BMC Membership update - How members receive their membership cards for 2020 and the process for members receiving Summit magazine are both different in this year due to the challenges the BMC is facing during the coronavirus crisis.
Members will be emailed with details about how to access their digital membership card later this month.
The next issue of the Summit magazine will be a digital-only edition, and BMC club members will be emailed directly during June with access details.

There is a light hearted gallery of photos of members using their buffs around the world, which has been updated. If you have any photos please send them to the Editor.

The Committee has produced some advice to club members attending club meets during the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Please read the note.

The latest info from the BMC on - Club Meets and using huts. Worth a read.

The third monthly donation to the Patterdale Community Fund was sent in June.

The final batch of Journals, the 1960s are now available. They show several far reaching changes to the Association. Membership was at a high with over 700 members annually. Many members were now from outside London and wanted more than the London centric activities that the Association provided. Weekend meets in huts were started and organised outside the usual venues. In the mid 60s the Journal was totally revamped.
The Journals from the 1950s include insights into the pound devaluation leading to the currency crisis in the mid fifties, curtailing trips to the Alps to the Jubilee Celebrations in 1959.
The Journals from the 1940s include insights into the drastic reduction in membership during the war with a great recovery afterwards and the setting up of the summer Alpine Meet from 1947.
The Journals from the 1930s include insights into the effect of the financial crash on the Association and the expansion of activities in the UK.
I hope that you enjoy dipping into them.

In Switzerland: At its press conference on April 29, the Swiss Federal Council decided to relax from May 11, various measures relating to the state of "extraordinary situation". SAC are delighted because it means that the practice of mountain sports will again be possible under certain conditions.
Here is what it means for the different sectors:
SAC Huts: From May 11, mountain huts can open and resume operations. However, they must have a protocol indicating how they intend to comply with the current directives of the Federal Council. All the provisions decreed by the authorities must continue to be respected (in particular the rules of hygiene and distance, protective measures for hosts and collaborators, etc.). To find out which cabins are open please consult the website of the cabin concerned.

We have a report on the first virtual meet in the clubs 111 year history. In addition, two keen members managed to get on to training courses in January and March before the Coronavirus changed everything that we do.

Mary has produced a great report, with photos of the New Members Virtual Meet that took place at the end of March.

The Annual Dinner was held at the Glenridding Hotel over the weekend 1-2 Febraury. This year the weather was not kind, with high winds on the tops and squally heavy showers and variable visibility lower down! Nonetheless between 40 and 50 members and guests toughed it out and enjoyed a great weekend. We were delighted to have David Johnson as our guest and in the cosiness of the Hotel Library heard about his Arctic expeditions. Meet report and photos of the dinner are now available

Membership renewals - Over the past few months, the club has been migrating its membership database to a proprietary system (MemberMojo), both to provide increased functionality, and to improve the resilience of that function into the future. See further details in the club section in the left column.

Past news

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George Starkey Hut

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Closure of George Starkey Hut - Following Government advice on dealing with the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, the Hut was closed from 18 March.
Please see the Hut website for news of reopening.

The hut is in Patterdale near Ullswater, at the heart of the Lake District’s Eastern Fells. It is ideally placed for the High Street range to the East, whilst from the front there is a splendid view of Helvellyn and its neighbouring fells: to reach them, all you have to do is put on your boots and walk from the hut.

There are rock climbing and mountain biking opportunities from the front door, canoeing and sailing on Ullswater and pony trekking locally.

Since mid 2016 we have had a new hut partner, the Alpine Club. The hut is run on behalf of both clubs by a limited company, George Starkey Hut Limited. The Chair is Tony Westcott (AC) and Marian Parsons is the Hut warden. The hut has a Members Room with eight beds and a further 20 beds that are bookable by clubs and groups. Members can now book directly through the Hut website. Before booking for the first time please register on the system.

Please note that the key box code for the GSH was changed in 2019, so if you are booked into the hut and don't have a key make sure you get the new code from the Hut Booking Secretary.

After the 2019 AGM of the George Starkey Hut the Directors agreed that from 1 January 2019 the rates will go up for members from £6 to £7 per night and for non-members/guests from £11 to £13.

For any questions about registering or booking please email the Hut Booking Secretaries on george.starkey.hut@gmail.com.

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Last Updated: 1 August 2020