BMC Student Seminar

Venue and Date

The seminar will be held at Plas y Brenin in North Wales on Friday 2 and Sunday 4 October 2026.

Student clubs are invited to send any members who are involved in running the club, and are active walkers and/or climbers, and ideally working with less-experienced or novice club members.

This event gives university club members the opportunity to improve their club practices and ensure safer enjoyment of our cliffs and mountains. The weekend comprises a mixture of lectures, discussions and practical workshops.

Topics covered:

• Risk with responsibility
• Mountain navigation
• Single and multi pitch rock climbing
• Improvised rescue for climbers
• Winter and alpine mountaineering
• Climbing for all, disability awareness in rock climbing
• Maintenance and care of pooled equipment
• Creating a safe culture and resolving conflicts
• Incident management and first aid

What's on?

We'll be releasing the programme at the end of Spring

Travel and Accommodation

Included in the weekend are lunch and evening meals on the Saturday.  You will need to provide your own breakfasts on both days, evening meal on Friday and packed lunch on Sunday.

Meals are available to purchase at Plas y Brenin if you wish.

This year students will be provided with overnight accommodation in club huts in the local area.  Members from the same club will be allocated to the same hut.  Accommodation is mixed and you may be sharing with students from other clubs / universities.

For those who wish to stay on site, there is accommodation available to book at Plas y Brenin (at your own cost).  Head to the PyB website to find out more, and use your BMC membership number to get your discount!

Travel

Students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements.

For students arriving on public transport (such as to a local train station) and require assistance in getting from the transport stop to Plas y Brenin, please get in touch via studentseminar@thebmc.co.uk.

Cost

£85 for members of BMC-affiliated clubs

£115 for members of non-affiliated clubs

This includes overnight accommodation on the Friday and Saturday nights, lunch and evening meal on the Saturday, all instruction and group equipment.

Weekend enquires

Please email studentseminar@thebmc.co.uk or call Jane Thompson, Club Development Manager, on 07885 910 606

Volunteer Instructors wanted

If you have an appropriate mountaineering qualification (such as MCI, WMCI, RCI, Summer/Winter ML), have experience of working with student clubs and able to volunteer your time over the weekend please email studentseminar@thebmc.co.uk. The BMC will cover mileage, food and accommodation for the weekend