The British Mountaineering Council is the representative body for hillwalkers, climbers and mountaineers in England and Wales. It lobbies and advises government on a range of important issues such as access, risk and responsibility and changes in legislation.
All candidates registering for training schemes co-ordinated by MLTE or MLTW are required to be members of the BMC. Why is that?

Mountain Leader Training and the British Mountaineering Council work closely together in a number of areas concerned with mountaineering good practice for individuals, leaders and groups. The BMC was established in 1944 and the BMC set up Mountain Leader Training in 1964 as an awarding body to train mountaineering party leaders. On a broad level MLT administers formal training schemes and the BMC dispenses advice and expertise in more informal areas of activity such as student clubs, mountaineering clubs and youth participation.
In many other sports, the Representative Body and the Awarding Body (for training and coaching) are one and the same, whereas the BMC and MLT, although closely linked, are separate entities. It should be noted that the BMC only receive a fee at the point of registration, relying on the strength of their work and commitment to all walkers, climbers and mountaineers to persuade candidates to renew their BMC membership in subsequent years.

Access and Conservation
Maintaining access to the wild places of Britain are vital to hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers in order to pursue their interests in a sustainable manner. The BMC employs several full time access and conservation staff and has an extensive network of volunteers who work closely with land managers in negotiating, securing and maintaining access to our mountains, moorland and crags.

Safety and Technical
High standards of safety are paramount in all aspects of work in the outdoors. The BMC examines gear failures and takes an important role within the UIAA in setting standards for climbing and mountaineering equipment. The BMC also dispenses advice and guidance, and produces a wide range of safety and technical material including posters, videos, training, reports, leaflets booklets, lectures and seminars.

Information
Whatever you want to know about hill walking, climbing or mountaineering the BMC can help. They maintain an extensive library as well as databases on access restrictions, climbing walls, huts, clubs and much more (www.thebmc.co.uk). The BMC Information Service is the most wide-ranging resource for outdoor users in the UK and much of it is free to members. The BMC takes an overview of developments in climbing, as it is vital that new people coming into the sport are made aware of ethics and best practice. The same is true for new hill walkers and mountaineers who may be unaware of the sensitive ecosystems in much of upland Britain, for example.

Working Together
The BMC has a democratic structure and works on behalf of all hill-walkers, climbers and mountaineers. There are regular area meetings that every member can attend – details can be found on the ‘getting involved’ section of the BMC website and in Summit magazine which is free to members.

Insurance
Registration on a training course does not include any insurance cover. Individual BMC members are covered by both Civil Liability and Personal Accident Disability Insurance for hill walking, climbing and mountaineering. This insurance covers candidates during training and even whilst gaining relevant experience during the consolidation / log book period (although this does not include candidates trading under a company name).
As well as knowing what the BMC does for you, it’s just as important to know what you can do for the BMC and all those other people who share our hills and crags. The BMC relies almost entirely on volunteers to suggest, guide and implement its important work - who better to be involved in our representative body than those who both work and play in the mountains? Sitting in meetings is not everyone’s cup of tea, but there are so many other ways in which you can help.
Your one-off requirement to join is vital to the continuation of our sport in its present form – most of us think that’s a small price to pay.

Contact details:
British Mountaineering Council
177-179 Burton Road
Manchester
M20 2BB
Telephone 0161 445 6111
Fax 0161 445 4500
e-mail office@thebmc.co.uk
Website www.thebmc.co.uk