Fuck the quality. Feel the width.
Anything with the word "climbing" in is always going to sound like its about climbing more than anything else, with mountaineering and crucially hillwalking is supported as a resultant side project. Nobody going out hillwalking uses the word climbing to describe what they do.
Most hill walkers, even those new to the activity, will have said something along the lines of “I climbed Mam Tor yesterday, then wandered along the ridge to climb to the top of Lose Hill too” at one time or another. So I think hill walkers will see that the name ‘Climb Britain’ is inclusive of them, just as much as it is of the climbers, boulderers, winter mountaineers and alpinists that make up our organisation’s family of activities. In that respect it is certainly no worse for hill walkers than our existing name and probably, I would argue, a little better! I’d certainly struggle to suggest an alternative that is as broadly inclusive and descriptive of what we all do.
Is this a wind-up? He's talking bollocks. If I go walking I would never say climbing either now or before I was a climber. I have never heard anyone, climber or non-climber, describe walking/hiking/hillwalking/trekking/backpacking or indeed any nonclimbing ambulatory activity as climbing. Climbing means climbing, unless you're a road cyclist. Fucks sake.
If you said you'd gone out climbing and it turned out all you'd done was walked up a hill they'd think you were stupid, or at least taking the doing-anything-to-avoid-bouldering-for-the-Oak to an extreme level.I am aware that the verb "climbing" exists and what is means. However on the whole it is never used to describe the activity of hillwalking. An airliner climbs during talkoff, but you woudn't catch the civil aviation authority rebranding itself as the civil climbing authority.
Doesn't need one, just call it the BMC, doesn't need to stand for anything any more, it's defined by what it does. Nevertheless, as it stands, the word "mountain" is broadly speaking more central to the range of activities represented than "climb".
C'mon clever clogs what would you propose as an alternative title for the BMC that bests represents its activities internally and to the outside world?
Or BMC - British Mountaineering & Climbing
Quote from: petejh on August 23, 2016, 10:49:15 pmOr BMC - British Mountaineering & Climbing
I'm not set in my ways, I'm just naturally suspicious of marketing platitudes that don't seem to be backed up by facts. If we can disregard the apologist line that "climb" somehow magically ape compasses hillwalking, despite the fact nobody ever calls hillwalking climbing, can you explain how the rebrand is more inclusive?
Subjectively I would allocate a resonance level for the word "climb" as follows:Mountaineering 85%Crag climbing 100%Indoor Climbing 100%Bouldering 95%Hill walking 40%
I think British Mountaineering Council sounds old fashioned like the Masons or the League of Gentlemen or The National Explorers Association or whatever it was called in Paddington Bear - ie Old London Club, archaic rules etc ie not inclusive at all.
Come up with something less clunky and than Climb Britain and less old fashioned than the British Mountaineering Council and more representative of the organisation than both
Doesn't need one, just call it the BMC, doesn't need to stand for anything any more, it's defined by what it does.
"I climbed a hill" I just said it aloud. My family didn't think it sounded stupid.