Cheryl Talbert
Many current and prospective Mountaineers living on the east side of Lake Washington don't realize that they have a local Mountaineers branch with activity and course programs, fun events, and volunteer opportunities close to home! Our Foothills branch serves the 521, I-405, and I-90 corridors. We invite you to join in on one of our dynamic activities, events, courses, and/or stewardship programs today!
One of our fastest growing and newest Mountaineers branches, Foothills was founded in 2004 as an offshoot of the Seattle branch. We're a close community of "boots on the ground" people who are passionate about creating opportunities to get people outdoors and have fun together - and we're small enough that it's easy and un-intimidating to jump in and get started! Our small tight knit group of dedicated, energetic volunteers offers a wide range of safe and fun group outdoor activities to help you grow and develop new outdoors skills. More courses and activities are being created on a regular basis! Additionally, we host great speakers, films, and social events.
We value offering a range of accessible and welcoming programs for people of all fitness levels and backgrounds. Our programs include backcountry skiing & snowboarding, nordic (cross country) skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and backpacking, scrambling and trail running, as well as outdoor skills education including outdoor navigation, wilderness first aid, and outdoor leadership.
We organize fun social and educational events such as branch picnics, socials, speaker events, and film nights - including top-billed film events such as Mountainfilm (an offshoot of the Telluride Film Festival) and the Backcountry Film Festival. We also partner with other community organizations such as Washington Trails Organization, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Forterra and the City of Bellevue TRACKS program to help maintain and protect wild places and get youth and adults outside.
we need you!!
We're constantly trying to find new ways to support our community, build opportunities to get youth and families outside, support all the diverse populations in our area, and steward our precious wild places.
Volunteers are our lifeblood and nothing we do could happen without them! We actively invest in the development and recognition of our volunteers and regularly provide training opportunities for new volunteers in programs like our New Leader Seminars.
If you're passionate about people and the outdoors and are interested in 'giving back', we'd love to hear from you! If you're not ready to volunteer yet, but you'd like to find a fun group of new friends and learn skills to help you explore our amazing wild places, check us out! We hope you like what you find!
Questions? Follow the links above to find out more information, or contact branch chair Cheryl Talbert at cascadehiker@earthlink.net.
