Vik Sahney
At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and are seeking your feedback to confront our internal systems of inequity. Please join us for a July working session to share your thoughts and help be part of the solution.
We face unique challenges as a volunteer-led organization with 14,000 members from varied backgrounds and life experiences. We’d like to invite you to join us on July 9 in Seattle or July 15 in Tacoma for a discussion about these challenges and areas of opportunity. We will take a critical look at our internal systems and processes to discuss inequities that keep The Mountaineers from being a place where all people from various backgrounds and life experiences can experience the outdoors. Members and nonmembers are welcome, with the majority of our time focusing on systems and processes internal to The Mountaineers.
The meetings will take place from 6:30pm-9pm and we are committed to starting and ending on time. Food and beverages will be provided, with gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options available. Select the date below to see the agenda and homework for each the session and to RSVP.
Our Commitment
As we embark on this work, we have been cautioned that our approach will need to be broad, multi-level, and org-wide with a focus on long-term, systematic, and cultural changes (while also making immediate, short-terms improvements). We also have been advised that being persistent yet patient is important - we need to move forward boldly yet with intention. We are not here to simply check a box and pat ourselves on the back, and we acknowledge that an uncomfortable road lies ahead.
We are committed to owning the past failures and current realities of The Mountaineers with humility and honesty. We commit to ask questions as opportunities to learn, not to defend our actions, and to assume best intentions from each member of our community. This won’t always be easy and by committing to this work we know we’ll make mistakes. We appreciate your engagement in this process, and want to acknowledge and thank our community and the members of the committee for their work to benefit The Mountaineers community.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
We've published a number of pieces over the years on the topic of creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. We encourage you to peruse these blogs, and dive into the additional resources identified within each article.
Main image: Backpacking at Robin Lakes. Photo by Rafael Godoi.
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Sorry I missed the meetings on this subject. As a senior member of the mountaineers, I would love to see more local and moderate hikes available, especially local ones around town (like Nisqually, or Priest Point Park).
