magazine. 

BMC news in High is edited by BMC 

Officer Alex Messenger. The Editorial 

staff of High Geoff Birtles and Ian Smith 

are long standing supporters of the BMC. 

High is published by Greenshires who 

helped the BMC launch Summit magazine. 

Greenshires and BMC work very 

closely together on a number of projects 

such as the Festival of Climbing. 

MCG 

The Mountaineering Co-ordination 

Group for the United Kingdom and Ireland 

is the forum for the mountaineering 

councils to discuss areas of common 

concern between the different bodies. 

In 2001 a spring meeting was planned 

for Cardiff but had to be postponed because 

of foot and mouth disease travel restrictions. 

The autumn meeting was held 

in Tollymore Mountain Centre in Co 

Down when considerable discussion took 

place throughout the year over the creation 

of Mountain Services, which was 

launched at the end of the year. The meeting 

and communication between times 

provides very valuable opportunities to 

exchange information, co-ordinate relevant 

policies such as access and conservation 

and the draft legislation for Scotland, and 

discuss the different mountaineering council’s 

Development Programmes and Operational 

Plans. 

MLTB 

The MLTB administers the Mountain 

Leader Award and Single Pitch 

Award for climbers leading and supervising 

groups. MLTB Executive Secretary 

Andy Say reports: 

2001 will have to go down in the annals 

as a year of disruption and concern for all 

engaged in mountaineering in this country. 

As well as the more obvious irritation 

of whole swathes of the country, including 

mountains and crags, being closed 

as a preventative precaution there were 

deep and long lasting effects on those who 

work in the outdoors. Foot and Mouth 

Disease will probably hang heavy over 

this entire annual report but the implications 

for those who lead or instruct groups 

and individuals, as well as retailers, camp 

site owners and others, were often financially 

and organisationally crippling. The 

response of those who actually work in 

the outdoors to imposed restriction has 

to be applauded and should have done 

much to enhance their image as a group 

who actually do care about the environment 

that they work in. What was also 

noticeable were the lengths that people 

were willing to go to try to keep business 

as normal once the implications of what 

were happening sank in. For the Board 

the noticeable effects were a reduction in 

the number of courses run, moderation 

visits made and anticipated candidate registration 

on to schemes. It has to be said, 

however, that total registration figures 

were comparable with 2000. 

The major new development put in 

place by the Home Nation Boards, including 

ourselves, was the start of the Walking 

Group Leader Award. This award scheme, 

aimed at those leading groups on moorland 

and fell terrain where the hazards are 

substantially different to mountain regions, 

started slowly due to FMD but picked up 

substantially by the end of the year. 246 

candidates have been trained and 48 have 

already passed an assessment in this new 

award. What is significant is that well over 

700 people have registered for the award 

so far, indicating that there must be a lot of 

courses just waiting to happen and that 

there is a real demand for this type of qualification. 

The other interesting statistic that 

comes out of this is that the WGL seems to 

be doing something to address the traditional 

gender imbalance in outdoor qualifi- 


19

other reportscation with an increasing percentage uptake 

by female candidates. It is maybe too 

early to tell but the start of the new scheme 

seems to be going well with considerable 

interest for the future. 

The Mountain Leader and Single Pitch 

awards continue to serve as benchmark 

qualifications in mountain activities and over 

4000 candidates registered on these 

schemes in 2001. Whilst there has been a 

noticeable decline from the “high-water 

mark” seen after the introduction of Licensing, 

candidate numbers would now 

seem to be steadying again. The ongoing 

development of all of these schemes as well 

as the maintenance of their quality through 

moderation and the provider workshop 

programme is co-ordinated by Andy Newton 

(MLTB Development Officer) supported 

by the established moderation team 

of Guy Lee (Lakes), Phil Booth (Peak) and 

Pete Goldsmith (S.W.). It is this programme 

of visits and workshops that enable 

the Board to both maintain contact 

with course providers and also get feedback 

on organisation and syllabus content; 

a vital communication that enables the development 

and adaptation of the awards. 

The MLTB has continued to develop 

the workshop programme and now, as well 

as the ongoing training and updating of 

course providers and training and assessment 

staff, there are an increasing number 

of opportunities for award holders to undertake 

updating and refresher courses. As 

well as giving the Board the opportunity 

to pass on new thinking and techniques it 

also gives instructors and leaders the opportunity 

to polish some of those skills 

that can so easily get rusty. The Board is 

currently investigating the possibility of 

taking these refresher opportunities to 

organisations who see a need for their staff 

to continue their development. Further 

training co-ordinated by the Board includes 

the currently available Assessor Training 

Workshops and the new Teaching and 

Coaching programme. Don Mabbs has 

continued to offer Disability Awareness 

seminars at a variety of venues. 

Further changes have come to the staffing 

of the MLTB. Mike Rosser, after a 

period of four and a half years with the 

Board as Executive Secretary has moved 

on to lead the commercial organisation 

“Adventureworks”. His replacement is 

Andy Say who took up post in October 

when the F.E. College he was working at 

was able to release him. Sue Doyle, of the 

Siabod Cottage administration staff, has 

moved from us to work for the UKMTB. 

An ongoing development is the increasing 

level of co-ordination between all of the 

Boards, under the auspices of the 

UKMTB, in terms of syllabus content, 

registration systems and charges and her 

expertise will be of great help to this process. 

Natasha Dickinson another of the 

team has moved into veterinary work. The 

rest of the team continue to work as hard 

ever supporting candidates with their 

progress through the awards and acting 

for them and members of the public as an 

inexhaustible source of expertise and 

knowledge on the outdoor qualifications 

available in New Zealand, how to conduct 

a risk assessment, what to look for in a 

karabiner and what the weather is doing 

outside the window in Capel Curig. 

MCofS 

We didn’t think when we turned up 

on the 22 January 2001 for the launch 

of the Draft Land Reform Bill that the 

roof was about to fall in. 

The proposals were about as bad as they 

could be, landmanagers right to close land, 

criminalisation of access, local authority 

rights to close land in bad weather, provisions 

for individuals to be excluded without 

legal process. It looked like our traditional 

rights to wander freely were about 

to be stopped. But not without a fight! 

By stunning coincidence it was also the 

day that foot and mouth arrived with us. In 

the first rush we were asked to stay out of 

the countryside and most did, in sympathy 

with the plight of the farming community. 

As the situation clarified the absurdities 

became clear; skiing carried on as before 

whilst climbers in adjacent corries were 

asked to keep away. Strong representations 

to the Scottish Government led to the formation 

of the Comeback Group, in which 

we worked with veterinary experts, local 

authorities, environmental agencies, farmers, 

foresters, landowners, and other recreational 

interests to establish a safe process 

for return to the countryside, which 

gradually opened up during the year, with 

most areas accessible by June. 

Out of this crisis came some clear lessons. 

Some farmers and landowners would 

use any pretext to deny access unreasonably, 

the value of outdoor recreation to the 

Scottish economy dwarfed that of livestock 

farming, and mountaineers will behave responsibly. 

It also showed the danger that 

the access proposals represented and 

helped to galvanise a massive response, 

which helped to remove the worst aspects. 

All is not ideal and we are still actively 

engaged in influencing the bill, which is progressing 

through the Scottish Parliament. 

In all of this the website proved invaluable 

in keeping members informed, and much 

thanks is due to our webmaster, Duncan 

Gray, who worked heroically to keep the 

site up to date. Against this background we 

also dealt with the proposals for National 

Parks for Loch Lomond and The Cairngorms, 

with the latter sadly watered down, 

at the behest of the same influences that 

brought the funicular railway to this precious 

fragile landscape. Fran Pothecary enthusiastically 

carried out vital work on safety 

and training issues. Fran has now decided to 

move on to develop other interests and will 

be a hard act to follow. 

We are encouraged by the progress made 

in developing closer relations with the 

other Mountaineering Councils and the 

Training Boards with the setting up of 

The Access and Conservation Trust and 

Mountain Services. I am sure working together 

strengthens us all. I hope that we 

can celebrate the International Year of 

Mountains by working to develop benefits 

for mountaineers and mountains 

rather than managing crises. 

Alan Rouse 

Library 

Set up by the friends of the late Alan 

Rouse, Dave Gregory reports: 

The library has had another successful 

year with increased numbers of users. Many 

new titles have been added to the collection, 

and in addition the Trustees have recently 

purchased a substantial number of 

new guidebooks to update and improve 

coverage in key areas including Derbyshire, 

Alpine Europe and North America. 

Mount Everest Foundation expedition 

reports are now available to 1999, and are 

an essential reference for those planning 

bigger trips. All major journals are also 

taken including the key international Alpine 

Club annuals. 

Work is underway to improve the physical 

state of the stock, particularly the older 

and more fragile material. This work is being 

carried out with help from Sheffield Libraries 

Conservation Unit. A thorough overhaul 

of the journal collection is also underway, 

and a full catalogue of journals will be produced 

when the work is complete. 

Discussions with the Climbers’ Club are 

taking place regarding the integration of part 

of its library into the Alan Rouse Collection 

in the Sports Library. If these are successful, 

this will significantly enhance the 

range of materials available to our users. 

The collection is open to anyone, and 

books can be borrowed by all those who 

live, work or study in Sheffield and the 

surrounding area. Persons outside that description 

may telephone to arrange for 

books to be ready for them to consult. 

Enquiries are welcome in person, by telephone, 

fax or email. Tel: 0114 273 5929, 

Fax: 0114 273 5009, or email : 

sports.library@dial.pipex.com. 

For further details please contact Lesley 

Gunter, Senior Librarian and, as ever, we 

owe her a debt of gratitude for her work in 

the Library on behalf of climbers and their 

bibliophile interests. 


other reports 

MRC 

Chair of MRC David Allan reports: 

The incidents in 2001 were both low in 

total number and fatalities due to restricted 

access. It would be unwise to make any 

analysis of these figures in terms of type 

of accident etc because of the distorted year. 

This has largely been a year in which mountain 

rescue teams have carried out overdue 

repairs to bases and equipment and focused 

on casualty care training. It has however 

been possible to go ahead with some national 

training days which it is hoped will 

be a pattern for the future. The re-introduction 

of a twice yearly mountain rescue 

‘journal’ was also achieved and progress 

has been made in new designs for stretchers 

and cas. bags. We were pleased to see a 

stalwart of mountain rescue, the retired 

team leader of Langdale Ambleside, Stewart 

Hulse, recognised in the honours list. 

Plas y Brenin 

and the Mountain Training Trust 

Iain Peter reports: 2001 has been another 

busy and successful year for MTT 

and Plas y Brenin. 

However, the year will be remembered 

for the outbreak of “Foot and Mouth” 

which blighted North Wales in February, 

March, April and May. The after effects 

have, of course, been felt for very much 

longer. Plas y Brenin played a key part 

locally in helping to keep the outdoor community 

informed of developments and as a 

liaison with the land management agencies. 

I feel that we played a significant role in 

helping to re-open closed areas when it 

was safe to do so without, at the same 

time, taking any unnecessary risks. We 

developed a close working relationship 

with the NPA, the National Trust and the 

Countryside Council for Wales together 

with the relevant people in Gwynedd and 

Conwy Councils – indeed by the end of 

the whole sorry saga we had made some 

very good new friends and contacts! We 

were also able to put sustained pressure 

on MPs at Westminster and in Cardiff. 

In the end we were closed from the 26 th 

of February through until the end of 

March. We were able to offer a very restricted 

program in April and early May 

and were back to normal in June. We were 

most grateful for the support we received 

from Sport England and Conwy Council. 

The partnership arrangements we established 

with the BMC were fundamental 

to the opening up first of all of Tremadog 

and then of the rest of Snowdonia. 

The foot and mouth crisis was a very 

good example of how the National Centre 

provides a service to the whole outdoor 

community. I believe that having Plas y 

Brenin staff available to erect fences etc. 

and talk with landowners, farmers and the 


farming unions and to lobby government 

made a very real difference to how the 

foot and mouth problem was dealt with in 

Northern Snowdonia. 

I am delighted to report that we have 

recovered well and even with the set backs 

outlined above we have had our busiest 

year to date. In 2001 we provided a total 

of 2,775 hillwalking, mountaineering and 

rock climbing places – the most ever! 

The Mountain Training Trust continues 

to work closely with the BMC and contributed 

this year to the work of the Training 

Advisory Group, Technical Committee, 

Youth Advisory Panel, Committee of Management, 

Festival of Climbing and the very 

successful annual Student Club Seminar. We 

also became “Platinum Plus” contributors 

to the Access and Conservation Trust. 

UKMTB 

The United Kingdom Mountain 

Training Board is the co-ordinating 

body for group leader and instructor 

qualifications. Executive Secretary 

John Cousins reports: 

World events don’t often have an immediate 

impact on the work of the United 

Kingdom Mountain Training Board but 

2001 was a year that everyone will remember. 

The Foot and Mouth epidemic 

and the terrible events of September 11 th 

affected our domestic and international 

work. Our Mountain Instructor Training 

Scheme was directly affected with us having 

to cancel and re-arrange MIC courses. 

In spite of this we passed a further eighteen 

Instructors who all gained their full 

Mountain Instructor Certificates. The impact 

of FMD on the plans of so many 

leaders and instructors has yet to be fully 

understood and we hope to work with the 

BMC to ensure this aspect of FMD is 

recognized in the forthcoming inquiry. 

Our work with the UIAA was also hampered 

but this time by the events of September 

11 th , forcing the second meeting of 

the Mountaineering Commission, due to 

be held in Canada, to be cancelled at considerable 

cost. Fortunately our March 

meeting in Slovenia had been successful 

as was my visit to Singapore and Malaysia 

to assist them develop standards for 

tropical mountain leaders. Away from 

world events the five Training Boards continued 

to work more closely together, producing 

unified literature, considering how to 

support existing leaders and by agreeing that 

candidates should be encouraged to register 

with their local training board i.e. according 

to postcode. As well as becoming a Limited 

Company the UK Board became a Partner 

in Mountain Services Limited Liability Partnership 

toward the end of the year in the 

hope that this will bring further integrated 

services to its leaders. The outstanding challenge 

facing the Board now is in the integration 

of its awards into a national framework 

that sets out not only the remit of each award 

but outlines reasonable safety management 

systems for organisations that go beyond 

the boundaries of the qualifications. 

UIAA 

The International Mountaineering 

and Climbing Federation (UIAA) is the 

world body for climbers, hill walkers 

and mountaineers. 

Former BMC Presidents Ian McNaught- 

Davis is the President of the UIAA and 

BMC President Derek Walker is a member 

of the UIAA Council and represents 

the UK at the UIAA General Assembly. 

At the General Assembly in Austria the 

UIAA adopted a new strategic plan and 

launched the Summit Charter for the 

United Nations International Year of 

Mountains 2002. The BMC nominates 

UK experts to help support the specialist 

commissions of the UIAA and travel costs 

to those meetings are supported by UK 

Sport. All UIAA Commissions have important 

work programmes, and achievements 

in 2001 included a legal experts 

working group, progress with international 

standards for voluntary mountain 

leaders, a fully revised standard for guidebooks, 

recording of world-wide first ascents 

in the greater ranges, discussions on 

the use of fixed equipment and the coordination 

of international youth meets, 

and climbing competitions. 

BMC support to the UIAA in 2001 

President 

Ian McNaught-Davis 

Council 

Derek Walker 

General Assembly 

Derek Walker 

Access & Conservation Commission 

Bob Pettigrew (President) 

Dave Turnbull (Secretary) 

Iain McMorrin 

Competitions Commission 

Graham Desroy / Graeme Alderson 

Medical Commission 

Jim Milledge, Dave Hillebrandt 

Expedition Commission 


Mountaineering Commission 

Roger Payne (Secretary) 

Mountain Protection 

Dave Morris 

Safety Commission 

Neville McMillan 

Training Standards WG 

John Cousins (Secretary) 

Youth Commission 

Anne Arran 

Legal Experts Working Group 

Martin Wragg 

Anthony Rich 

Paul Debney 

21

Providing quality services, support and advice to BMC Members 

B M C M e m b e r s h i p 1 9 9 0 t o 2 0 0 1 

6 0 0 0 0 

5 0 0 0 0 

4 0 0 0 0 

office reportsMembership Services 

3 0 0 0 0 

2 0 0 0 0 

1 0 0 0 0 

0 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 

Individual 6 8 2 9 7 1 8 9 7 6 7 4 9 6 8 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 0 2 4 5 1 0 2 1 3 1 4 7 9 3 1 9 7 3 2 2 2 8 4 9 2 4 9 9 7 2 8 3 8 1 

C l u b m e m b e r s 1 9 1 0 0 1 9 1 0 0 1 9 2 9 6 2 1 0 3 1 2 1 5 6 4 2 2 1 7 2 2 2 5 3 2 2 3 5 5 0 2 5 6 3 7 2 7 4 6 7 2 7 0 2 6 2 7 0 2 0 

C o m b i n e d 2 5 9 2 9 2 6 2 8 9 2 6 9 7 0 3 0 7 1 3 3 1 7 0 7 3 2 4 1 7 3 2 7 4 5 3 8 3 4 3 4 5 3 6 9 5 0 3 1 6 5 2 0 2 3 5 5 4 0 1 

2001 was another growth year for membership 

which was 55,573 at year-end. 

This figure is made up of 28,501 individual 

members and 27,072 club members. 

There was also once again a sustained 

healthy growth in insurance sales. 

Teamwork & Training 

A one-day teamwork day was held in 

January at the BMC offices for all staff. 

This addressed several topics including 

BMC’s operating systems and how to 

improve many aspects of what we currently 

do for members and for other organisations. 

Staff 

This year we welcomed Clare Bond in 

January as Access and Conservation Officer, 

she replaced Susanna Perkins. During 

the year Abi Clayton and Tony Ryan 

joined the organisation as project coordinators. 

Hannah Skeldon joined the 

membership services team as membership 

administrator and Sarah Stelfox joined as 

Accounts Assistant. During December 

Niall Grimes joined as Guidebook coordinator. 

At the end of December Roger 

Payne, General Secretary left the BMC 

after 12 years of dedication to the organisation 

and we wish him luck in his new 

appointment with the UIAA. 

BMC Service Charter 

The BMC is a busy organisation with a large workload and a focused 

team of 23 staff. This team provides membership services and 

specialist work and co-ordination with volunteers on the various 

development programmes. The BMC staff team is committed to working 

to the highest standards and efficiency and welcomes comments on 

the service provided. The BMC staff team undertakes to: 

·Respond to all orders for services on the day received and dispatch 

within two working days. 

·Answer the telephone within three (and no more than five) rings and where the 

relevant member of staff is not available offer assistance or voice mail. 

·Respond to all other correspondence - using plain English - as promptly as possible 

(if a lengthy or complex reply is required this will be acknowledged within five 

working days if it is not possible to respond in full within ten days). 

·Support the BMC’s policy of encouraging a positive approach to equal opportunities 

and ensure that all visitors to the BMC office are greeted promptly and dealt with 

politely and efficiently. 

·Treat all database information in strict accordance with the Data Protection Act. 

·Meet payments and issue invoices promptly in accordance with agreed payment 

terms with a target to pay within 30 days. 

Membership Services Team 

Jim Krawiecki Sue McClure 

Arun Patel 

Ray Perry 

Clonagh Delderfield Hannah Skeldon 

Officer Team 

General Secretary Roger Payne 

Senior Officer Andy MacNae 

Access & Conservation Clare Bond 

Dave Turnbull 

Youth & Training Anne Arran 

Walls & Competitons Graeme Alderson 

Communication Alex Messenger 

Co-ordinator Team 

Projects & Events 

Information 

Finance 

Finance Assistant 

Marketing 

IT 

Membership Services 

Lucy Mellor-Brook 

Vanessa Hall 

Stuart Ingram 

Alan Heron 

Sarah Stelfox 

Andy Gowland 

Abi Clayton 

Tony Ryan 

Simon Hurley 

Lynda Buckley 


Member Clubs 2001 Associate Members 2001 

ABMSA 207 

Achille Ratti CC 674 

Adventure Club 3 7 

Afan MC 2 2 

AGC MC 2 3 

Aldermaston MC 3 3 

Allen & Overy CC 1 8 

Alpine Club 1086 

Altitude 22 

Alton MC 2 7 

AMI 593 

Anabasis MC 3 8 

Arete MC 2 6 

Army MA 1577 

Army Youth Team 1 5 

Aston UMC 3 1 

Avon MC 1 7 

Aylesbury CC 9 6 

Bangor UMS 132 

Barnsley MC 6 0 

Barrow M&SC 5 9 

Basingstoke CC 3 6 

Bath UMC 128 

Battle CC 2 0 

Bedford MC 5 0 

Bedroc 33 

Ben Lairig 5 4 

Bewdley & Dist MC 1 7 

BHMC 62 

Birmingham UF 3 0 

Bolton Inst. C&W 1 1 

Bournemouth UCC 4 6 

Bowline CC 8 3 

Bridlington W&CC 2 3 

Brighton UMC 3 1 

Bristol WCCC 8 

BA F&MSection 5 0 

Bromsgrove & Redditch 

Mt Club 4 1 

Burnley MCC 1 7 

Buxton MC 5 6 

Calderdale MC 4 0 

Cambridge C&C 4 6 

Cambridge UMC 139 

C&CC Mt Section 1 5 

Canterbury Christ 

Church Uni.Coll.MC 2 0 

Caper Montis MC 1 2 

Carlisle MC 146 

Castle MC 7 2 

Caterpillar WC 107 

Cedars MC 3 5 

Cerberus Spel.Soc. 1 6 

Ceunant MC 104 

Chamois MC 200 

Chelmsford MC 2 4 

Chester MC 251 

Christian R&M Club 7 3 

Churchill CM 3 1 

Citadel CC 2 0 

Clare Rats 1 9 

Cleveland MC 188 

Cliffhangers CC 2 4 

Climbers Club 1185 

Cave & Crag Club 4 2 

Clingons CC 3 5 

Clitheroe MC 5 0 

Clwb MC 210 

Clwyd MC 7 8 

Coleshill MC 1 6 

Clwyd MC 7 8 

Coleshill MC 1 6 

Congleton MC 2 0 

Coventry MC 6 8 

Coventry U M S 135 

Cragrats MC 3 1 

Craven MC 6 0 

Crewe & Alsager 3 5 

Cromlech Club 7 1 

Cromwell MC 1 9 

Croydon MC 4 1 

Dacorum AC 3 7 

De Montfort: 

Leics MC 2 5 

MK CC 7 

Lincoln CC 2 0 

Bedford MC 2 0 

Derby MC 2 0 

Derbyshire PC 5 0 

Derwent MC 5 6 

Dockyard Venturers 2 4 

Doncaster MC 1 8 

Dorset CC 3 3 

Durham UMC 1 7 

Eagle Ski Club 132 

East Grinstead CC 5 2 

EPOC 25 

E.Sussex FB WMCC 1 7 

E.Yorks Mt and CC 2 5 

Edale MRT 5 4 

Eden Valley MC 4 3 

ESC MC 1 6 

Exeter U CC 6 9 

Expedition & Travel 60 

EG North Somerset 5 0 

Fell & Rock CC 1121 

Figure of Nine Club 3 6 

Forest of Dean H 2 4 

Foster Wheeler FC 2 0 

Frayednotts MC 4 3 

Free Barbarian CC 4 0 

Fylde MC 180 

G S Exiles MC 3 2 

Gentian Club 103 

Gloucestershire MC 8 5 

Goats MC 4 0 

Green Lane MC 2 0 

Gritstone Club 103 

Guernsey MC 1 7 

Guildford MC 5 6 

Gwent MC 117 

Gwydyr MC 8 0 

Hampshire M Assoc.3 0 


Hassra Leeds RMS 3 6 

Hastings R&F Club 3 4 

Hereford CC 1 8 

Hereford MC 2 0 

Hertfordshire MC 6 5 

High Flyers 1 0 

HPCG 31 

Highdown H&M C 3 7 

Hild & Bede MC 1 5 

Hillingdon MC 2 4 

Hinckley MC 4 7 

Hornsea WC 3 4 

Chester & EllPMC 2 0 

Hull UMC 2 0 

Ibex 100 

Imperial College MC 2 3 

Imperial Coll. UOC 2 7 

Imperial Medics MC 3 5 

Innominata MC 4 6 

Ipswich MC 7 8 

Jelly & Custard CC 8 

Jersey Rock CC 2 0 

John Clare MC 1 3 

Junior MC of Scot. 4 6 

Karabiner MC 131 

Keele UMC 2 3 

Keighley Police MC 2 6 

Kernow CC 3 9 

Keswick MC 2 5 



King Alfreds SUCC 2 0 

Kings College LMC 3 8 

Kings Rock & Plod C22 

Kingston U Mt Club 5 3 

Knottingley MC 2 0 

Kodak CC 2 0 

Kodak OP 1 1 

Lancashire C&CC 211 

Lancashire MC 155 

Lancaster UMC 2 8 

Lanchester MC 3 6 

Landlopers MC 3 1 

Lands End CC 3 6 

Leeds MC 5 8 

Leeds U Union HS 221 

Leicester UMC 7 3 

Leicestershire MLA 3 0 

Lichfield MC 3 1 

Lincoln MC 3 1 

Lincolnshire PC MC 2 4 

Lindsey CC 2 4 

Liverpool U OAS 100 

Llandrillo CCC 7 

Llanrwst Pent.YCC 2 0 

London MC 300 

London Rockhoppers84 

London Youth School 

Mtn’eering AsS’n 2 0 

Loughborough SUHC30 

Loughborough SMC 8 0 

Loughton MC 2 6 

MACS 20 

Maidstone MC 5 0 

Malvern MC 2 3 

Manchester Met. M 3 2 

Manchester PC 8 9 

Manchester U MC 106 

Marylebone MC 9 0 

Meadhurst MC 2 5 

MEDEX 170 

Mercian M Cub 5 9 

Merseyside MC 202 

Met Office Mt Club 1 1 

Midland As of M 547 

Milton Keynes MC 3 7 

Moor & Mount. WC 2 8 

Mott MacDonald HH 2 0 

MAC - Harwell 2 2 

MAD 20 

MC of Bury 5 1 

MC of North Wales 121 

Mountbatten & TV 2 4 

Munro-pineapple 69 

Mynydd CC 7 3 

Newbury MC 4 1 

Newcastle UFS. 104 

Newcastle U MC 6 1 

Newton Rigg MAC 2 5 

Nimrod MC 2 6 

Norfolk HC 2 1 

N British OT 2 0 

North Kingston HC 2 9 

N.Leicestershire MC 2 7 

North London MC 176 

N. YorksFell Club 4 9 

N Yorks Police MSC 2 0 

NORPOP 14 

Northumbrian MC 186 

Norwich C & CC 2 9 

Not The MLC MC 1 5 

Nottingham UEC 152 

Nuneaton MC 3 2 

Off Limits MC 2 2 

Ogwr Moutain Club 1 5 

Oldham MC 2 0 

Open U M S. 139 

Oread MC - Derbys 4 7 

Ounsdale MC 2 6 

Over The Hill Club 122 

Oxford Brookes UCC5 5 

Oxford MC 7 6 

Oxford UMC 2 9 

Oxted CC 1 5 

Parnassus MC 2 1 

Patterdale MRA 3 1 

Peak CC 3 1 

Pembrokeshire CC 2 5 

Peterborough HWC 2 1 

Peterborough MC 131 

Peterhouse C&MC 2 9 

Philips Components 1 8 

Phoenix MC 4 4 

Pickled Ferret OPC 1 1 

Pinnacle Club 176 

Pint & Peak MC 2 0 

Polaris MC 6 6 

Powsers MC 2 8 

Preston MC 9 8 

Q Mary W.field CMC4 4 

Leeming Rock CC 2 0 

Raf ST Mawgan MC 2 0 

Reading MC 6 7 

Reading UGMC 1 8 

Reading UMC 6 6 

Reaseheath WC 2 0 

Red Rope 370 

Rock & Heather C 3 6 

Royal Air Force 272 

RN & Marines MC 350 

Royal Vet.College 3 4 

Rucksack Club 414 

Rugby MC 6 2 

Saltley H Group 2 1 

Sandstone CC 2 9 

Scunthorpe MC 1 6 

Sheffield Hallam 2 8 

Sheffield Nordic Ski 21 

Sheffield UMC 8 1 

Shrewsbury MC 8 1 

Siemens Sports 3 3 

Skyline MC 1 6 

Slough M Group 5 2 

Solihull (Police) MC 2 0 

Solihull MC 3 7 

South Cheshire CC 3 3 

South Devon MC 3 8 

South Essex CC 2 0 

South Wales MC 7 0 

Southampton Rats 4 7 

Southampton UMC 9 9 

Southern T & MC 100 

Sphinx MC 2 2 

St Barta & Royal 4 9 

St Helens MC 7 5 

St Johns College CC14 

Staffordshire Police 33 

Staffordshire U M.C 1 6 

Stoke Damerel CC 7 5 

Summit MC 1 5 

Sunderland MC 5 1 

Super Drooper M&C 3 2 

Surbiton & Kingston48 

Surrey Scout & GMC5 3 

Swansea Rock & HC 1 1 

Swindon MC 5 2 

Thames Valley CC 3 6 

The Heights CC 3 5 

The LMC MC 3 3 

The MC 3 6 

Nottingham Trent 4 8 

Nottingham Trent 4 0 

The Outcasts 2 9 

The Potteries MG 1 8 

The Walking Club 4 3 

Trentham OPC 2 0 

Tricouni Club 1 6 

Tuesday CC 6 9 

Tunbridge Wells MC 122 

Tyne Valley Climbers18 

UEA R&MC 106 

UMIST CC 1 8 

UMIST Hiking & MC 7 1 

Unemployed CC 1 9 

U Wales Col. MC 2 0 

UC London Mt Club 4 5 

U MWC, Bangor 187 

U of Birmingham MC216 

U of Bristol EC 2 0 

U of Bristol MC 3 1 

U of CL 7 0 

U of Derby M&CC 3 1 

U of East Anglia 7 5 

U of Essex MC 2 0 

U of Greenwich CC 2 0 

U of Kent at CMC 6 2 

U of London GMC 318 

U of London MC 3 0 

U of Northumbria 1 5 

U of Nottingham MC45 

U of Plymouth MC 7 5 

U of Portsmouth MC30 

U of Ripon & York 1 7 

U of Sunderland MC4 4 

U of Surrey Mt Club3 9 

U of Sussex MC 7 3 

U of Teesside RCC 3 2 

U of Wales – AES 2 5 

U of Wales, Swansea44 

U of Warwick 130 

U of West England 6 0 

U of Wolverhampton2 0 

U of Sheffield HP 2 5 

Vagabond MC 7 8 

Vale Royal MC 8 

Vectis MC 9 

Vibram MC 4 2 

WAG 48 

Walsall R&I MC 2 4 

Wanderers OAC 8 7 

Wanneys CC 4 1 

Warwick CC 5 0 

Warwick UMC 141 

Wayfarers 196 

Wayfarers WC 4 0 

Wellingborough MC 7 9 

Wellington CC 2 0 

Wessex MC 243 

West Anglia OG 2 0 

West Cumbria Coll. 2 0 

West Cumbria MC 3 0 

West Lancashire C. 2 0 

Wok and Rice Club 2 0 

Wolverhampton MC 4 8 

Wolverh’pton RR 1 3 

Worcester MC 2 7 

Wrekin MC 109 

Writtle College MC 3 7 

Yeovil MC 3 2 

Yeti Club 2 2 

York Alpine Club 5 0 

York MC 2 0 

York UMC 6 0 

Yorkshire MC 197 

Yorkshire RC 182 

Yorkshire W&C Club3 0 

Multi-Activity 

3D Ed & Adventure Ltd 

Ackers Activity Centre 

Avon OA Club 

Bicton College 

Blyth Jex Outdoor 

Pursuits Club 

Bradford Pothole Club 

Canolfan Felin Livlifo 

Carlton Lodge OC 

Caswell Outdoor 

Pursuit Group 

Eldon Leisure Centre 

Exped. & Travel Society 

Gearstones Lodge 

Outdoor Centre 

Humberside Scout Assoc 

K Fellfarers 

Meet The Challenge 

Merseyside Youth 

Challenge Trust 

Mountain Ventures Ltd 

Old Bromsgrovian EC 

Portsmouth YAC 

Rotherham A to A&T 

S.Wales Police AC 

Swaledale Outdoor Club 

Tangent Expeditions 

The Old Vicarage Centre 

TSB Outdoor Sports C. 

Walton Firs Scout Camp 

Water Park 

Local Authority 

Cambridgeshire CC 

Clegwell Comm. Ass. 

Derbyshire Dales DC 

Devon County Council 

Pencoed College 

Plas Pencelli OEC 

Surrey Ed. Services 

W. Sussex CC 

National Body 

BAMG 

Fire Service Sport & 

Athletics Ass 

Lake District NPA 

Ramblers Association 

Scout Association 

Welsh Scout Council 

Mountain Rescue 

Cockermouth MRT 

Kinder MRT 

Lake District MRA 

Millom Fell Rescue Team 

Ogwen Valley MRT 

RAF MRS 

Trade 

Allcord 

Alpine Climbing & Ski 

Bendcrete Walls 

Breaking Free Ltd 

Charles Lawrence 

Surfaces plc 

Climber Magazine 

Cotswold Outdoor Ltd 

Crickhowell Adv. Gear 

DB Outdoor Systems Ltd 

DMM International 

DR Climbing Walls 

Field and Trek Plc 

First Ascent 

Inglesport 

Joe Brown 

Lyon Equipment Ltd 

Mountain Technology 

North Cape (Scotland) Ltd 

Outdoor Shop 

Peglers 

Rockworks 

Silva (UK) Ltd 

The Leeds Wall 

Trailwise 

Troll 

Wild 

Country 

Climbing Walls 

Activate Outdoors Ltd 

Aireborough LC 

Arethusa Climbing Wall 

ABC 

Barden Community Ass. 

Bourne End Junior SC 

Brunel Uni SC 

Entre-Prises (UK) Ltd 

High Performance Sports 

High Sport 

Huddersfield Wall 

Leisuretime 

Llangorse Rope Centre 

Medina Leisure Centre 

Mile End Climbing Wall 

Oldham Sports Centre 

Oldham Wall 

Roefield Leisure Centre 

Rope Race 

Silvertrek Climbing Ltd 

The Ackers Trust 

The Bristol Wall 

Lakeland Climbing Centre 

The Rock Face 

The Sands Centre 

Undercover Rock Ltd 

Urdd Gobiath Cymru 

West View Leisure Centre 

Westway Sports Centre 

Training/Expedition 

Adventure Dolphin 

Adventure Unlimited 

APN Development 

Arcturus Expeditions Ltd 

B’ham Boys & Girls Union 

Bowles Outdoor Centre 

Bryntysilo OC 

Calshot Activities Cen. 

Calvert Trust 

Civilian Technical 

Training School 

Consett YMCA Ltd 

Conway Centre 

Derbyshire CC Y.Service 

Dewsbury AC&C W’mere 

Fairbridge 

Gay Outdoor Club 

Hagg Farm EEC 

Hindleap Warren OEC 

JSTTC (Wales) 

LCS of Adven. Training 

Lindley Ed.Trust 

Longtown Centre 

Low Mill Res.Y’ng P’ples 

Maes Y Lade OEC 

Malvern Hills OC 

Manor Adventure 

Nant Bwlch yr Haearn 

Nantmor MC A 

Newlands AC 

Northants Asso Yth 

Clubs & Action C 

Peak Training 

Perception 

PGL Travel Ltd 

Plas Gwynant OEC 

Rhosygwaliau OEC 

Parsons Cross Cntr 

Storey Arms OEC 

The Dartmoor C 

The Expedition Comp.Ltd 

The Horstead Centre 

West Pelton AC 

Whickham Thorns OAC 

Wirral Outdoor Pursuits 

YMCA National Centre 

Youth/Schools/ 

Groups 

Air Training Corps 

Boys Brigade MC 

Broxbourne School 

Community Links 

Durham School 

Combined Cadet Force 

Giggleswick School MC 

Haberdashers Askes S. 

Herts YMB 

Highgate School DoE 

Kent Mountain Centre 

Kings School 

Malvern College 

Marlborough College MC 

Oundle School MC 

Portsmouth Grammar 

Prescot School 

Rossett School 

St Albans School 

St Bees School 

St Davids College 

St Pauls School MC 

St Peter’s School 

The C. St Mark & St John 

YHA Edale 

Other 

Avalon Adventure 

Barclays Bank R and CC 

B’ham Teachers MA 

British Alpine Centre 

Grimsby FWCC 

Hillside Secure centre 

ICAS Ltd 

Manchester UHC 

St John Ambulance 

The Mountain Boot Co. 

23

Annual Report - The British Mountaineering Council

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?