Blog

Enjoy access to our quarterly Mountaineer magazine, keeping you up-to-date with everything our organization and community have been up to. Hear from regular contributors on topics from training exercises to trail tips, and read features from our members sharing stories from the outdoors. We encourage you to access all of our updates, stories, tips, and more in the tree free online magazine today. Read more…

We had a fairly frosty February, and it definitely shows in this month’s adventures. Read on, dear friends, for snowy sculptures, deer to the rescue, and well-stocked toilet paper! Read more…

Imagine yourself as a novice alpinist, poised for a journey of discovery, opening Freedom of the Hills for the very first time. Or picture yourself sitting by the fire in a cozy mountain lodge, captivated by stories of Sherpa and Balti climbers in Bernadette McDonald's Alpine Rising. Books are powerful tools, teaching skills to unlock new landscapes and experiences. They can also be an adventure in themselves, transporting readers to distant summits. Read more…

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

When I joined The Mountaineers this past fall, I had the opportunity to quickly connect with many passionate volunteers who were deeply involved in course management. One common theme I kept hearing from these volunteers was how time-consuming it can be to manage the various aspects of our courses, including course-related activities, post-course tasks, co-requisites, and other essential requirements. Read more…

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…

When I joined The Mountaineers, I wanted to become a better alpine climber. I didn’t realize it at the time, but learning how to climb has made me a better runner. Read more…

How do you fall in love with a place you’ve never been or creature you’ve never met? How can you gain the knowledge to do what you’ve only dreamed of? This is the mission of  Mountaineers Books. Mountaineers Books opens the door to new experiences, opens the window to new passions, and provides inspiration to pursue both. Their titles are companions we take with us on our journeys. Read more…

Last week, the new administration fired 10% of the Forest Service’s workforce, alongside thousands of employees from other public land managers, including the National Park Service. These workers do essential on-the-ground work, such as trail maintenance and cleaning facilities, that keep our public lands open, safe, and accessible. Read more…

Investing in mental health is foundational to successful risk management and fostering resilience. For this year’s Leadership Development Series, we’re pleased to offer our first ever Mental Health Symposium, in partnership with The Wilderness Chaplains, in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.  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…

Logging protests. Activists sleeping in the world’s tallest trees. An iconic species on the brink. This isn’t a summary of a Hollywood action flick - it’s the real world clash between loggers and environmentalists that led scientists to develop the Northwest Forest Plan. Read more…

Headlamps pierced the 4am darkness of a hopeful winter morning as Nigel Steere welcomed a jovial group of ski fanatics eager for a grueling day of touring. This wasn’t just any backcountry tour. The eleven teams, strapped to their skis and braving the pre-dawn cold, were making history as the first Patrol Race contestants since the infamous event ended in 1941. 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…

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…

In July 2005, six Mountaineers from several different branches set out to climb Sharkfin Tower in the North Cascades National Park. In what was the national park’s worst multi-fatality incident, the group experienced a series of events that resulted in three fatalities and one serious injury, plus trauma for the survivors. Read more…

Volunteers are the heart of The Mountaineers operations, and this past year was no exception. A heartfelt thank-you to the more than 3,000 members who generously gave their time during Fiscal Year 2024 (October 2023–September 2024), and to the many others who supported us from afar. Your contributions have truly made a difference. Read more…

Northern Canada is one of the last lightly traveled wilderness areas where one can spend a month traveling a river without seeing another person. Read more…

Perched atop Sefinenfurgge – the second highest pass on Switzerland’s Via Alpina – we soaked in our last views of the Eiger and Mönch (two of the Bernese Alps’ most famous peaks). We were eager to see the Blümlisalp massif ahead, but weren’t exactly excited about our next task: descending 3,700 feet over 3.6 miles into a valley and then immediately ascending another mile and 1,200 feet. Excited or not, that’s what it was going to take to reach our next hut, Berghaus Bundalp. Before we started downhill, a quick headcount revealed we were missing a participant. Read more…

Meet Becky, a Foothills hike and urban walk leader, Key Instructor, Key Leader, and Super Volunteer who is passionate about helping others get outside to discover the wonders of nature. Read more…

Erik joined The Mountaineers in 2022 and has been serving as Foothills Branch Treasurer since 2023. In this role, Erik works with Foothills Committee Chairs and Committee Treasurers as well as Mountaineers staff to manage the overall financials for the branch, approve expenses, and prepare the annual budget. As a branch treasurer, he is also part of the Branch Treasurer Committee and The Mountaineers Finance Committee. 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…

Finding the correct balance between training and recovery is one of my main objectives as a coach. Famed running coach Renato Canova once said that a proper training load is not the maximum amount of work an athlete can tolerate, but the least they need to improve performance. Since every person has a unique athletic history, genetic code, and physiological makeup, figuring out how to train just hard enough can be tricky. Read more…

As an outdoor community, we are committed to sharing the transformative power of the outdoors by highlighting unique perspectives. One way we do this is through Mountaineers Books, our independent, mission-focused publisher. Through support of Mountaineers Books you allow us to reach new communities; support high-quality and diverse books that may otherwise not be published; champion emerging authors; support community events, partnerships, and exhibits; and produce books in an environmentally sustainable way. Read more…

Mountaineers started 2025 strong. (The bout of January sunshine sure didn't hurt.) Read on, dear friends, for a spilt pee bottle, the red-breasted sapsucker, Jupiter, dramatic contrast, and more.  Read more…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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