The Mountaineers
As a Mountaineers member, you receive free access to our quarterly Mountaineer magazine, keeping you up-to-date with everything our organization and community have been up to. Hear from regular contributors on topics from training exercises to trail tips, and read features from our members sharing stories from the outdoors. We encourage you to access all of our updates, stories, tips, and more in the tree free online magazine today.
“As a kid in the Puget Sound lowlands, I practically vibrated with excitement when my parents began to complain about ice on the roads. The chances of snowfall were gradually increasing. And thanks to our regional ineptitude, a snow day was often in order if more than a dusting was seen. Once the snow fell it was game on. Nothing was more thrilling than an entire day off school spending hours bundled up with the neighbor kids, creating poorly-formed snowmen and throwing snowballs that hit no one. Exhausted, we would creep back to our respective homes to peel off layers of wet polyester and recuperate.”
-Hailey Oppelt, Editor
Experiences like these inspired our “Winter Frivolities” theme for this edition. In outdoor terms, we’re talking about your classic Type 1 Fun: skiing, sledding, snowball fights, the activities that make kids red in the face with excitement and give adults nostalgia. Our features include “A Mule, A Klutz, and a Pair of Skis,” a story by leader Heidi Walker on her journey to becoming a skier as an adult. “Mountaineers of Instagram” makes its annual return to inspire your adventures in 2023, and our staff compiled “Top 5 Ski Tours for Beginners” for those looking to earn their turns. Thirty-year member Courtenay Schurman reflects on her life outdoors with The Mountaineers in “Seasons of Change,” and we have a fun visual piece for you to help identify your next favorite “sledding apparatus.” And leader Mike Kretzler offers insight and inspiration in “Discover the Joys of Winter Camping” to help you get outdoors all winter long.
As always, our regular columns bring their own unique perspectives. Mountaineers Books Guidebook Author Craig Romano shares the many ways he loves winter in the lowlands in “Trail Talk: Embracing Winter,” and “Peak Performance: Shoulder Rolls” teaches you how to practice rolling into a fall to avoid injury. “Outside Insight” and “Impact Giving” are paired this edition, exploring how our leaders adapt their activities to winter and why these shared experiences anchor us as a community.
All of this - along with our regular features, tips, and tricks to enjoying a life outdoors - is available now.
