BMC Technical Committee Meeting

BMC Technical Committee Report for AMI By Dan Robinson

For the BMC’s Summit magazine the technical committee produce the Tech Skills section. this is about researching the technical aspects of equipment that aid us in what we do. The research informs the readers as to the strength, construction, choice when considering a purchase and more, Dan Middleton is the guru from the BMC that rights the main article, a suitable person is then contacted to right the Q & A’s. The committee are welcome to ideas of what to cover in future articles, have a look in the equipment advice area of the BMC’s website at the history of what has been covered and let me know if you have a moment of inspiration.

The Helmets Booklet is now complete and available as a free download from the BMC’s website, go to the equipment advice section of the site and hit “technical Booklets”. I am sure many of you use these booklets as part of the further reading on technical courses or qualifications so thanks to the BMC for yet another great resource.

The next booklet to come out is “Ropes - a climbers guide”, the text is being worked on at the moment. It will include essential info, using a rope, choosing a rope, history of ropes, rope construction and more. These booklets take time to produce, ill let you know when it is ready to download from the BMC’s website.

The Next UIAA Safety Commission meet is in June, held in Italy this year and will last for 5 days. A huge thanks goes out to Neville McMillan for representing the UK over the years, Rob Foster receives the baton and has now been accepted to replace Neville. This meet will look at and debate the technical aspects and practical uses of equipment and the standards that they are tested to. Textiles, metal parts& connectors, bolt corrosion, via ferrata connectors, crampons strength, etc will be cover over the week with a visit to the test lab. Information on failures from each participating country is looked with regards to changing the standards to increase safety for climbers and mountaineers.

POSTED: 18th May 2010
BY: Dan
CATEGORIES: Technical Committee