BMC safety publications

[insane_climber]

i hav e just recived my order for the winter esentials dvd (before u tell me its nearly summer),
it covers all of the skills needed for winter walkin, recomended for anyone who climbs, walks or scrambles in winter

[MariaD]

The BMC also usually do a useful series of "Winter Skills" lectures each year. They take place in late autumn (in time for the winter climbing season) and happen around the country, so it should be quite easy to find one near to where you live.

[insane_climber]

i live in aylesbury, its the furthest poin from anything, we just seem to get a large gathering of chavs and emo kids

[MariaD]

This is the schedule for this year's series of BMC winter mountaineering lectures:

Monday 6 November: Liverpool University
Tuesday 7 November: Oxford University
Wednesday 8 November: University College London
Thursday 9 November: Staffordshire University
Monday 13 November: Kendal Brewery Arts Centre
Tuesday 14 November: University of Sheffield

You could possibly make it to the London or Oxford one, maybe? From what I've heard they're really useful, so I'm planning to pop over to the one in Kendal or Sheffield. At the princely sum of £7 for non-members I think it's a bargain! There's more info on the BMC site:

http://www.thebmc.co.uk/event_det.asp?event_id=1075

[Marmot]

would be well up for going - if im in country that is! so hope im not!

[MariaD]

I'm disappointed there isn't one in Leeds - there was one held at Leeds Uni last year but I managed to miss it. Sheffield's only a short drive/train journey away though.

I reckon that even if you've been heading to the hills in winter for years there's still stuff to learn.

[Marmot]

Absolutely, they are so very well regarded by people who go to them

[MariaD]

Anyone else heading out to any of these? I've got my tickets for the Sheffield one on November 14th. Looks like I'll to leave work early to get there... what a pity!

[Ollie]

Might try and get to the oxford or london one myself - might try and stay with a friend at a uni in london too and 'kill two birds with one stone'!

Ollie

[MariaD]

Surely killing birds doesn't fit very well with the eco-friendly ethos of Goxplore? Disgraceful behaviour!

[MariaD]

Just thought I'd give a quick review of the BMC Winter Skills lecture I went to on Tuesday night!

Overall, it was good quality & very well delivered. Having said that, Mike 'Twid' Turner who did the part about navigation was late for the lecture because he got lost!

Some of the advice was fairly basic, but that was to be expected as the audience had a wide spread of ability & experience from beginners upwards. What I found most useful was the avalanche advice. Although I've read about how to spot avalanche slopes & test the snow for signs before, I came away from the lecture with a much greater understanding of the subject. I think this is partly due to the fact that things like that are hard to describe on paper and far easier to demonstrate with words, gestures & photos. Also, the slide show was fantastic - plenty of inspiration to make anyone want to head for the winter hills!

My one complaint of the evening was the Lowe Alpine prize draw at the end... the rucksack winner wasn't called Maria, so it was clearly fixed!

[MariaD]

Not sure if anyone's interested, but the BMC are also doing a series of Alpine Essentials (http://www.thebmc.co.uk/event_det.asp?event_id=1102) talks this March. If anyone's planning on doing anything in the Alps in the near future I'd recommend checking them out, as BMC events are generally very good value.

I'll probably be going to one of the northern ones (Huddersfield or Sheffield). Any excuse to chat about mountains...

[Ollie]

Thanks for the heads up Maria! Will try and add them to the calendar when I get a minute!