Dave Turnbull: 'climbers don't like to be governed'

The head of the representative body for hillwalkers and climbers told a festival gathering that, although it is in good financial shape, the growing trend to owning land will put a strain on its resources in the future.

Dave Turnbull, chief executive of the British Mountaineering Council also warned that members face rising travel insurance costs next year as premiums across the industry edge upwards.

Speaking at the Kendal Mountain Festival, the boss of the council said his organisation was increasingly becoming a land manager as it took over ownership of crags. Although many of these have been donated, managing them will mean expenditure for the BMC. It also had to pay out £35,000 for Wilton quarry.

In his ‘state of the organisation’ speech to an eclectic mix of mountaineers, trade representatives, journalists and major outdoor figures, including Everest summiteer Kenton Cool, Mr Turnbull said the BMC viewed itself as the representative body for climbers, mountaineers and hillwalkers south of the border. Sport England viewed the council as the governing body but the chief executive said: “Climbers do not like to think of as being governed in my experience.”

He also paid tribute to the hundreds of volunteers who help the 27 Manchester-based staff provide the service for members. “Without them the BMC wouldn’t be anything like as strong as it is,” he added.

The BMC, which was founded in 1944, had weathered the recession well, with membership rising consistently over the last 2½ years; over the last year it has gone up by 6½ per cent.

Travel insurance, which accounts for 25 per cent of the organisation’s income, would become more expensive, Mr Turnbull said. “We are changing travel insurance underwriters as of January which will lead to some quite substantial changes. Rates across the whole travel insurance sector are going to go up by a minimum of ten per cent next year; our rates are going to do the same,” he told the gathering.

BMC vice-president Rehan Siddiqui, left, talks to Kenton Cool at the Kendal Mountain Festival

A new membership database and a redesigned Summit magazine were also in the pipeline for 2011, along with a Climbing Wall Essentials DVD.

The chief executive also announced there would be recognition of exceptional volunteering efforts. “We’re launching a new award for voluntary effort within the BMC which will be called the George Band award for exceptional voluntary effort and contribution.

“That will be awarded every year to someone who has put in particular effort and will be given out at the annual dinner. It’s long awaited. Historically, we haven’t been that good at rewarding voluntary effort so we’re going to start to redress that.”

The BMC now has 70,000 members and carries out a range of activities. “We’ve done quite a few new events over the last year,” Mr Turnbull told the invited guests. “We had the upland environment conference at Losehill Hall, very well attended. We’ve got very good credibility with the countryside sector, be it Defra, Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England, the National Trust and others. That has certainly helped us and again we ran a very successful injury prevention symposium in Sheffield.

“There’s lots of access and environmental work that’s gone on and lobbying to get the right provisions into the Marine and Coastal Access Act, most recently. Cath Flitcroft, our officer, is very well connected in Parliament and with Natural England and with the authorities now and has really enhanced the BMC’s reputation with these organisations in London.”

• Rock Athlete, Ed Douglas’s biography of climber Ron Fawcett, won the Boardman Tasker prize, announced at the Kendal Mountain Festival. Chair of the judges Ian Smith described the book as ‘An engaging portrait of an unassuming yet quite remarkable climber told with humility and frankness’.

Douglas said: “It was a genuine shock to win, but also immensely gratifying. It caps what has been an unequivocally fun project to work on; one which I hope has done Ron justice.” Fawcett declared himself ‘gobsmacked’.

• Grand prize in the Kendal Mountain Film Festival went to Alastair Lee’s The Prophet, the account of local lad Leo Houlding’s ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite. Houlding, fast becoming a mountain celeb, celebrated the win by slicing off the neck of a champagne bottle with a sword – a technique known as sabrage – before sharing its contents with Lee.