Saturday night's BMC party at the Brewery Arts Centre was the culmination of a packed day of events at the Kendal Mountain Festival including the launch of BMC Associate Membership, the new Alpine Essentials DVD and British Mountain Map of Snowdonia.
Tickets to the BMC party were hot property, with DJs Craig Smith and Gavin Ellis turning the tunes for a lively dance floor of Kendal revellers.
Earlier in the day, the BMC held a lunchtime reception entitled 'What's New at the BMC'. This informal event was well-attended by those in the outdoor trade, media and the wider climbing community. BMC Chief Executive Dave Turnbull spoke about the recent work of the BMC and also about what's in store for 2007 - including continued campaigning for better coastal access and new initiatives such as the BMC Hill Walking Essentials lecture series which is due to tour in January and February.
Susan Harvey from HARVEY maps introduced the new map of Snowdonia which is the second in the British Mountain Maps series for hill walkers and mountaineers. The BMC's Marketing Manager Andy Gowland spoke of the numerous benefits for organisations to become BMC Associate Members and highlighted why organisations such as Edale YHA, Bristol Climbing Centre and Peglers have already signed up to the new membership package. The new BMC/MCoS Alpine Essentials DVD was also showcased, providing the backdrop for the event.
Other BMC involvement in the Festival included the Saturday morning lecture featuring tales from recent MEF/BMC supported expeditions to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and the "Tibetan Matterhorn". The presentations were introduced by Lindsay Griffin, Chair of the BMC International Committee, and Bill Ruthven from the Mount Everest Foundation.
Throughout the weekend the BMC stand was manned by BMC staff who also handed out free copies of the latest Summit magazine, clad in their 'Summit for nothing' T-shirts. If you're not a BMC member you can buy a copy of the latest Summit here.
As for the rest of the 10-day festival, it was another successful year, with a line up of top class films and presentations. The Grand Prize was awarded to a Nepalese production - On the Road to the Red God, directed and produced by Kesang Tseten Lama.
The Dave Birkett documentary 'Set in Stone' - directed and produced by Alastair Lee and David Halsted - won both the Climbing category prize and the People's Choice. You can see a full list of winners on the Kendal Mountain Festival website.
Also at the festival, the book An Afterclap of Fate: Mallory on Everest by Charles Lind was announced as the winner of the Boardman Tasker Award 2006, at a presentation which included refreshments provided courtesy of the BMC.
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