New Member Information – South Devon Mountaineering Club

Welcome to the South Devon Mountaineering Club (SDMC) if you are reading this you have probably just joined us, Welcome! The following is some basic information about how the club operates and what you can expect when you attend events.

Joining SDMC

Once you join SDMC you will gain access to our online communication app Slack. The membership year runs from 1st January until 31 December and you will need to renew in order to keep attending events and keep your access to Slack. Reminder emails will be sent out prior to the end of year deadline. Once you have joined you can attend any events that are advertised. There is no cost to attend any of the Climbing sessions on Wednesday if they are outdoors if it’s indoors you would have to pay the gym entry fees.

What is Slack?

Slack is our primary communication tool, if you have not used it before there is documentation and tutorials here https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/help/articles/360059928654-How-to-use-Slack–your-quick-start-guide
You should have been sent details on how to sign-in to Slack shortly after you joined.

You would have been automatically enrolled in several of the most popular channels:
general: anouncements are posted here and may include details of a new channel
wednesday_climbing: Wednesday afternoon/night climbing most useful for summer outdoor meets
adhoc_weekday_meets: any weekday apart from Wednesday when you are looking for people to climb with
weekend_meets: any weekend you are looking for people to climb with
walking_meets: any time you are looking for people to walk with

Guidelines for Slack usage:
Slack uses channels and threads to organise conversations.
1. Try and make sure you post into the most appropriate channel.
2. If you are replying to a question or post use “Reply in Thread” to group all responses into a single thread, by doing this it stops excessive notifications and also keeps responses together “in the same thread”
3. If your message is intended for only one person use a Direct Message
4. Any posts in Slack only last for 90 days before they are removed, if you need anything stored for longer put it somewhere else.

What is MemberMojo?

MemberMojo is our membership system you would have used this system when you first joined SDMC. You can view your membership and keep your contact details up top date here. https://membermojo.co.uk/sdmc/membership The details of other club members are available to download.

SDMC Merchandise

There is a Slack channel for ordering SDMC merchandise club_merch, it is also available at some social events.

What BMC insurance is included?

SDMC is a BMC-affiliated club and is covered by Combined Liability insurance, protecting the club, its officers, and members from claims for injury, financial loss, or property damage due to negligence when engaged in club activities. See https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en for details

What discounts can I get?

Group registration and discounted entry at Plymouth Lifecentre Wall
Discount at Cotswold Outdoors, Taunton Leisure. There is a SDMC membership card available in MemberMojo for downloading.

What things can I do with the SDMC?

Wednesday climbing, walking meets, adhoc climbing at weekends and during the week, social events, Christmas dinner, social and instructional evenings, weekend and longer trips. Some of these activities have dedicated channels in Slack, you are welcome to browse the channel list and join any that interest you.

Wednesday Climbing Meets

We have regular climbing meets every Wednesday throughout the year, we meet at various crags around the south west area and do different styles of climbing including trad, sport, bouldering and DWS. Over winter the meets switch to indoors at climbing walls. The calendar of meets is on a google calendar https://southdevonmc.org.uk/meets/ There is a Slack channel dedicated to the Wednesday climbing meets wednesday_climbing

Can anyone attend a climbing meet?

We are keen to support all members, and want everyone to enjoy days out and above all, be safe. For attending climbing meets, members should have experience of climbing, be confident to put on a harness, tie in to a rope (typically using a rethreaded figure-of-eight) and belay a lead climber.

What do I need to bring to a climbing meet?

If you are just starting out you do not need to bring a lot of climbing gear, just personal gear should be sufficient: Climbing harness, helmet, boots and belay device. If you are experienced and have a climbing rack and ropes bring them along.

What time does it start?

Typically climbers attend after work, which can be 4pm but it is best to check the Slack channel, climbers will normally post a time they expect to arrive. Keen members bring head torches and will climb till late.

Transport

Climbing locations are often remote and need a car to access, there is a channel exeter_wed_carshare that is used to coordinate transport from the Exeter area.

It’s my first time attending a climbing meet, what can I expect?

If its your first time attending a meet you can post a message into the wednesday_climbing channel introducing yourself we can then keep a look out for you. As climbers arrive and leave at different times you may end up climbing with several people. Climbers tend to find someone of a similar level at the crag and we sometimes climb as a three if we have an odd number. Once you have attended a few Wednesdays you get to know the regular climbers and teaming up becomes easier.

What happens at Wednesday climbing meets over Winter

Over winter we switch to climbing meets at indoor climbing walls. These are included on the google calendar https://southdevonmc.org.uk/meets/
Generally it is more difficult for members to travel to all the indoor meets over winter and some members prefer to attend a local wall, there is no problem with this but we encourage members to post a message into one of the channels quay-adhoc-climbing, plymouth_climbing, dyno-climbing or adhoc_weekday_meets as this helps new members find SDMC people to climb with.

If you join the club over winter, your first meeting with SDMC climbers at a busy climbing wall can be difficult, as we may not be easy to identify. We encourage new members to be proactive and post in Slack that they will be attending and try to arrange to meet another member at a specific time. Once you have been introduced to a few other members, subsequent visits will be much easier for you.

Walking Meets

The SDMC has an active walking section and runs walking-related meets once a month throughout the year. We also have walking trips away or combined climbing and walking trips. We walk on Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and around the coast so the routes are very varied. The walks range in distance and are very relaxed with snackage time allowed and refreshments after. The calendar of meets is on https://southdevonmc.org.uk/meets/ There is also a walking meets channel on slack, see walking_meets

Can anyone attend a walking meet?

Yes, and sometimes well-behaved dogs on leads

What do I need to bring to a walking meet?

Good pair of walking boots, waterproofs, head torch, walking poles (recommended) as well as food and drink for a day out

What time does it start?

Typically, we meet at 10am but it is best to check the Slack channel. The route is usually posted with a meeting place and time.

Transport?

Car sharing to a walk is great idea and offers of lifts are usually put on the walking channel in slack. If you need a lift, just ask!

It’s my first time attending a walking meet, what can I expect?

If it’s your first time attending a meet you can post a message into the walking_channel introducing yourself, we can then either meet you at the start or discuss car sharing.

How long are the walks?

The length of the walks varies from 6 miles to 10 or more. Each walk will have the length posted on the slack channel and often a picture of the map. This can allow you to shorten the walk if you are confident to plan a route. We try to accommodate people so if you wish to join us but are unsure on the distance or the ground then let the walking meets co-ordinator know and we will see if we can help. The walks always have a stop for lunch and often a break for a mid-morning drink. We have been known to have a sunbathing break!

Winter/Socials

During the winter we run social events, these can be trip reports or anything with an climbing/outdoor subject that SDMC members may be interested in

Committee

SDMC has a committee of volunteers and we are always looking for new members to step forwards and help the club by taking up a position on the committee. Positions can normally only be held for three years, the current committee is shown below:

Who	Role	Description
Nigel Crowe	President	Chair meetings and AGM, direct general club matters, new members contact
Nathalie Caulier	Secretary	Club records, member registration and details, prepare meeting agenda and minutes, all club administration
Dominic Acland	Treasurer	All Club account and banking matters , prepare end of year financial report
Steve Bartlett	Web master	Maintenance and management of Website and Slack
Colin Price	BMC rep	Conduit between club and BMC, assist with club and member BMC enquiries and matters. Attend SW Area meetings and report back on local and general issues
Amy Rawson	Social Secretary	Organise club social meets, Speakers, events and annual meeting.
Lisa Allwood	Walking meet coordinator	Organising walking meets and events throughout the year. Promote hillwalking in the club and connect with members
Ross Tomsen	Club merchandise officer	Manage stock and sale of SDMC branded merch to the Club
Joe Bellows	Climbing meet coordinator	Organisation of weekly, Wednesday evening climbing meets
Ben Stainfield	Club equipment officer.	Manage and keep record of all club kit and library and make available for loan to club members and expeditions

AGM

We hold an AGM usually in March when committee members report on activities and new committee members can be elected.

Club Kit

The club has a selection of kit that members can borrow free of charge. Please use the club_kit channel in Slack to arrange a loan of club kit. You can see what’s available in a google doc linked from the club_kit channel.

Club Library

There are some books available to borrow

Bird bans/RAD

Especially during the spring several crags in the local area are affected by bird bans, you can check the status here: https://services.thebmc.co.uk/modules/RAD

Organising a Trip

SDMC members organise trips throughout the year, we have an extensive list of trips that anyone can attend (subject to having the necessary experience) If there is a climbing destination that you are interested in going to and it does not appear on the calendar feel free to organise a trip. To maintain consistency across trips some or all of the following steps below can be followed:

Trip Planning

The trip-planning channel is a good place to start discussing the trip and request it to be added to the trip calendar on the google drive

Slack

Add a descriptive Slack channel for the trip eg: costal-blanca-dec-2025 and announce the new trip in the general channel

Add a spreadsheet

Add a google spreadsheet that details information about the trip including flights/car hire/accommodation/ropes/racks etc and add a link to the spreadsheet in the channel

Add Splitwise group

For larger trips we normally use the Splitwise app to manage shared expenses

Add WhatsApp group

When the trip is underway create a WhatsApp group for day to day communication

Trip Completed

When the trip is complete archive the Slack channel (or prefix channel with “remove” eg: “remove-costal-blanca-dec-2025 ” to indicate it can be removed from Slack) only admin users can remove channels once they have been created

Settle up the Splitwise expenses