Courses & Activities

Luxuries that we take for granted in our homes – the convenience of a kitchen, the comfort of a light switch – are nonexistent once you’re off-grid. The need for self-sufficiency is part of the appeal of the outdoors, but it also offers the opportunity to find yourself in a position where you didn’t pack as efficiently or appropriately as you should have. The time will come when you open your pack and realize that you forgot an item integral to your comfort or sanity. It’s happened to all of us, and is often a sign that your stoke outweighed your preparation. Read more…

As the Seattle Sailing Committee prepares to dive into sailing season, we invite you partake in one of our most popular events of the year: a sail upon the schooner Adventuress, a local gem of a vessel that travels the Salish Sea educating young and old alike about local environmental issues, sailing technique, and history! Register below and keep reading to get the inside scoop of what a sail on the 'good ship' Adventuress is like. Read more…

Our students and volunteer climbers tell us year after year that there are not enough trips and not enough leaders. The process to become a climb leader is not well defined or outlined, and many potential new leaders may not know where to go or how to start down a leadership path. To solve this problem, the Progressive Climbing Education (PCE) Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is working to identify new leadership roles in Mountaineers climbing in an effort to reduce barriers, increase available climbs, and ease the burden on our already busy volunteers.  Read more…

Excerpted from The Roskelley Collection, in memory of Jess Roskelley. (See Part 1 and Part 2) Read more…

Excerpted from The Roskelley Collection, in memory of Jess Roskelley. (See Part 1 and Part 3) Read more…

Excerpted from The Roskelley Collection, in memory of Jess Roskelley. (See Part 2 and Part 3) Read more…

I belong to several committees in The Mountaineers (photography, naturalists, and hiking), and I work hard to integrate the work of all of our committees into each of my trips. I do this because participants, like leaders, have varied interests, and the more we showcase the great offerings of The Mountaineers, the more engaged our participants will be! Read more…

Mount Rainier National Park has over 100 climbable peaks (not counting Mount Rainier itself) either within or immediately adjacent to the Park boundary, and most are seldom visited and underappreciated. In this sense they are “secrets” and worthy of being featured in this Secret Rainier series, where we outline the benefits of these 76 scrambles, 15 hikes, and nine climbs. In this issue of Secret Rainier, we describe Copper and Iron Mountains. These two gems in the park require an arduous day but are well worth it. Read more…

In July 1996, I was a rock climber with very little experience in the mountains. I found myself in Glacier, having moved to Washington State from the relative flat-lands of the East Coast, where "it might be hot but at least it's humid." I was working for a small outdoor education program, and my new friend there suggested we go climb a technical peak in the North Cascades. Read more…

As staff liaison to the Everett branch, I have the opportunity to attend their branch banquet to witness the pride of accomplishment, honor exceptional volunteers, and to be inspired by their always entertaining featured speaker. This year, Lowell Skoog, a distinguished climber, skier, writer, photographer, and Mountaineers historian, gave a presentation on the past and future of Northwest mountaineering. Read more…

The Mountaineers and Adidas Terrex are pleased to present climbing phenom Molly Mitchell on May 14 at the Seattle Program Center. An accomplished 5.13+ trad climber and youth coach to aspiring climbers, Molly values fighting hard, trusting the process, and measuring success - even in the smallest of increments. Come learn how she celebrates success while being vulnerable and battling an anxiety disorder. Read more…

A little more dirt and a little less snow are filling the pages of our trip reports now that we're well into spring. You all promptly stepped into your hiking boots this month too, it would seem. But regardless of the trails clearing up, I still see plenty of rain jackets! Hooray for indecisive weather and unreliable forecasts through the next month or two! Read more…

My friend Roger Rosenblatt and I had arranged to meet early one Saturday morning in April some years ago to go skiing in the Snoqualmie pass backcountry. Neither of us were especially good skiers, so our normal trips involved going up a logging road, and then branching off to find a lake or view rewarding ridge line. Read more…

We are excited to partner with Dr. Kodner and her students from Western Washington University for a third year on a citizen science project related to snow algae! This summer, take your alpine adventures to the next level and help us collect samples of summer "watermelon snow" algal blooms. These samples will support studies related to climate change and algal evolutionary biology. Read more…

When Dave Enfield describes one of his first and most memorable Mountaineers scrambles along Mazama Ridge, he does not mention the iconic views of the Tatoosh Range, the subalpine meadows down below, or Mount Rainier looming above. He does not bring up the early-season frost spreading from underfoot to distant peaks and chilling glaciers. He does not speak of beauty or majesty. Dave describes something entirely different: leaving his tent in the morning, all he saw was pure white. Read more…

Climbing can be an intimidating sport. For plus size people it’s even more so. Worrying about whether or not a harness will fit your body is a huge barrier to so many. Many of you have told me that you’re scared or have felt uncomfortable trying a new sport when you’re surrounded by other straight sized folks. I really want to break down those barriers and offer a more comfortable space to learn in. Don’t worry, I’ll show you the ropes (pun intended)! Read more…

The following is an excerpt from My Old Man and the Mountain, by Leif Whittaker. The Seattle Times called Leif's memoir "an entertaining coming-of-age yarn from a likable, talented diarist."  Rock & Ice  said it was "engaging and humorous." The American Alpine Institute found it to be "a beautiful piece of writing, funny and sad, insightful, and engaging." 

The book is just out in the paperback edition. See what you think. Read more…

Our Mountaineers naturalist committees offer opportunities to learn about the plants, animals, marine life, and geology of the Pacific Northwest. To help you get involved, the Olympia Naturalist Committee is offering new activities in May and June to help you learn more about the birds of our region. Read more…

You’ve seen them around: whether with a speed walking grandpa, that youngin’ plowing down the path, or the ultrarunner in the video of the Rocky 100, trekking poles (also called hiking poles or walking sticks) are an outdoor accessory almost as old as hiking itself. But… why would you use them? Read more…

When most people think of Mount Rainier National Park, they think of the park’s namesake peak, a towering 14,441-foot stratovolcano that’s famous the world over. But Washington State’s iconic mountain only scratches the surfaces of the area’s summit possibilities. Longtime Mountaineers Gene Yore and Mickey Eisenberg identified the 100 peaks surrounding Rainier and set about climbing these lesser-known gems. Gene, who took on the challenge at age 72, overcame cardiac arrest and a broken femur on his way to reaching all 100 peaks. Read more…

I looked around at the others, perhaps 75 in all, and saw that almost everyone was quite a bit younger than me. One exception was an instructor who looked like he might at least hail from the same part of the century. The lines on his clean-shaven face were well-defined and weathered in a good way. Read more…

Are you an experienced Mountaineers activity leader who dreams of multi-day adventures in far-flung places? Global Adventures leaders have taken groups skiing, snowshoeing, climbing, scrambling, backpacking, trekking, and day-walking in Alaska, the Rockies, the Alps, Patagonia, Peru, the Himalayas, the British Isles, New Zealand, Japan, and more. The Global Adventures program may be the perfect place for you to live your travel dreams with capable Mountaineers Groups, and, at the same time, take your trip planning and group leadership skills to a new level. Read more…

Our small town in rural Pennsylvania didn’t have a community center. Or a swimming pool. The only thing for us children to do when we weren’t in school was hike the surrounding hills and mountains. My family was poor, so we never went on vacations that didn’t involve a tent or camper. My strongest and most vivid memories growing up are from experiences in the outdoors. Spending time in the forests and mountains is as natural to me as breathing. Read more…

Dierdre Wolownick has lived an interesting life - mother, wife, teacher, musician, linguist, writer, runner and climber. Her son Alex Honnold is one of the two or three most famous rock climbers in the world. Dierdre herself started climbing late in life and at age 66 she climbed El Cap, making her the oldest woman to accomplish the feat. Find out how the author of The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story keeps life exciting. Read more…

With just three days left in his 23-day, reality television ordeal, Don Nguyen was the very embodiment of the show’s title, “Naked and Afraid.” Cold rain and winds pounded and compromised his primitive shelter in the Namibian wilderness. As he shivered uncontrollably, in the buff and borderline hypothermic, he pondered an ending that he ultimately refused to accept. Read more…

Our new Gear Library is committed to helping the next generation explore the outdoors. Since launching in August 2018, we have partnered with local youth-serving agencies to offer free access to outdoor gear to help increase access to our wild places.  We are excited to announce that car camping and backpacking gear are now included in our gear offerings! Attend our upcoming Gear Library orientation on April 8 to learn more. Read more…

Hiking goals in Alaska are as diverse as the people you meet out on the trail; they come in all shapes, sizes and ambitions. But one thing is pretty universal: The ideal of an end-of-summer “goal hike” that you train for all summer long. Read more…

Spring has sprung! Can't you tell? T-shirts and sandals are trickling back into our lives, people are sitting outside just for the fun of it, and all of a sudden it makes sense to buy sunscreen again. Read more…

Progressive Climbing Education (PCE) is a strategic initiative to advance our Mountaineers climbing programs, make our suite of volunteer-led Climbing Programs more fun for volunteers to run, easier to recruit volunteers for, more attractive to new climbers (especially those coming out of the gym), and more advanced for our highly-skilled volunteers and students. This quarterly communication is intended to provide regular updates about each committees' projects, offer transparency, and ensure that all branches are able to provide feedback and input to proposed changes to the climbing programs. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Gordie Swartzman, a naturalists leader with the Seattle Branch who encourages new leaders to lead out of their passion! Read more…