The Mountaineers
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to....
Name: Marcey Kosman
Hometown: I am Canadian, born and raised in St Albert, Alberta, and lived near Vancouver, BC, for a while before I moved to Seattle 4 years ago
Member Since: November 2014
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Favorite Activities: Mountaineering, rock climbing, winter and summer scrambling, skiing (back county and in bounds), snowboarding, running, hiking, sailing, hiking, diving. My current passion is to always improve and grow.
10 Essentials: Questions
How did you get involved with The Mountaineers?
I moved here 4 years ago knowing no one. I liked to hike and snowboard, but felt limited to trails and in bound/resort riding. I remember looking at Mt. Baker and Shuksan while skiing groomers and thinking "I need more". One day not long after that, on a hike up Heliotrope trail during my first couple of months here, I saw people coming down with their huge and loaded overnight packs, looking exhausted. I immediately needed to know who to get involved with to start doing peaks and summit trips. I was more than ready to expand from hiking and chairlifts. Subsequently and randomly I met people who were in The Mountaineers, and started sport rock climbing on a friend's birthday trip that October at Smith Rock, the day after getting belay certified. I absolutely loved it and started taking courses at The Mountaineers, eventually getting into Basic last year. I have been pretty addicted ever since!
What motivates you to get outside with us?
For me, it's easy to be motivated to get outside, as I want nothing more than to be on a summit/rock wall/snowy peak/glacier in boots/crampons/snowshoes/skis chilling in my tent with friends on an alpine climb or sleeping at a trailhead in my Subaru. I am definitely a dabbler in many things, and expert of none. But I love getting out there and trying new things and seeing where it takes me. With each thing I do I find there is so much more to learn and add. In The Mountaineers, I have met my Mountain Family whom I have come to love, and who mean the world to me, as my support and fellow passion seekers.
What's your favorite Mountaineers memory?
Tough question, there are so many.... I think in general I feel the support and camaraderie of the people always stays with me. I have been so accepted and embraced by this club and it's members.
Who/What inspires you?
The options are endless in our immediate and nearby surroundings. I am inspired every day by looking around at what is available right outside the window. I am inspired by our literal outdoor playground.
Also, my friends ARE this club. I get to climb and ski and scramble and summit (or sometimes not) with some really amazingly skilled people who teach and challenge me, and set such good examples of what I hope to be one day.
What does adventure mean to you?
Doing something that scares and challenges me. Trying something new. Taking calculated risks, based on awareness, skills, and knowledge. Learning how to be better at my passions. Breathing fresh air, hard - and even sucking wind as I ascend something. Freaking out as I climb something that scares me then pulling the move - and getting it. That smile of accomplishment of a goal. Sharing nature in all of its beauty and elements with other people who know how that feels. To me, adventure is being alive and able to do the things I am able to do, and strive for the things I haven't experienced yet.
Lightning Round
What's your happy place? Those last few steps before reaching a summit, coming on to the 360 degree view of a beautiful sunrise on the mountains.
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