BMC – Never Stop Working – For You

by Tina Gardner Tina Gardner, part time Press Officer at the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), gives us a brief fortnightly round-up of what´s going on and what´s coming up at the BMC. WHAT´S GOING ON Outdoor organizations call for coast for most.Joint press release issued today by the Ramblers? Association, the BMC and other outdoor organisations.The BMC is part of a coalition of Britain?s leading outdoor organisations calling for Natural England to recommend that ministers introduce a permanent, multi-user, right of access around England?s beautiful coastline.Dave Turnbull, Chief Executive of the BMC: “The British coastline is internationally renowned for rock climbing. There are more climbing routes on the cliffs of Land´s End than the whole of the Eastern and Western seaboards of the USA put together. What people want to know is where they can park, where they can go and how to get there.” More information HERE Also featured in today?s Guardian. Read it HERE New nesting restrictions – the agreed nesting restrictions for 2007 are now available to view on the BMC website.More information HERE Volunteers needed for scrub clearance at Swanage this Saturday (17 February)More information HERE BMC goes green: all membership literature is now being printed on paper from recycled paper stock. Check your harness! – the latest addition to the ongoing BMC safety awareness campaign is the ?check your harness!? sign for climbing walls.Most harnesses use buckles which must be threaded back, and if not secured properly the webbing can slip through the buckle with disastrous consequences.The new sign complements the ?check your knot!? sign, produced earlier this winter to remind climbers to tie in properly. Both distinctive signs are available free to all walls, and are designed to be placed (screws for plywood walls or a bolt for other wall types) at the height of the first bolt. Climbing walls can order signs now from Graeme Alderson. WHAT´S COMING UP We´re gearing up for the BMC / MCoS International Winter Meet 2007.We´re expecting over 40 participants representing 22 countries plus around 30 hosts so it´ll be a busy one but promises to be a good one.More information HERE Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust Alpine Mountaineering Courses 2007 -The Alpine Mountaineering courses take place June-August 2007 and are based in the Chamonix Valley.These courses bridge the gap between winter mountaineering and summer alpinism. The ratio is 1 instructor to 3 participants, three days in duration.The courses cover the use of crampons and ice axes, belaying and rope work, avalanche assessment, glacier travel/moving together, and other topics related to alpine climbing.Application forms and further information about the Alpine Mountaineering courses will be available in the next couple of weeks on the

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