The Mountaineers
It is no secret that volunteers are at the absolute core of The Mountaineers success. Nearly everything we do is driven by volunteer initiative and support, and it’s humbling to dive into our annual numbers and take a look at our collective impact.
During the 2017-18 fiscal year (which runs from October 2017 to September 2018), we had 2,865 volunteers support our programs, contributing nearly 200,000 hours of time towards The Mountaineers mission to enrich the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. That means that just over 20% of our total membership - or 1 in 5 members - actively volunteered last year in some capacity! This could be as a trip leader, committee member, instructor, lodge host, event volunteer, or as stewardship activity participant.
Together we travelled 158,784 miles and climbed a collective 44,421,581 feet! That’s enough to circle the globe six times and make 3,083 trips to the summit of Mt. Rainier (assuming you start at sea level)!
Of our total volunteers, 370 individuals were recognized as Super Volunteers for their commitment to volunteer 15 or more times through the year, and 86 volunteers led 10 or more trips, receiving recognition as Key Leaders in The Mountaineers. An outstanding 808 individuals - just over 28% of our total volunteers - led at least one activity!
On the conservation front, our community took more than 4,200 individual actions to protect our public lands, and we volunteered 14,000 stewardship hours to our natural places.
As an organization, The Mountaineers offered 165 courses in the last fiscal year, enrolling 5,140 students. In addition, we offered 230 seminars and clinics with a total of 3,026 student registrations. All told, The Mountaineers taught 4,174 students through a course, seminar, or clinic. That means nearly a third of our total membership engaged in at least one educational opportunity!
Our trip leaders continue to do what they do best. We had 587 unique trip leaders who offered 2,583 stand alone trips, separate from our courses. Our membership grew to an an impressive 13,153 members - 3,216 of whom participated in at least one trip. Here’s what a few of our participants had to say about their experience in activities led by volunteers:
- “The leader’s laid-back, yet conservative approach to risk assessment of the climbing condition and evaluation of the team was very reassuring. They are qualities I aspire to.”
- “Trip pace was determined by the group's interests. Feedback on lunch and a change in plans was solicited. Humor, fun, and awe were encouraged.”
- “This person is a thoughtful, generous, and humorous leader. They offered great teaching and guidance while still allowing the group to make decisions.”
- “Pace was slow enough to see, feel, smell, hear, and experience the beautiful surroundings. It was not organized around the goal of "reaching the destination," but was organized around the principle of seeing what we could around us, big and small.”
- “The leader was thoughtful, punctual, took care of members needs, gave us a chance to learn about leading hikes, and made the trip enjoyable.”
Thank you to everyone who participated with The Mountaineers over the year - either as a participant, student, and/or volunteer! We look forward to everything on the horizon for 2019, and we’re excited about engaging with each of you through one of our incredible volunteer-led programs. We’ll see you out there!
