Was it the best Kendal Mountain Festival yet? The BMC stand looked great, the films were excellent, and BMC TV Breakfast Club gave away more prizes than ever before. We’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone that came and visited us. What was your best moment of #Kendal2017?
Talks, presentations, film showings and photos – the BMC stand had enough going on to draw a steady stream of interest from festival goers. The theme for this year was tricky to guess, but many of you needed no help! The photos showcased all of the BMC owned crags, including the recent Yorkshire grit gem acquisition, Crookrise.
The BMC owns eight crags, and manages another five, all for the benefit of climbers and walkers, and we wanted to exhibit them to the public. Alongside the photos was a short crag clip video to help you guys fully appreciate them. Watch the video below!
We also had talks from BMC access and conservation officer Rob Dyer, chatting to folks about the Horseshoe Heroes rebolting campaign, conversations with Mountain Heritage Trust and screenings of new films from BMC ambassadors Mary-Ann Ochota and Steve McClure.
WATCH: Preserving our crags for the future on BMC TV
VIDEO
Better than ever: BMC TV Breakfast Club
Sunday morning saw people lining up for pastries and parties, coffee and cocktails, as BMC TV Breakfast Club helped tired festival goers recover from last night’s party and ease into Sunday with a spoonful of the best medicine, laughter, courtesy of BMC funny man Niall Grimes. Aside from the excellent banter, highlights for us included hearing from Steve McClure about his new 9b film, getting the inside info on Pete Whittaker’s epic Yosemite rope solo challenge, the delightful Inaccessible Pinnacle film with Mary-Ann, and the incredible face-off between Steve, Pete and two members of the crowd to see who could finish their brunch meal first, slightly derailed by inedible bacon sandwiches – unexplainably hilarious!
If you missed it, don’t worry – you haven’t totally missed out. All the new BMC TV films will soon be free to watch on our website and YouTube channel. Keep an eye on our social streams and we’ll soon tell you when they’re released!
The launch party double bill
We also saw the public launch of not one, but two important BMC projects: Mend Our Mountains 2 and the results of the Independent Organisational Review.
Introducing the next big goal to help preserve our uplands, BMC hill walking officer Carey Davies stunned the crowd by announcing the plan is to Make One Million. Find out more about this heroic target and how to get involved here .
And finally, the culmination of the BMC's Independent Organisational Review was released to the public with a grand opening from chair of the review group, Ray Wigglesworth QC. The launch marks the start of a consultation period which will last until 22 December, and a survey form to gather feedback will soon be made available.
All the recommendations of the review group have now been released, but it is your feedback that will help make them reality. We’re asking all BMC members to download the report and then send us your feedback. The online consultation period will run from 18 November – 22 December, then the final recommendations will go to a vote at the BMC AGM in April 2018.
We want to say a big thanks to every BMC member who continues to support us through the Coronavirus crisis.
From weekly Facebook Lives and GB Climbing home training videos, to our access team working to re-open the crags and fight for your mountain access, we couldn’t do it without you.
Did you know that we've just launched a new U27 membership offer for just £1.50 / month? And with full membership from £2.50 / month, it's never been easier to join and support our work:
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/join-the-bmc-for-1-month-U27-membership
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