The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers including ski-mountaineers.
The organisation was originally formed in order to represent the interests of climbing clubs and primarily to maintain access for climbers. Access and conservation remains the BMC’s most important area of work, affecting every climber, hill walker and mountaineer in the country. Much of the work is unseen – the result simply being the continued freedom to walk and climb in wild and unspoilt places.
In 1964, the BMC and the Central Council for Physical Recreation established the Mountain Leader Training Board to administer awards for leaders in walking, climbing and mountaineering. Since then, the structure has developed, and there is now a training board for each of the home nations, overseen by Mountain Training UK.
Martin Digby is a member of the British Mountaineering Council and a qualified leader in both hill/mountain walking and rock climbing through MTUK.
For more information visit the British Mountaineering Council at www.thebmc.co.uk
or Mountain Training UK at www.mountain-training.org