British Mountaineering Council Meet. Mark Hutchinson, our British Mountaineering Council host, has a most enjoyable and charismatic personality and did an unsurpassable job of organizing the meet and in particular of arranging an itinerary which allowed us a sampling of a wealth of crags in a relatively short time. The BMC reserved a hut in Capel Curig for our week in North Wales and a hut near Matlock for our week in the Peak District, a complex area of hills and valleys near Sheffield. The latter has limestone in the valleys and gritstone on the ridges of the hills. We took day excursions from these huts and returned each night. Meals were prepared as a group, using the hut facilities, Especially enjoyable were the several evening meals we had at fish-and-chips shops, Indian Tandoori restaurants and other typically British eating places. Transport was via a rented van combined with several private cars belonging to British participants. This allowed us to split up when consensus dictated and visit several crags simultaneously. Climbing with many of Britain’s top climbers, I feel we all developed an appreciation not only of the distinctly bold style and high standard of climbing but also of the intense social scene in British climbing, due in part to the great number of active climbers combined with the limited size of the country. Climbers frequently travel to all parts of the country and are very much aware of and keenly interested in what others are accomplishing. This fosters a strong sense of competition among British climbers which is lacking in the United States. I personally was able to do 34 different routes of high standard, from 5.10a to 5.12b. The BMC graciously treated us to several evenings in the pubs, allowing us to appreciate these social gathering spots as well as to taste the legendary beer! Those representing the American Alpine Club were Douglas Madara, Randy Vogel, Maria Cranor, Kjell Swedin, Dan Lepeska and I.

Alex Lowe