Courses & Activities

Calling all adventurers! Are you eager to explore the serene beauty of the Pacific Northwest in winter? The Mountaineers' Snowshoeing Committee offers a comprehensive range of courses designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to confidently embark on snowshoeing journeys. Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned outdoor enthusiast, we have a program to suit your experience level and aspirations. Read more…

Outstanding leaders, volunteers, graduating students, and recipients of hiking pins and badges were recognized and celebrated at this year's Olympia Branch Annual Awards Celebration. Read more…

Over the last several months, we shared our opposition to Washington ballot initiative 2117 and engaged in advocacy to defeat it because we strongly believe that we must continue to fight the climate crisis here in Washington state and beyond. Read more…

With his trademark enthusiasm and expertise, Craig Romano will share information on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Silver Star Scenic Area, Trapper Creek Wilderness, Cottonwood Canyon State Park, and some select hikes along the Columbia east of the Gorge, with explorations of national forests and wilderness areas, state forests, state parks, county parks, city parks, and national wildlife refuges. Read more…

Winter arrived early in the Alps this year: on Friday, September 13. While many hikers were shocked by this so-called "unusual situation," this September snowstorm was not unusual at all. These conditions forced many of our customers to end their tours early, while other customers suffered and endured miserable trail conditions. Read more…

The Mountaineers Seattle Climbing Committee is excited to host two socials in November: one for the BIPOC community and another for those who identify as women or non-binary. Read more…

Are you interested in making new friends, collecting inspiring memories, and discovering new parts of our world? Sign up for Mountaineers Global Adventures! The rewards are great, the experiences are unparalleled, and the adventure is abundant. Read more…

As a climber, I am no stranger to fear. I used to highball boulder – meaning I would climb tall boulders where the risk of falling meant serious injury – and without fail, I’d feel fear every time, whether or not I made it all the way up. One day, I was outdoor bouldering with friends fairly new to the sport. Halfway up the boulder, I reached a tricky section. Assessing the situation against my current skill levels, I realized if I went for the next move and missed, I wouldn’t just endanger myself, but my spotters, too. The move wasn’t worth the risk. I decided to descend. Read more…

Each October, the Olympia Mountaineers gather to celebrate the work we have done, the fun we had, and the friendships we made during the program year. Read more…

Ten is both large and small. Ten feet into an alpine climb is just the beginning, but for a book to endure for a tenth edition, it must have enormous staying power. Of the twenty-five million books in the Library of Congress catalog, only about 1,640 are tenth editions.  Read more…

In the outdoors, many factors are out of our control. We’re often at the whim of Mother Nature and to some extent, that’s the thrill of being outside. While a certain level of risk will always exist, there are variables within our control too, and it’s our job to identify and mitigate them. Hydration - the act of replenishing vital bodily fluids - is no exception. Read more…

In 1974, the third edition of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills was released and with it, a safety and packing system named The Ten Essentials. This year, we’re happily celebrating 50 years of The Ten Essentials minimizing risks outdoors. Read more…

With nearly one million copies sold, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills remains the premier guidebook for mountaineers all over the world. Join us for our two upcoming events to celebrate the release of the 10th edition of this acclaimed guidebook. Read more…

The Olympia Branch is a vibrant, growing community with quality volunteer leaders. Behind these leaders is a dedicated Branch Council, providing structure and support for our leaders and general membership to thrive.  Read more…

The next Baker Lodge work party will be held on the weekend of October 4-6, 2024. Lodge work parties are a great opportunity to come together as a team of like-minded Mountaineers in one of the most beautiful settings in the Cascades. This year's tasks include brush-cutting, painting, cleaning, light carpentry, and more.     Read more…

In May of 1959, a party of ten Mountaineers were flown one at a time from Darrington Airstrip to a 7,800-foot camp on Glacier Peak. Local photographer Ira Spring organized and led the party of six men and three women to join the expedition, one of his many enterprising invitations to bring people together through photography and adventure. The trip took these Mountaineers six unforgettable days. Read more…

I am at my limit, sick to my stomach and reduced to guttural responses to my fear and fatigue. I have never climbed a mountain before, let alone one at 14,000 feet. On this late-season climb, I’ve seen my crampons spark on the rocks of the Disappointment Cleaver and twice tiptoed across ladders straddling yawning crevasses. And yet, the mountain expects more of me. I keep pushing as the rope propels me forward. Read more…

Waking up to the smell of coffee and freshly baked sweet bread… what could be better? Waking up to these after hiking along the magnificent Amalfi Coast in Italy, of course! Read more…

A year into our strategic plan, Adventure with Purpose, we’re making significant strides to continue improving support for our mission. To better address the needs of our volunteers who run and operate our three lodges, we are expanding resources and making dedicated financial investments. Of the many improvements taking place this season, I’m excited about a new opportunity to accelerate infrastructure improvements to revitalize Baker, Meany, and Stevens Lodges. Read more…

Being outdoorsy didn’t come naturally to me. Although I’m from a small, blue-collar farming community, my parents' idea of spending time outside meant performing back-breaking work in the mid-Atlantic humidity or struggling to stay warm in Carhartt coveralls during blustery winters. In 2013, I migrated to Wyoming and met people who had different ideas of the outdoors: that it could be healing, peaceful, and most importantly, fun. Read more…

The Mentored Backpack Leaders course is an exciting, new offering for the Foothills community. The main objective of the course is to provide an additional pathway for branch members pursuing the Backpack Leader badge. Read more…

We were the luckiest teenagers we knew. In the spring of 1953, my sister (16) and I (18) learned we would spend ten days that summer in the alpine world of Mt. Rainier with two other teenage climbing course graduates, as well as renowned photographer Ira Spring. How did this happen? Ira had a contract with the publisher of a new magazine, Sports Illustrated. Read more…

On a Friday night in late August, I headed north from Seattle with Iris, Phillip, and Jordan - three friends I’d made in the Everett Basic Climbing course. We were on our way to Ruth Mountain and Icy Peak to try what’s known as the Ruth and Icy Traverse - a linkup of two glaciated summits on the border of North Cascades National Park. Read more…

When I was little my parents enrolled me in summer sailing camp. My mother told me it was a necessary life skill that would be useful later on, but I was skeptical. Next thing I knew I was on a small boat with three other kids, floating into the middle of Lake Washington. We were packed in shoulder to shoulder, our red regulation life jackets up to our ears, my stomach bobbing up and down in tandem with the waves. We looked at each other with the same expression. “You guys know how to do this, right?” None of us did. Read more…

But what do you eat? This is my students’ favorite question when I tell them I’m running a 100-mile race. More than anything, they want to know what’s in store for my stomach (they care deeply about my stomach when I talk about mountaineering, too). If you’re also curious, here are my insights from years of running and mountaineering. Read more…

The sweat pours from your brow as you trudge under the spring sun, a mere half-mile from the summit. You know you’re tired, but begin to question if you’re unwell when you see not one, but a dozen people bounding toward you, clad in all kinds of hiking-inappropriate garb. One man is in a hula skirt, followed by a woman dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. You sit down for safety and watch the apparitions get closer. You’re not hallucinating. You’ve just stumbled upon the elusive Mother’s Day hikers outside of their usual haunt. Read more…

Calling all spelunkers and scramblers! This September, Global Adventures has a unique adventure planned for you: an unforgettable trip to Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. This wonder is featured as one the “Top 10 Experiences” in Moon's USA National Park Guide – and for good reason. Read more…

In 2019, I joined a Global Adventures trip – first to Torres del Paine in Chile and then to the Fitz Roy Massif in Argentina. I was 76 and rather long in the tooth for a backpack classified as “very strenuous.” But Fitz Roy was a mountain I’d wanted to see since my late teens. This was my first chance. Jump! Read more…

Summoning my life’s longest, most formative journey, I sometimes put the maps of my arctic traverse end to end. When I do, all the wilderness I could ever want spreads across my living room floor, a smorgasbord of possibilities. “You must walk like a camel,” Thoreau counseled, “which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking.” And I did. Read more…

Squinting against the morning sun, I stab my pole into the steep east face of Wild Goat Peak and break loose a small snowball that quickly grows to the size of a man’s torso. Gaining speed as it travels downhill, the snowball finally topples where the mountain’s pitch shallows out. The test confirms my suspicions: this face is ripe for a wet avalanche. Read more…