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Banff Mountain Film Festival 2025 Recap
A few weeks ago, The Mountaineers continued its annual tradition of hosting the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour in Seattle. With nearly 4,000 people in attendance at Benaroya Hall over two nights, this year’s screenings made for a memorable experience. Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Sasha DiGiulian
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to Sasha DiGiulian. Read more…
Technology Changelog
The Mountaineers values transparency and takes pride in celebrating our successes. Our team is continuously working on updating our website, e-learning, and automated processes to enhance the user experience for members and volunteers. In this Changelog, we capture what improvements we have made over time so you can follow along and take advantage of new features. Read more…
Fiscal Year 2024 Recap
The Mountaineers is an incredible community of outdoor enthusiasts, students, instructors, advocates, and leaders. We are inspired by our community’s dedication to fostering connections to the outdoors. As we close the door on 2024 and continue into 2025, we reflect on the core of our mission: to connect people to the natural world and to each other. Take a look back on our collective achievements and how our strategic goals of Lead, Engage, and Advocate guided us this past fiscal year (October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024). Read more…
Naturalist Seminar - The Unique Features of Mt. Ellinor, Feb 19 2025
Mount Ellinor supports a variety of habitat types with a diverse assemblage of plant communities and species, including an array of species endemic to the Olympic Mountains. Dave and Joanne Schuett-Hames are biologists with backgrounds in salmonid habitat, conservation biology, and plant ecology. They've hiked and backpacked extensively in the Olympic Mountains, and worked as volunteers with Olympic National Park as Wilderness Rangers doing surveys for the Olympic Marmot monitoring project. Their botanical interests on Mt. Ellinor include developing and maintaining plant lists for the Mt. Ellinor trail network on the WNPS website, collecting specimens for the Burke Herbarium, and assisting with the Rare Care plant monitoring program. Read more…
Outside Insights | An Urban Take on an Outdoor Classic
In the winter of 1907, forty-eight charter members of various genders and ages walked through what is now Seattle’s Discovery Park to the West Point lighthouse on Elliot Bay. Ninety-one years later, author Jim Kjeldsen would reference this outing in The Mountaineers: A History, writing “The Mountaineers’ legacy of outdoor adventures began with a local walk.” Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Alan Vogt
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…
Olympia Banff Film Festival: Feb 28-March 2, 2025
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is back to bring the best action, environment, and adventure films to Olympia! Join us February 28 through March 2 at the Capitol Theater to experience these films on the big screen. The playlists are different each night, so come for one night, or all three! Discount tickets are available if you purchase a ticket for multiple nights. Read more…
What a New Congress and New Administration Mean for the Outdoors
At The Mountaineers, we believe the outdoors can be a source of healing and unity - a place where we can all come together to find joy and connection in the natural world. Despite big changes with the makeup of Congress and the administration that will have big policy implications, we believe the outdoors is a bipartisan issue. Time and time again, we’ve been able to secure wins for the outdoors no matter who is in power in the other Washington, and we’ll continue to elevate our community’s voices and values to lawmakers in 2025 and beyond. Read more…
Adventure Speaker Series: Jon and Sharon Hubbell - A Year in Australia
Jon and Sharon spent 12 months traveling 18,000 miles in Australia. Their adventure included driving “on the wrong side of the road” in their Aussie RV. They will share favorite places from east to west around the circumference and north to south through the red center of the continent. Read more…
New Course! Mount Rainier: A Place of Joy, Reverence, & Humility
The volcano rose above the subalpine meadow, its size and grandeur more spectacular than I’d imagined. The glaciers flowed down from the summit. To the left rose Little Tahoma, and in the front were Steamboat Prowl and Burroughs. I looked up toward the summit, which was at least 8,000 feet above my location, and an incredible 14,410 feet above sea level, making it the highest peak in Washington. This was my first visit to Sunrise since moving from the East Coast. I knew immediately that Tahoma (Mt. Rainier) would be a place I’d return to often. Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Audrey Looper
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…
Advocate for Public Lands and Recreation in Olympia This Legislative Session
If you've sea kayaked in Deception Pass, climbed the Royal Columns at Tieton, or hiked Blanchard Mountain, you know how important state-managed lands are for Mountaineers programs. Amid growing visitation to Washington’s state parks, wildlife areas, and Department of Natural Resources lands, state agencies need more resources to sustainably manage increased use, mitigate climate change impacts, and better protect natural and cultural resources. Read more…
Bookmarks | The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors
Below is an excerpt from the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Adventure Gap by James Mills published by Mountaineers Books (reprinted with permission). This excerpt comes from the afterword - a reflection on the decade following the first all-Black summit attempt on Denali, North America’s highest mountain. Read more…
Mountaineers Give More Than $230K at Year-End
When Mountaineers set a goal, we give it everything we’ve got, and year-end was no exception. We needed to raise $215,000 by December 31 and you helped us surpass our year-end goal and raise over $230,000. Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Paul Bouchey
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to.. Read more…
Kick Off 2025 In Good Shape With the Seattle Hiking Committee
The Seattle Hiking Committee is excited to sponsor a variety of clinics and activities from January through March to help you improve your fitness, nutrition techniques, and gear choices in a supportive community. Join us to get outside this winter and prepare for spring trails! Read more…
Foothills Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Hess
Meet Sarah, a Foothills hike and backpack leader, Key Instructor, Key Leader, and Super Volunteer who embraces The Mountaineers mission to help people build skills and feel comfortable outside. Read more…
Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2024-25
In 1976, a tight-knit group of climbers and outdoor enthusiasts conceived The Banff Festival of Mountaineering Films. This was a one-day gathering that became the renowned international festival it is today. Read more…
Make Conservation Part of your New Years Resolutions with our Conservation Courses
eLearning plays an important role in our community's efforts to teach and learn outdoor skills and build a shared culture of conservation. Think of our three conservation eLearning courses as the 11th essential for your outdoor experience. Low impact Recreation, Public Lands 101, and Advocacy 101 will give you the tools you need to tread lightly on the landscape, understand how different types of federal public lands are managed, and advocate to protect public lands and the outdoor experience. Read more…
Youth Outside | Exploring Winter With Your Mini Mountaineer
Getting youth outside changes with the season, and winter is no exception. Our Mini Mountaineers program helps little kids and their families enjoy and learn about nature during even the rainiest months by facilitating nature-based activities and hikes. The program – offered by our Seattle and Tacoma Branches – is designed for youth ages two through five and fosters a love for the outdoors in the next generation. Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Miguel Angel Aldrete
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to.. Read more…
Mountaineers Gear Library Reopens on January 2, 2025
At the heart of The Mountaineers Gear Library is a simple yet powerful mission: to make outdoor exploration accessible to everyone in the Pacific Northwest. The Gear Library doesn’t just lend gear, but creates opportunities for unforgettable adventures, especially for youth leaders, families, and community organizations. Read more…
$11,168 needed by midnight
In these final hours of 2024, we have just one last summit push. We need to raise $215K by midnight to set us up to accomplish our mission in 2025 and beyond. Will you chip in to help close the gap? Read more…
Top 10 Mountaineers of Instagram: Inspiration for 2025
If taking a photo makes a memory last longer, then memorializing a photo in print would effectively make a memory last forever.
We launched our Instagram (@mountaineersorg) over a decade ago. Since then, hundreds of Mountaineers and members of the outdoor community have shared their outdoor pursuits with us. From stewarding beloved forests to embracing grand adventures, photos go a long way in encouraging each other to appreciate, protect, and respect the lands and waters we love. Read more…
Register for the 2025 South Sound Leadership Conference
The Mountaineers South Sound Leadership Conference is a day-long conference held on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the Tacoma Program Center. We hope you’re able to join us for this engaging and exciting day of leadership development. All are welcome to attend! Read more…
Adventure Awaits: Join Our 2025 After-School Climbing Program
Packed with climbing, bouldering, outdoor-inspired games, and creative activities, After-School is a blast for kids who love to move, learn, and make new friends. For two hours each week, kids will climb, play, and connect with other young adventurers at our Seattle Program Center. Tuesdays are open to youth ages 6-9 and Thursdays are open to youth ages 10-13. Read more…
Leave No Trace in Wintertime
Are you familiar with Leave No Trace? These tips are more than just picking up trash. In fact, the seven principles of Leave No Trace offer a framework for making decisions as you recreate outside. Leave No Trace's seven principles help guide you toward choices that have a lighter impact on the outdoors. Given how many folks are outside recreating on our shared public lands, the cumulative effect of our efforts to be good stewards can be tremendous! Read more…
Make a Difference in Outdoor Leadership
As a climb and course leader, one experience etched in my memory is working with students who are learning to rappel for the first time. Read more…
Mountaineer of the Week: Cheri Solien
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…