Walkers encounter a snowfield on Pen-y-ghent. The proposed forum would look at mountain safety south of the border

A new group charged with mountain safety in England and Wales could be in the offing after the British Mountaineering Council agreed to look into setting up a forum.

The decision was made by the national council during its meeting at the BMC’s April annual meeting.

The aim is for any proposed forum would be to liaise with Mountain Rescue England & Wales and other interested parties and decide on priorities. However, the national council decided it was important such a group should ‘ensure that mountain safety initiatives do not impinge upon the mountaineering ethos’.

The national council is headed by president Rab Carrington and includes representatives from the BMC’s regions and special committees. A meeting between the BMC and the mountain rescue teams’ representatives and other mountaineering bodies will consider the matter.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland already has a mountain safety adviser in Heather Morning and recently appointed Rosie Goolden as chair of the MCofS mountain safety advisory group and the Scottish Mountain Safety Forum.

The BMC national council also heard that the organisation was heading for a year-end surplus of £61,000.