The British Mountaineering Council

Heads-up on BMC helmet campaign

Posted by Dan Middleton on 14/12/2011

As part of our safety and good practice work in 2012, the BMC is running a campaign to raise awareness about climbing helmets.

The aim of the campaign is to challenge views on helmets, and to encourage you to re-examine your reasons for wearing one or not.

Deciding on which risks are personally acceptable is at the fundamental core of climbing and mountaineering. Whether to wear a helmet or not is one of those choices only the individual can make. The BMC aims to make that choice an informed one, by giving the latest advice and information on how helmets work and what risks they can help protect against.

We encourage you to think carefully, weigh up the risks, and make your own decisions.

The campaign will include thought provoking web and Summit articles, and we’ll be interviewing famous and not-so famous climbers to canvas some opinions and experiences of helmet wearing and head injury.

We’ve published a free download which includes everything you’d ever need to know about climbing helmets. This will also appear in an online edition in the near future.

Download the Helmets guide here

Other articles which may be of interest which have previously appeared in Summit magazine include one on head injury and one about weighing up the risks.

The Epicentre have signed up as partners for the campaign, running some amazing special offers and great prize competitions.

Check out the Epicentre's latest promotions and prize competitions

Lyon Equipment are supporting the campaign by running a competition on Facebook, with chances to win a free Petzl helmet.

Find out more here

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1) Anonymous User

09/02/2012

A good friend of mine died after falling 5m, stripping his gear, and hitting his head a rock. He'd brought his helmet to the crag, but hadn't bothered to put it on. If he had, he'd probably still be here today.

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2) Anonymous User

22/03/2012

A colleague was descending from a route when a football-sized rock slid out from under him. The took a 50-foot tumble, followed by the rock which hit his head. It was coming on to rain so he had kept his helmet on for the descent. But for the deterioration in the weather he would have taken it off, and would probably not have survived. As it was he eventually made a full recovery.

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3) Anonymous User

22/03/2012

My Dad was wearing his helmet during a rock fall: it saved his life.

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4) Anonymous User

26/03/2012

I'm a cool dude, so when I wear my helmet I know I'll be back home to see my wife and kids and carry on being a cool dude. x
From Daymo. Love-Rock.co.uk

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5) Anonymous User

24/04/2012

Seconding a route n Chedder gorge, in the late 80's. leader knocked off large lump, which hit my helmeted head square on. This hurt my neck but not my head. when we inspected the helmet at the top of the route. found it had a huge split..never climbed without one since

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6) Anonymous User

28/04/2012

I put on my helmet at the end of the walk in.
Watching a helicopter rescue from below in the gorge, a decent-sized tree was blown down on me. A branch as thick as my wrist hit me on the head, knocking me down. All I got was a bashed ear and a small cut on the forehead. My helmet still has a big green and brown stripe on it.

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