The British Mountaineering Council works for its members to provide services and representation for: access and conservation, climbing walls, clubs and huts, competition climbing, equipment advice, guidebooks and maps, heritage, international, safety and skills, youth and equity. The organisation now has two types of membership; those that are affiliated via a club and those that are individual members. The BMC currently has over 75,000 members: 51,000 individual members, 24,000 club members, and 280 affiliated clubs. Membership benefits include access to the BMC travel insurance scheme, civil liability insurance, discounts on equipment, technical and training advice, and four copies of Summit magazine each year. Summit magazine aims to cover articles of interest to all climbers, hill walkers, and mountaineers. It frequently covers topics outside the remit of the mainstream magazines. Editions of the magazine are produced four times per year and are sent direct to all British Mountaineering Council individual members. People who are members of the BMC through an affiliated club only receive one copy - the February issue. The circulation therefore varies from 40,000 to 75,000. This makes it the climbing magazine with the largest circulation in the UK. It is also available to purchase in the BMC online shop and available from selected mountain centres throughout the UK, such as Plas y Brenin in Capel Curig. The BMC produces rock climbing guidebooks to parts of the UK, primarily the Peak District and Lancashire. It also administers a 'reciprocal rights card' service, giving BMC affiliate members reduced rates in alpine huts owned by other national mountaineering organisations.
Rebranding proposal
On 25 July 2016 the British Mountaineering Council announced its intention to re-brand itself as "Climb Britain", following consultant advice funded by Sport England. However, following a strong backlash from its membership and subsequent consultations and heated online debates, it announced two months later that the renaming would not go ahead. Because of the way the rebranding issue had been handled, the BMC executive committee subsequently found itself facing a motion of no confidence from some of its members at its April 2017AGM. Interest was expressed in using the "Climb Britain" brand for another purpose within the BMC.