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

Conservation advocacy has been an enduring priority throughout The Mountaineers history. Early members recognized the importance of protecting wild places for the outdoor experience, and as a result we have been involved in nearly every major conservation campaign in our state's history. Advocacy has been, and remains, at the heart of key environmental protections.  Read more…

Dee Molenaar, an international mountaineering legend, Pacific Northwest hero, climber, geologist, and artist, passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2020. He was 101. A public memorial will be held on Sunday, October 10, 2021.  Read more…

It rained non-stop on the Wynoochee valley in the southern Olympics on Earth Day weekend, April 22-23, 2017, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of 27 members of The Mountaineers who volunteered alongside four Washington Trail Association (WTA) crew leaders for the first trail maintenance stewardship project between the two organizations.  Read more…

Over the weekend of August 29-30, our Olympia Branch Stewardship Committee co-sponsored Wynoochee Trail maitenence activities in partnership with Washington Trails Association. I sat down with Ginger Sarver - a Stewardship Leader, 4-time Super Volunteer, and the Event Organizer - to hear more about the impact of this fun weekend. Read more…

Imagine returning to the car after hiking double-digit miles into triple-digit temperatures, finally pitching your heavy pack into the back of the car. Before you take off to the local pub that serves nachos, pizza, and beer, consider how you’ll feel after an hour or more in the car.  Read more…

While tenured Meanyites know how to pack for a weekend of fun in about 3 minutes flat (hint: after unpacking, do laundry & re-pack immediately), we often see first time visitors struggle. Here’s a rule of thumb & a few specific pointers: Read more…

You’re signed up for an activity this weekend, but something came up. Maybe you got sick, or an old injury lingered longer than you’d expected. Perhaps a last-minute work conflict or a personal commitment has to take precedence. We understand that life happens, but taking a moment to reflect on your decision, and practicing good cancellation etiquette, are essential to our member and volunteer satisfaction. Read more…

As you sit down to plan your next activity with The Mountaineers, we encourage you to consider how your listing may impact registration and last-minute cancellations. Read on to find some helpful tips from the staff at The Mountaineers. Read more…

The first time I tried my hand at astrophotography (shooting the stars, as opposed to shooting stars) was on a clear night just outside Mount Rainier National Park. I was renting a cabin with my wife and her family, a trio of sisters from Colombia who spoke frequently about the possibility of seeing wildlife. I left them for the pitch darkness down the road along the Nisqually River. Read more…

So you're vegan - no meat, no fish, no dairy. Whether you do it for your health, the environment, or animals rights reasons, it's not always convenient to have a plant-based diet. This is especially true in the world of backpacking, where beef jerky is its own food group. But I have good news- it's entirely possible to eat vegan and eat well in the backcountry. All it takes is a little extra planning and a lot of legumes.  Consider these tips the next time you hit the trail: Read more…

For our member profile this week we talked to Scott Schissel, a Park Ranger and Mountaineer who loves feeling all the stress melt away while on a long hike or run. Read more…

In 2021, The Mountaineers began to utilize a new process for discovering potential candidates for open at-large positions on our Board of Directors. This new open nominations process was very successful, resulting in more than 20 nominees from across the organization. Feedback from applicants and the community at large about the new process was overwhelmingly positive. Members appreciated the transparency, rigor, and excellent results that it delivered.  Read more…

Interested in learning how to snowshoe, kayak, or navigate in the backcountry? Want to meet some new exploration buddies? Have a gear wishlist a mile long, or have some extra gear you'd like to unload? Come to The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center from 6-8:30pm on Monday, September 21! Read more…

About a year and a half ago The Mountaineers announced our intention to engage in equity & inclusion (E&I) work. This commitment stems from our belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We're grateful to all of our members and volunteers who have been engaging in this work, and we're excited to share what we collectively accomplished in 2019. Read more…

You are cobalt blue mixed with just a little bit of rose. And you are my yellow straight out of the palette, no mixing required! What is your name, little friend? Ohhh, and you are scarlet and ultramarine blue with a hint of white. Read more…

We’ve been teaching people how to climb outside for 110 years, but that doesn’t mean we have all the answers. As we look back on the challenges we’ve faced and look forward to the opportunities to teach skills in new and different ways, we’re excited about the potential to take some of our outdoor education programs in a new direction. Read more…

For most of us, putting 2020 in the rearview mirror is something we’re looking forward to. As I’ve shared before, the COVID-19 crisis has created significant challenges for organizations such as The Mountaineers. The biggest headwind we faced this year was the dramatic reduction of program revenue as we largely shut down. At the beginning of the crisis, we literally wondered if we’d have enough cash in the bank to get us through the summer because the courses, camps, lodges, and books retailers that traditionally support our organization had nearly ground to a halt. In what felt like the blink of an eye, we were facing a more than 25% revenue gap for the year. To successfully survive this COVID-induced storm, we’ve had to adapt to significant changes and redouble our commitment to our mission and core values. 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…

Everybody poops... but not everyone knows how to poop in the wilderness in an environmentally friendly way. The Mountaineers are addressing this challenge with a new course launching April 1, 2021, just in time for summer: Wilderness Pooping.   Read more…

Is this quarantine starting to get to you? Are you watching birds out your windows and dreaming about what a birding trip might be like? Where might you go on your own during these Coronavirus times, and what might you find and identify? Our new course, Birding in Quarantine: Maximizing Your Fun and Relaxation, is here to help! 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…

Recently, Mountaineers Richard Burt, Lynn Graf, and I took a canoe-camping trip to Long Island in Willapa Bay, an uninhabited five mile long, one mile wide National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Washington. Despite bucking a headwind as we paddled for an hour or so on an outgoing tide, we became ensconced in a sheltered, secure waterfront site that allowed us to observe the endless mudflats that are exposed after the tidal retreat. Read more…

This story starts back in 2019 when, as the Hiking Chair for the Tacoma Hiking and Backpacking Committee, I had the idea of offering a Conditioning Hiking Series (CHS) in Tacoma. The goal of a series like this is to help casual or new hikers increase their mileage and elevation gain in a fun, community-oriented way, and I had a feeling it would be popular at our branch.  Read more…

During the first student training sail of the 2023 Seattle Mountaineers Sailing Course, an orca decided to put on a show just north of Shilshole Bay Marina. The orca performed a “spy hop” to check out its surroundings. Students were thrilled! Read more…

In January 2021, we shared how the effort to replace the dam at Eightmile Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness could bring negative impacts to the Wilderness area and the world-class outdoor recreation opportunities it provides. Read more…

On the morning of July 10, 2023, Rose Vanderhoof, 33-year Mountaineers member and avid outdoor enthusiast, became the oldest woman to summit Mt.Rainier at 78. She reached the summit with her son Chris Haugen, granddaughter Aleah Haugen, friend Mingrey Hildebrandt, and Mt. Tahoma Trails Association’s High Hut Manager Dr. Leyton Jump, who led the climb. This trip marked Rose’s ninth, and last, summit of Mt. Rainier.  Read more…

Izy loves everything about the outdoors. As a single mother working in social services, I’ve always made a modest salary, but I didn’t want my financial hardships to keep Izy from going to summer camp. I wanted my daughter to have the experiences that other kids have like climbing, sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, whitewater rafting, hiking, learning to respect our natural world, and even things like outdoor cooking and first aid.  Read more…

One of the unwritten core values at The Mountaineers is safety. When we go out together, we make every effort to return safely. And, safety is about more than just physical safety. Feeling emotionally safe - to ask questions, share concerns, and show up as your full self - is a key component to physically safe outcomes. To support emotionally safe environments for our participants, we are excited to share our new Emotional Safety in the Outdoors eLearning course. Read more…

Mountaineers programs occur on the traditional lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest Indian tribes. As we continue to grow our practice of land acknowledgment, we must also honor the histories, stories, and wisdom of the Indigenous peoples who have been living here since time immemorial. We’re partnering with Sacred Lands Conservancy, an Indigenous-led non-profit with strong ties to the Lummi Nation, to produce a series of educational pieces on the importance of mindful recreation and how we can develop deeper connections to the histories of our natural places. Read more…