Blog

Living a modern lifestyle means keeping up with a lot, especially if you want to fit everything in. When it comes to trips outdoors, how do you balance training hard to perform while feeling rested enough so you can be your best? How do you avoid the risk of burnout, injury, and exhaustion? The answer is recovery. Read more…

The Mountaineers is an incredible community of outdoor enthusiasts, students, instructors, advocates, and leaders dedicated to fostering connections to the outdoors. As we close the door on 2023 and look ahead to 2024, 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 – Lead, Engage, and Advocate – guided us this past fiscal year (Oct 1 - Sep 30.) Read more…

Being someone who hasn't yet experienced parenthood, I'm unfamiliar with the most challenging aspects of raising children. However, as a summer camp professional, I do have a backstage pass to what appears to be one of the more stressful parts of being a Seattle area guardian: camp registration. For camps in the Seattle region, summer camp enrollment can begin as early as January. In the thick of winter, with summer far behind, families play scheduling Tetris to guarantee childcare and transformative summer experiences for their kids. Read more…

The outdoor adventures made possible through The Mountaineers would cease to exist without conserved public lands and waters, climate-resilient landscapes, and sustainable recreational access. A critical component of adventuring with purpose is advocating to protect public lands, fight the climate crisis, and improve the human-powered outdoor experience. You don’t have to be a policy expert to make a difference for the lands you love. As someone who cares deeply about the outdoors, you’re well positioned to be an effective outdoor advocate - it just takes a little time and training. Read more…

Meet John, a hike, scramble, snowshoe, and cross-country ski leader who is also the Chair of the Foothills Cross-Country Skiing Committee and organizes the Foothills Wilderness Navigation course. John has earned numerous Key Leader, Key Instructor, and Super Volunteer badges for his contributions to The Mountaineers. Read more…

Getting new winter gear is usually great for the ego and painful for the bank account... but it doesn’t have to be. Did you know you can make your own snowshoes? And for quite cheap, too. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

You did it! Together we raised more than $210,000 and smashed our year-end goal. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe strongly in the importance of getting kids outside.  The benefits of spending time outdoors - for both kids and adults - are so numerous they can hardly be overstated. Unstructured time spent outside builds confidence and promotes creativity. It gets us moving and inspires wonder.  For all these reasons, we are thrilled to offer you and your family another season of our Mini Mountaineers program!  Read more…

This year’s Bellevue Mountainfilm on Tour film program, Big Green World, highlights films on environmentalism, ecology, stewardship of our lands and wild places, adventure, and emotional engagement with the outdoors. Travel to places such as the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, the coast of Scotland, and the Baffin Islands of Nunavut. Don't miss the highline rope walk between two hot air balloons at 6,300 feet! Read more…

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is back to bring the best action, environment, and adventure films to Olympia! Join us March 1-3 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…

Enjoy a collection of trip reports that floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, and may ruffle the feathers of our piqued and potent powder hounds. Read on, dear friends, for a bright-yellow rump, an ode to Charles Dickens, hoar frost, the mighty useful herringbone, and (painfully) varied early season conditions. Read more…

The Mountaineers launched our Instagram (@mountaineersorg) in 2014 as a way to celebrate the adventurous spirit of our community, the beauty of our natural landscapes, and the myriad types of outdoor experiences we have access to in the Pacific Northwest. From star-lit campsites to sun-kissed summits to smile-filled stewardship, Mountaineers are eager to share their photo-rich trip reports and inspire others to appreciate and protect the special places that we’re lucky enough to call home. Read more…

In a North Seattle public school, 65 miles from Mt. Rainier, Kelsey Hoffman’s classroom is engaged in an unusual last-day-of-school activity. Read more…

We know it: you love being outside. Whether on calm waterways, crackling glaciers, bustling city parks, or quiet old growth forests, you find joy and connection outdoors. And as a Mountaineer, you don’t stop there. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Washington’s premier ski-touring race is back again and open for registration! The Patrol Race is the oldest continuing ski race in the northwest – traversing nearly 20 miles and approximately 4,500 feet of gain and descent – taking racers from Snoqualmie Pass to Meany Lodge. With a rich history dating back to the 1930s, the Patrol Race is an experience steeped in snow, tradition, and adventure that you won’t want to miss! Read more…

Downhill ski, snowboard, and telemark lessons are now open for registration at Meany Lodge. We offer single-day lessons almost every Saturday, as well as multi-week classes (4 days total) during the winter season. Check out our Meany Lodge webpage and register for one of our ski courses!  Read more…

I am afraid of going downhill. Everyone is afraid of something, and for me it’s moving fast downhill on trail, rock, or snow. I am sometimes tempted to hide my fears and insecurities, but when I started the Scrambling course, I knew I would have to share this fear with my instructors and classmates. It felt like a true confession. Read more…

I was at the airport, ready to board a plane for my much anticipated trip to Europe. My plan was to summit Mont Blanc and, if possible, do some rock climbing. I'd spent hours refreshing the hut reservation website to secure a spot, so the anticipation was sky-high. I dream of climbing all Seven Summits one day, and Mont Blanc seemed like the perfect starting point. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Outdoor recreation is growing in popularity in Washington state and across the country, and land managers need new tools and resources to sustainably manage recreation on public lands. The Mountaineers and our partners at Outdoor Alliance have been advocating for federal legislation that improves sustainable and equitable access to outdoor recreation.  Read more…

Note, this public comment period has closed. We'll keep our community updated on future developments in this process.

For many Mountaineers students, the South Face of the Tooth in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is their first foray into the world of alpine climbing. Considering its close proximity to the Seattle area, wide ledges for belaying, and grippy holds, it’s no wonder that the South Face is a classic teaching space for our alpine programs. Unfortunately, our community’s ability to safely access critical teaching spaces like the South Face of the Tooth is in jeopardy due to recently released National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) proposals. Read more…

Update: Federal land managers have released the final environmental impact statement, evaluating options for restoring grizzlies to the North Cascades. This is not a final decision, but rather an evaluation of the impacts of possible actions. We’ll keep our community updated on future developments in this process. Read more…

Wilderness First Aid (WFA) is important training for teams to have when they’re out adventuring, doing the types of things Mountaineers do. In town, a deep cut with a kitchen knife lands you in the emergency room. But when you’re surrounded by technical terrain, the first thing you have to do is get out. It will be many hours before you can get to the emergency room, so understanding how to stabilize an injury or a sick person until you can help them get out is critical. That’s where Wilderness First Aid training comes in. Read more…

When I first came to The Mountaineers, I was excited to be part of a community that values conservation the way I do. Mountaineers don’t just love being outside, we love the outdoors itself. We want to share the natural world with others and take action to protect the outdoor experience for future generations.  Read more…

Since the inception of our Day Camps, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing our programs and community grow in breadth and depth. Every season is full of camp magic, laughter, bracelet-making, and outdoor adventure. Historically, camp has had an inevitably stressful registration day as well. In response to feedback provided by camp families, and in an attempt to make the registration process smooth for campers and staff alike, we’ve made the decision to reconfigure registration for our Seattle Day Camp offerings.  Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Namaste! Imagine you are in a brand new place, and you know no one. When we moved to the Pacific Northwest 23 years ago, that was us. Read more…

In July 2021, my wife and I navigated high-season crowds to Colchuck Lake on our first adventure in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, one of the most visited Wilderness Areas in the country. We arrived early and still had to park a mile from the trailhead. During the hike, we passed by throngs of other outdoor enthusiasts. Experiencing this bustle didn’t diminish the stunning views and thrill of wide-open spaces, but it did underscore the need to harmonize recreation with the protection of this beloved landscape. Read more…