Announcing #OurPNW Photo Contest Winners

In January, we asked you to share what living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest means to you in the #OurPNW photo contest. Using social media, you submitted photos showing how you enjoy #OurPNW, and told us why you like to get outside in the photo caption.

A panel of seven blind* judges from inside and outside our Mountaineers organization evaluated the photos on their ability to capture the spirit of the Northwest both through the image and words. This is part of a bigger video project we're undertaking to communicate who we are and why we adventure in the Pacific Northwest. 

One grand prize winner and six runners up received a prize pack from Cascade Designs which including items from Platypus, Therm-A-Rest, MSR, E-Case, PackTowl, and SealLine. A big Mountaineers thank you to Cascade Designs for supporting our contest!

And now, without further ado, the winners. The photos and captions (as received) are presented below.

Grand Prize: Erynn Allen

This late December scene from Mazama Ridge says so much about why I love to be outside. The experience brought beauty, philosophy, and serenity. The view is from just outside our tent, above the clouds with a lawn of undisturbed snow and a view of three volcanoes from the porch. One is visible here, as that is Mount St. Helens looming behind the Tatoosh Range. Being there makes me feel like I'm seeing something that few get to see, yet being in the shadow of beautiful and powerful Mount Rainier reminds me of how small I am. It’s part of why I take pictures, so I can capture just a bit of it to show people who weren’t there just how incredible the Pacific Northwest is. Winter camping at Paradise means that we are literally locked outside in nature, as the gate closes at Longmire each night. I find it so fun to think that we are stuck up there with just ourselves and the winter, sometimes with a few distant headlamp beams from fellow snow campers, and on this particular trip a fox who visited our campsite that night. His tracks gave him away.

Jason Neuerburg

There is nothing I enjoy more than hitting the trail with friends and heading to a lookout tower, lake or alpine camp to get away from the hustle of the city and capture photographs of Cascadia.

Michel Caron

PNW is a place where the dreams come true...and even better. Climbing Rainier was a long time dream and be part of nature at this exact moment of sunrise, at this elevation and over the clouds was an absolute moment of pure joy.

Jesse Van Hoy

#OurPNW is wild. #OurPNW is close. #OurPNW is protected. #OurPNW is threatened. #OurPNW is where I go to get away. #OurPNW is where I go to find myself.

Ben Fox

Oh my, so many reasons. Clearing the mind, challenging the body. Heading out with friends, or enjoying the silence solo. There are so few places with such good access to quite as amazing and diverse as the terrain we have here in the PNW.

Ida Vincent

High up high, up above the clouds friends are made for life, sharing the freedom of the hills and learning from each other.

Jake Anderson

I find getting outdoors centers me. It's nice to get away from the busy city, slow down, and soak up a good sunrise. That's why I love #ourPNW.

Mike Warren

I like (love) to get outside because of what it has brought to my life! I met my most awesome wife in the Mountaineers and backpacked with my daughter. The PNW outside has brought me joy, health, lasting relationships and great friendships, a love of the pain of climbing, and an overwhelming positive feeling! I climb, I ski, I hike, I scramble, I kayak, and I photograph the great outdoors! This is a picture of my good friend Deling, at 10,000' on Mt. Hood, with the shadow of Mt Hood in the background. Epic! #OurPNW.

Linda Anderson

This creek was alive with spawning salmon. I love to get outside because you never know what surprises are hiding beneath the surface. Our Pacific North West is a magical world...full of wonder.

Robin Anderson

Lake Quinault/ Olympic National Forest! Pouring rain, puddle jumping, giggles! Hiking trails, forest giants, thundering waterfalls! Getting outdoors with our grandkids means having memorable days with them that I will never forget! I love you Banoo & Stinker! :)

*The judges were not actually blind rather the contest was blind. They did not know who submitted each photo as they were judging. It's only a coincidence that we have three "Andersons" in our pool of winners.

Share Your Video with Us - Phase II

We have the photos, and now we're looking for video! We're working to create a short video history of The Mountaineers showing who we are, where we've come from, and what we stand for today. And as a small nonprofit, we're seeking contributions from YOU! We can only give you the promise of fame (not fortune) in return, and of course we will send you our best wishes for a lifetime of adventure.

To get involved, please email me (kristinac@mountaineers.org) and I can get you set up with our Dropbox account. We're seeking video submissions of all kinds (raw files of anything you can share – short, long; from a point-and-shoot camera or an iPhone) showing Mountaineers doing what we do best - getting outside.

Here’s the list of content we are seeking:

• Kids hiking, camping, skiing
• Ice Axe arrest
• time lapse or nice video of olympics
• video of landscapes / mountain scapes
• Group of people backpacking, campfire, laughing
• people pushing it, skiing climbing, any sport really, 3 to 5 shots like this
• canoeing or kayaking
• empty trails
• climbing (rock, alpine, trad)
• any good footage of programs being taught
• sailing
• scrambling
• someone with a camera (preferably film camera)
• lone backpacker/ hiker
• trees
• snow
• someone reading Freedom of the HiIlls

Please let me know if you can contribute your video for our project. As always all things at The Mountaineers are made possible by our amazing volunteers, and we couldn't do anything without your support!