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Hometown: Seattle Washington
Member Since: 1970
Occupation: Retired Engineer
Favorite Things to Photograph: Mountain scenery Read more…

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 have assembled a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Committee to direct our strategy, priorities, and resourcing to make progress on this goal. We have recently completed our committee charter, and are planning our next town hall style listening session to gather your feedback and share some of the results of our committee work. Read more…

When  Mountaineering Club debuted earlier this year, rumor had it that The Mountaineers had opened a new bar on the roof of Seattle's Graduate Hotel! While the rumor isn't true, we're still excited to share that we'll be partnering with Mountaineering Club throughout the year on a handful of parties and projects. Up first - a summer kick-off to celebrate the new season of warm-weather activities! Mark your calendars for June 12! Read more…

On behalf of The Mountaineers, I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to our longest standing member: Mary Anderson – a Washington State native, co-founder of REI with her husband Lloyd, one of a handful of Mountaineers instrumental in setting up the climbing course in 1936, and a longtime teacher in the Seattle Public School District. Read more…

Meet Addison - an eight year old with a quiet yet self-assured presence. Addison, like all Mountaineers, loves the outdoors. She loves swimming, fishing, kayaking, rock climbing, and camping in her family’s gigantic tent – “no seriously, it’s gigantic!” she’ll tell you. Read more…

We believe we have a responsibility to build a community that welcomes climbers of all types - new climbers, climbers new to the area, climbers from every community, hard core climbers, and those of us that dabble in climbing. That's why we embarked on a project called Progressive Climbing Education - an initiative to re-think our program design to better meet the needs of the climbing community and better achieve our mission. The first step involved intensive information-seeking, then we took the feedback to simplify our project goals. One of those goals is to "Create a Welcoming Community."  Read more…

Picnics and northwest summer evenings are made for each other, and they're even even better when the picnic offers your first chance to gather in person with other Olympia Branch members in over a year.  We invite you to join us for our summer picnic on August 4.  Read more…

Are you looking to beat the crowds, and to get out on the trail when it’s a bit less busy? Do you have a flexible schedule mid-week? If so, you should consider a Mid-Week Hike! Read more…

Upon starting the second rappel from the summit of The Tooth, a Basic student  hit his knee on the rock. He said it was fine, and after a minute to recompose himself, nothing more was discussed until after our final rappel to the rock field below the base of the climb. Read more…

The black bird flew around the dock, showing long, white patches on its wings, and dropped its fire-engine red feet to land on the water with hardly a splash. The pigeon guillemot then looked both directions before diving. Its stubby wings flapped gently under the water as it headed to the shallow bottom in search of food. I caught glimpses of other guillemots coming and going while standing on the dock in Langley on Whidbey Island – some were nesting and may have had nestlings to feed – but the one below me disappeared entirely into the depths. Read more…

Skiers and snowboarders in Washington State are lucky to enjoy a wide range of opportunities to zip down the hill. You want the deepest snow? Head to Mt. Baker. Easy access from Seattle? Snoqualmie has you covered. Looking for something small and community-oriented? Visit Meany Lodge! With a range of options to choose from, Washingtonians have it pretty good. Over the past 100 years though, the ski map of Washington has changed dramatically. The Cascade and Olympic Mountains have been home to dozens of resorts, and the ones you see now are the few that remain. Of the current popular areas, few were present in the minds of skiers before the last few decades. Buckle your boots – we’re going for a trip to the hidden gems of yesteryear. Read more…

I fell in love with the snow as a child. We didn’t have a lot of the white stuff where I grew up near London, England but I was fortunate in that my parents took my brother and I skiing in Austria. Every winter after that I tried to get in at least one ski vacation.  Read more…

Mountaineering is an expensive sport. It's especially daunting for beginners, who often have to prioritize spending across competing items. With a fixed amount of money, do you go for Gore-Tex undies, an ice axe made of sleek unobtanium . . . or yawn, a compass? (Let's face it, a shiny new cam is way sexier than a compass.) Read more…

The Nooksack Access Travel Management project in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest seeks to identifying roads to retain, roads that are no longer needed, and roads that need work to stay open. The major roads for recreational users included in this project area are Glacier Creek, Hannegan Pass, Skyline Divide, and Canyon Creek Road.  Read more…

My success as a climber was far from guaranteed.

Growing up Jewish, an ethnicity stereotyped as bookish and non-athletic, I struggled with scoliosis, a lazy eye, orthotic shoes, and a disability that impairs hand-eye (brain) coordination. In my urban Los Angeles elementary school, our “special” PE class endured taunts of “Retard PE!” from the “normal” kids. Add on teenaged depression/anxiety, an eating disorder, lifelong PTSD - in part from childhood bullying - and a bit of confusion (self-judgment) around gender and orientation, and I felt like a freak. Read more…

Getting outside and enjoying nature doesn't just mean going on hikes, backpacking, climbing, etc. As some of us age, it's not as easy to do those things, as much as we want to (and enjoyed them previously). For me, it can be something as simple as walking through a park while photographing what I see and identifying plants, birds (by sound), and animals. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

In January 2020, we invited our members and volunteers, past and present, to participate in a member and volunteer survey. We wanted to learn how their perceptions of and experiences with our club have changed since our last surveys in 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018. We compare these responses with past survey data to track patterns showing how we’ve grown and changed, and to identify opportunities to improve.  Read more…

Hiking is a wonderful way to get outside, stretch your legs, and see the best of what the Northwest has to offer. However, it’s important to be mindful of the impacts that we can have on our public lands by doing our best to keep the places we visit wild and pristine. Read more…

A 94-year-old Northwest native, Fred Beckey is the quintessential “dirtbag” - the original in a breed of rebellious, fearless mountain climbers. Director Dave O’Leske spent 10 years shadowing Beckey throughout the world as chronicled those tales in DIRTBAG. We hope you'll join us for a special screenings September 9 or 16! Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to.... Read more…

The word “legend” often evokes tall tales, stories whose veracity is less relevant than our collective belief in the incredible. Amidst the giant lumberjacks, sea monsters, and ‘there be dragons’ marks on the map, however, there do exist flesh-and-blood legends. Their footsteps are a little smaller and their voices a little softer, but they are there, crafting history. Read more…

Name: Anita L. Elder
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Member Since: 2007
Occupation: Freelance Graphic Designer
Favorite Things to Photograph: Landscapes, animals, nature, and old architecture Read more…

It’s been two long years now since COVID-19 emerged on the world and turned it upside-down. As we begin year three it looks like the virus won’t be going away for good, although we can all hope that it at least fades in prominence and influence. As the current wave is ebbing, I am trying to remain optimistic in the face of new potential variants. But while the pandemic has had many negative and disruptive effects, it has also been a game-changer for many of us on how we view our world, our relationship with others, and how we want to approach life moving forward. Read more…

[Leader]
Cause: Slip on Steep Snow (caused by fatigue and inattention/poor technique, according to injured climber). No helmet. Read more…

A sloping lot in the crook of a mountain pass at 4,200 feet caught the eye of Mountaineers volunteers 75 years ago. A lease from the U.S. Forest Service was signed, and construction began on a rustic ski in/ski out cabin. As the June 1946 Mountaineer bulletin stated, “All sites will be developed as cheaply as possible, with maximum accommodations for minimum cost.” Read more…

This past year, as always, our volunteers have remained at the core of our operations. Thank you to the 2,887 members who volunteered their time during fiscal year 2021 (October 2020-September 2021), and to the many others who supported from afar! Each of you has made a difference. Read more…

Written by Joe Sambataro, Northwest Regional Director for The Access Fund Read more…

Do you spend time on Mt. Baker? Skiing, climbing, hiking or taking in the views from Artist Point? Are there more people out there then when you started climbing there 10 years ago? Did you just make your first trip there? What did you think? Come share your experience as a user of the mountain. Read more…

Our branch wants to give a big shout out to Richard Bell! Meet this awesome volunteer whose hard work is a huge asset to the Foothills community. Read more…