Outdoor Leadership

The Mountaineers 'Vision 2022' Strategic Plan calls for us to invest in being “innovative leaders in outdoor education.” This means we need to respond to growing needs and address new century challenges in ways that are different from traditional  outdoor education. This includes investment in our volunteers – the greatest source of innovation and a priceless resource that is uniquely Mountaineers. We call this new approach "Progressive Outdoor Education."  Read more…

The Mountaineers Leadership Conference is a one-day conference held on Saturday, December 2 at the Seattle Program Center in Magnuson Park. It is an engaging and exciting day of leadership development for you - our community of outstanding leaders - and we hope that you're able to join us! Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Rodica Manole, a volunteer with the Everett Branch who encourages her fellow women to step into leadership roles because you’re more ready than you think you are. Read more…

In the process of writing a recent blog on committee volunteerism, I shared an email conversation with John Dunlap from the Olympia Branch about volunteering with The Mountaineers. John is a five year member who supports several committees, including Olympia’s Scrambling and Sea Kayaking Committees. When I asked John about his experience supporting committee work and volunteering with The Mountaineers, his response took me by surprise - in a very good way. Read more…

My own Mountaineers leadership story started with a search for trail companions. I was seeking a compatible group on the types of hikes and backpacks that interested me. Then, one day, I took a new arrival from China on his first hike, and I saw the joy and wonder blossom on his face when Mount Rainier emerged in all her glory behind a ridge covered with meadow wildflowers. That was it, I was hooked. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Bill Borom, a 5-year leader whose involvement in a wide variety of club activities has continued to spark his sense of adventure and expand his pool of friends to adventure with! Read more…

Did you know that The Mountaineers club didn’t have a paid employee until 1984? Tired of all of the paperwork, the growing organization hired a part-time administrator to help with waivers and dues so that volunteers could focus on the fun stuff: developing courses, providing instruction, leading trips, and running committees. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Donna Kreuger, a Hike Leader who wants people to understand that they don't have to be a big, bad mountain climber to rock the outdoors! Read more…

Last year, The Mountaineers went through an exercise to clarify and distill our core values, both as an organization and as a community. The core values we identified—Adventure, Advocacy, Community, Education, and Volunteerism—closely align with our mission to “explore, learn, and conserve." In a recent course, one of our students identified a common language shortcut with the unintended impact of being non-inclusive. Read more…

Occasionally, Mountaineers leaders are interested in leading a multi-day trip outside the Pacific Northwest. If you want to lead a backpacking trip to Hawaii, a volcano climb in Canada, a sea kayak trip in Mexico, or, perhaps even farther afield like a sailing trip in Greece, a climb in Peru, or a trek in the Dolomites, we have different ways to get involved. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Sherrie Trecker, a Climb Leader who knows how to delegate, wants to inspire more women's leadership, and always has a bag of gummies in her backpack. Read more…

Participation Notes are an important part of The Mountaineers internal reporting and tracking processes. Leaders use this tool to capture and review notes about a member's past participation that might be useful for future leaders. Read more…

I recently attended a webinar on Emotional Intelligence, shorthanded to EQ or EI. Hosted by one of our partner organizations, Camber Outdoors, I was intrigued by the webinar’s title, “EQ - The Secret Sauce for Accelerating Leadership”. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Charlie Michel, a Sea Kayak Leader who can still hold his own with the young guns. Read more…

Attendees of our Leader Seminar will learn what it means to lead a Mountaineers hike or backpack. We'll cover how to prepare and lead your participants in a safe and enjoyable outing and how to handle some common on-trail leadership challenges, as well as how to post a hike or backpack and a post-trip activity report. This seminar  will get you started toward becoming a certified trip leader for the Seattle or Foothills Branches. (this seminar can count toward certification for the other branches as well!) Read more…

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in a rock climbing leadership course with about 20 other Mountaineers leaders and instructors. The first seminar focused on identifying our personal leadership style using the NOLS No-Doz model. which divides people into 4 leadership styles. Read more…

Join the Seattle Branch as we recognize the outstanding achievements of all of our Mountaineers volunteers. The event is open to volunteers across the entire organization and tickets are available on a first come first serve basis. Read more…

Over the years, members of The Mountaineers community have worked on a number of inclusion initiatives to encourage more involvement from diverse communities. To date, limited resources have been put toward a mindful effort to create a more inclusive environment at The Mountaineers. Read more…

I was at a pretty big Thanksgiving gathering at an old YMCA camp on the Oregon Coast. In the industrial sized kitchen, a volunteer crew was preparing to feed a group of 50. Preparing to chop, the young man in charge of the meal that night dumped a bag of onions on the counter. I was nearby, chatting with a friend. I wasn’t part of the crew but I offered to help.  Read more…

We're thrilled to offer our third annual Fostering Leadership Conference on December 3, 2016. Each year, we create a special day reserved for current and aspiring leaders to foster new ideas and skills to support what The Mountaineers have been best at for more than 100 years: Leadership Development. Read more…

The first ever Northwest Youth Leadership Summit was held Saturday, October 22, 2016 at our Seattle Program Center. Working with more than 30 partner organizations, we brought together 120 youth from around the PNW for a day of leadership and learning, plus we enjoyed a surprise visit from Sally Jewell! Read more…

Leading hikes and backpacks offers unique rewards, but also unique challenges. Unlike other more technically demanding Mountaineers activities, hikes and backpacks have no course pre-requisites. We often lead people who are new to the outdoors and/or have widely varying capabilities. This seminar focuses on leadership skills to help you thrive and deliver safe, enjoyable trips. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we've believe venturing into the outdoors is an essential piece of the human experience. We go outside to wander and explore the adventurous spirit within ourselves. It's important to implement low-impact recreation skills to keep our wild places as sanctuaries for the human spirit; so our grandchildren can experience the sensation of discovering an untouched place. Read more…

I arrived early on my first day at Junior Mountaineers Summer Camp, excited to meet all the kids and ready to learn how this camp worked and what to do. After meeting the other counselors, my co-counselor Christoph and I read through the forms for each of our campers. Read more…

How can we ensure the iconic lands “made for you and me” continue to be the gateway for falling in love with and protecting the natural world? Can our national parks be more inviting and better reflect the rich diversity of America? Will they remain world-class destinations? Can our parks become models for sustainability? Read more…

My own Mountaineers leadership story started with a search for trail companions. I was seeking a compatible group on the types of hikes and backpacks that interested me. Then, one day, I took a new arrival from China on his first hike, and I saw the joy and wonder blossom on his face when Mount Rainier emerged in all her glory behind a ridge covered with meadow wildflowers. That was it, I was hooked. Read more…

You may have gotten a little confused lately browsing for Navigation courses on our website. The traditional "Basic Navigation" course has recently been renamed "Wilderness Navigation" by our Seattle and Tacoma branches. If you're a student or instructor trying to satisfy a Basic Navigation requirement, HAVE NO FEAR: you will still receive the same badge by taking the newly named Wilderness Navigation course. Read more…

Sharing your travel adventures with others in a Trip Report is helpful in many ways. Trip reports can be a useful tool to share current trail conditions or noteworthy changes to a route/place, and they're a fun and creative way to share your unique experiences in the wilderness!  Read more…

The Mountaineers puts a large emphasis on the importance of leadership, and we encourage our members to become an activity leader and join our vibrant volunteer community. But what does it really mean to be a leader for The Mountaineers, and what is expected of these individuals? Read more…

Giving and receiving feedback is an integral part of our organizational culture at The Mountaineers. From staff, to volunteers, to members, we strive to create a healthy loop of feedback that allows us the opportunity to continually evaluate, assess, and improve our programs! Read more…