When the council was created the following aims were set out:[2] In 1972 as a result of the Cairngorm Plateau disaster where five school children and one teacher died of hypothermia[3] the BMC began working closely with the Mountain Leader Training Board.

Editions of the magazine are produced four times per year (Feb, May, Sep, Nov) and are sent direct to all British Mountaineering Council (BMC) individual members.

[citation needed] 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.

[7] It also administers a 'reciprocal rights card' service, giving BMC affiliate members reduced rates in alpine huts owned by other national mountaineering organisations.

[8][9] 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.