The BMC's Best Bits Of 2024

We're not just talking gold medals and high altitude feats, we're celebrating the trailblazing acts of bravery, hard-fought access victories, the strength of community and the environmental accomplishments of the climbing, hill walking and mountaineering world.

We can't believe it either: 2025 is just around the corner.

We're wrapping up what's been a truly remarkable year for BMC folks and the wider community. Read on for a recap of just SOME of the best bits from the last 366 days (remember that bonus day back in February)...

Diverse festivals that rocked

2024 saw the launch of two brand new climbing festivals created by affinity groups within the outdoor space.

The Wanderers Of Colour Climbing Festival headed to the Peak District back in July, cementing its spot in history as the UK's first climbing festival by and for Black and people of colour. The festival included a roster of professional climbers and community leaders, supporting participants of all levels in a range of climbing disciplines and focusing on inclusion, joy, healing and celebrating. The festival is led by non-profit group Wanderers Of Colour, who are committed to social justice through access to the outdoors.

Also making their mark on the history books was ClimbOut Festival, the UK's first queer climbing festival organised by a volunteer team in partnership with the BMC and Patagonia. Centered around queer joy and outdoor climbing, the festival supports and celebrates LGBTQ+ climbers of all levels, offering a safe and uplifting space whilst improving visibility and representation.

BMC continues to fight for Dartmoor rights

It's been another turbulent year in the Dartmoor debate, with landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall challenging a Court of Appeal ruling that allowed people to once again wild camp in the national park in Devon. On the 8th October, the challenge was brought to the Supreme Court, once again throwing the future of wild camping on Dartmoor into uncertainty.

Dartmoor is unique, being the only place in England and Wales where wild camping is legally permitted. This right, enshrined in law in 1985, was overturned in 2023 but restored after a public appeal. Now, the final verdict will be decided.

Despite this period of uncertainty, the BMC remains steadfast in our support of a right to roam, and will continue to campaign for legal protection of responsible wild camping on Dartmoor, whatever the outcome.

Going for gold (and getting it)

In only its second year at the Olympic Games, Team GB was represented by not one but FOUR athletes in the Boulder and Lead Climbing at Paris 2024.

Erin McNeice, Molly Thompson-Smith, Hamish McArthur and Toby Roberts took to the stage for their Olympic debuts, putting in awe-inspiring performances that ultimately saw Roberts, 19, taking home the gold medal. Roberts' achievement, along with outstanding performances from McArthur (5th), McNeice (5th) and Thompson-Smith (19th), highlighted the rapid growth and potential of climbing in the Great Britain. The four climbers joined a team of 327 Team GB athletes, with the British Olympic Association sending one of its biggest ever cohorts to Paris.

Extreme litter picking on Yr Wydffa

On a chilly October day, Trash Free Trails and BMC volunteers joined forces to clean up some of Yr Wydffa's most hard-to-reach areas. 2,765 pieces of litter were removed from the Clogwyn Y Garnedd gullies, including over 800 drinks containers. Volunteers abseiled into the gullies to retrieve single-use pollution - the first time this has ever been done.

Trash Free Trails' CEO Dom Ferris said: "Thanks to the BMC we’ve been able to leave a positive trace on what is a really inaccessible area of the mountain, one that has never been cleaned before."

Paraclimbing confirmed for LA28

Back in June 2024, the BMC celebrated the historic inclusion of Paraclimbing in the LA28 Paralympic Sport Program. The landmark decision represented a significant milestone for the sport, reflecting its growing popularity globally.

Speaking about the decision, GB Paraclimbing athlete James Rudge said: "The inclusion of paraclimbing in the Paralympics is a massive step for me personally, and I hope it will allow us to be taken more seriously as a community. This could come in the form of increased funding for our athletes, more public awareness and exposure of inclusion within the sport, and more opportunities for paraclimbers to compete.

"While there are many more milestones we must achieve, I believe this will be a giant leap forward in showing the world that climbing is for everyone."

Super-charging our Climate and Sustainability goals

2024 saw the BMC unveil an ambitious Climate and Sustainability Action Plan aimed at drastically reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promoting sustainability within the outdoor community.

No stranger to climate action, in 2023 we committed to eliminating our GHG emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of the UK Government's 2050 target. This year, we launched a roadmap outlining how this will be achieved through significant changes in operations, reducing emissions, and investing in nature-based solutions to account for any residual emissions.

GB Climbers lead the way

It's been a heck of a year for our athletes across the board, from Paraclimbing personal bests and World Cup medals to the naming of GB's new SkiMo team, British Bouldering Championship podiums and scarily fast Speed performances.

Podiums weren't the only thing worth celebrating, with a record-breaking turnout in Paraclimbing and the introduction of a gender-balanced route-setting team at the British Lead, Speed, and Paraclimbing Championships in September, marking a significant step towards greater inclusivity and diversity within the sport.

AND, with ice climbing season well underway, we can't wait to see what the GB Ice Climbing team are about to pull out the bag...

Volunteers fix over 1,000m of mountain paths

...as part of the BMC's Get Stuck In events funded by the Mend Our Mountains campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust.

The events are part of the BMC's ongoing work to protect our outdoor spaces. Since the Get Stuck In events launched in 2023, almost 2,000 hours have been spent helping the hills, and we couldn't do it without our incredible volunteers. Here's a little breakdown of what they've helped us to achieve up to December 2024:

• A grand total of 1,050m mountain paths built or upgraded to make more resistant to erosion by Get Stuck in volunteers.
• 187 stepping stones placed below Bochlwyd Buttress, Eryri to make a path through boggy ground.
• 80m of peat hags re-profiled to protect this carbon store
• 23,600 sphagnum moss plants planted to help restore the peatlands, and keep water on the moors, reducing flood risk lower down (with Moors for the Future Partnership, Peak District)
• Filled 9 helicopter bags with redundant plastic tree guards, taking plastic out of the mountain environment
• 58 days of invasive species clearance of rhododendrons
• 1,991 hours of volunteer work
• 352 man days of volunteer work
• 4 partner organisations: National Trust in Eryri, National Trust in the Peak District, Moors for the Future Partnership and Fix the Fells

Want to get stuck in?

Campbell Harrison paves way for other queer climbers

We couldn't not include this iconic moment from 2024. A series of images went live on the official Olympics Instagram, spotlighting Campbell’s uplifting tale of qualifying for Paris 2024, and his status as “the first publicly LGBTQ sport climber heading to the Olympics.”

The carousel - which included a shot of Campbell kissing his partner Jordan during a qualifying round - was met with a barrage of bullying, abuse and bigotry from internet trolls. The subsequent response by Campbell's supporters, friends and family proved that there really is no room for hate in the climbing community - but there is still work to be done.

Responding to the negative comments, Campbell said: "The reality is there’s a reason why you see so few out, queer athletes in sport. And that’s because we’re still not safe here… yet.

"Pride matters. Representation matters."

The BMC remain committed to building inclusivity into the activities we promote, supporting participation of underrepresented groups in climbing, hill walking and mountaineering. It's something we proudly carry with us into 2025 and beyond.

And that's a wrap for 2024! We couldn't include every iconic moment, medal, radical act and access win, but these ones certainly made it a memorable year for us.

Happy new year from the BMC.