Latest News & Events Diary

Representing a touch over 65,000 members and employing 25 full-time staff, the modern BMC gets through about £1.75m a year.

Some of this goes towards running the office. But most of it goes toward the activities that people join us for: keeping crags open, safety and equipment advice, lobbying important people to nip problems in the bud, liability insurance for members, running events, marketing, producing a website and Summit magazine to tell everyone about it.

So where does this million-and-threequarters actually come from? Well, the 2007 Annual Accounts show that last year 59% of the income needed to run the BMC came from membership subscriptions, 30% from trading activities (including travel insurance), and a slim 11% from Sports Council grants.

The figures are healthy. Membership is growing – an 8.4% increase in the last year – probably down to our new membership database starting to generate new marketing possibilities and the recent very successful Direct Debit offer.

Read the full blog entry at: SUMMIT - THE ISSUE

She said: "It's really quite a cool line actually but I know it's not an actual route"

There are several Raven Tor link-ups that get sport grades, and the lines and links start to make sense when you look at the natural features of the crag.

"I had been planning to go off tradding but due to weather and other commitments, found myself stuck in Sheff for a bit. The tor seemed like a good fall back as you can climb in the rain (!) and I hadn't done weedkiller trav before, so did that one afternoon and lacking more inspiration decided to link it into Chimes. I managed to get it done the day before I left Sheff to go away with my family down south." commented Lucy after her ascent.

Earlier in the year (before the disappearance of the famous tree) Lucy also managed an on sight ascent of Body Machine (F7c) at Raven Tor:

"I had been saving it for years and didn't think I had much chance on it, as I'm not as fit as I have been at the mo, but managed to pull it out the bag. What an awesome route! I couldn't believe how good it was and obviously I was really pleased to have onsighted it."

There's over £1,000 worth of Marmot gear up for grabs in this Marmot "On Sight" Film Clip Competition. It's about expressing yourself, sharing your adventures and hopefully entertaining people - whether serious, funny or whimsical!

All the details are: HERE including an:

Exclusive Preview of the Posing Productions film ON SIGHT

Crill and Gallagher free-climbed to the top of a prominent buttress on Hatun Ulloc (aka Ishinca Tower) in the Cordillera Blanca, after establishing the route a year earlier. But a ridge traverse and two-pitch headwall remained unfinished.

Read the full report by Dougald MacDonald on Climbing.com

Watch the video of the ascent from David Anderson:

First Ascent of Hatun Ulloc, Peru from David Anderson on Vimeo.

Cobra Crack

Writes the USA climber Ethan Pringle after completing the third ascent of Canada's Cobra Crack (www.ethanpringle.com):

Cobra Crack first climbed free by Sonnie Trotter two years ago is a perfect finger crack, 30 metres long and situated on the overhanging headwall of the Cirque of the Uncrackables, Squamish Chief. Trotter gave it solid 5.14, around French 8c, and this was confirmed by the Belgium climber Nicolas Favresse who made the second ascent in July this year. (UKC news report)

Trotter describes Cobra Crack as having,

".......huge dynamic throws between one- and two-finger locks; pain is ever-present, and the mental crux is overlooking the pain move after move. The redpoint crux comes over the lip on a slippery side pull; the feet are next to nothing, and it takes momentum and a huge throw to latch the final edge, at which point you're about 15 to 20 feet about your last piece of gear—it's really exciting.”

Ethan Pringle is having a fabulous year climbing. He recently repeated another Canadian testpiece, Sonnie Trotter's The Path 5.14 R (UKC news report) and is making good progress on Chris Sharma's Dream Catcher (5.14d/9a) also at Squamish, which he has been working in tandem with Cobra Crack.

From Dougald MacDonald's Blog:

Of all the things I saw at the Outdoor Retailer show while reporting for the trade show's daily paper, the most surprising was the news that a West Virginia–based team is planning to launch a new climbing magazine this fall. Dead Point Magazine is a glossy bimonthly that will take aim at young climbers, with its first issue slated for October 15. With the tiny climbing market already crowded by four national magazines—Alpinist, Climbing, Rock and Ice, and Urban Climber—and magazine sales generally down, observers must ask: Are these guys smoking crack?

Maybe, maybe not. Dead Point hopes to gain a foothold through free distribution at climbing gyms and retailers, along with a hefty online presence. “We are definitely going after the youth market,” founder Matt Stark told me as we watched the Mammut Bouldering Championships. Stark explained that his magazine would have an “edgy look” and would take more chances with feature stories than the existing magazines do. “We're not going shy away from risqué articles,” he said. “Our second issue is going to turn some heads.”

Read More on Dougald MacDonald's Blog.

UK climbers might want to ask the question: "What happened to Gravity magazine?" The free publication that launched in the UK in 2006 and unfortunately is no longer available. Perhaps the team over at Dead Point should take a look at what happened to Gravity?

The climbing media is a small cake and there are lots of people taking a slice. A lot of questions are being asked behind the scenes in the UK climbing media - Where are we heading? Who will survive? Jobs have been cut and budgets are very slim. Media in general is changing; this year music downloads overtook CD sales for the first time.

A question that many people pose to us at UKClimbing.com is "When are you guys launching a magazine?"

Do you think we should? Or do we have enough printed climbing media out there already?