Prime Minister Gordon Brown will meet some of the leading lights of mountaineering tomorrow when he hosts a reception to celebrate the movement.

Top climber Leo Houlding and British Mountaineering Council president Charles Clarke will be among guests at 10 Downing Street tomorrow evening. Ministers and peers will also join the Wednesday gathering, which will last an hour-and-a-half.

BMC volunteers, climbing luminaries, grassroots activists and outdoor media representatives have all been invited. And no, grough isn’t on the guest list!

A BMC spokesperson said the shindig will give the council the opportunity to push for greater appreciation of mountaineering in Government corridors. Recent campaigns by the BMC have included lobbying on the threat to climbing by the Working at Heights Directive and pushing for rights during the passage of the Marine Bill.

BMC representatives also hope to stress the importance of the boost to health and fitness gained from climbing, mountaineering and hillwalking; the prominence of British climbers on the world stage, and the fact that mountaineering receives comparatively little financial support from the Government.