Mountaineer Magazine

Go to any online hiker forum and after unleashed dogs, playing music, and toting a gun on the trail, the topic of hiking solo is sure to conjure up some strong opinions. What’s particularly interesting is that so many of the folks who are adamantly against solo hiking insist that others shouldn’t hike alone, either. And while an unleashed dog, music on the trail, or an irresponsible gun owner may certainly have a negative impact on others, a solo hiker is not having an effect on anyone’s experience except their own. So why the passionate pleas for solo hikers to partner up? Read more…

Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest, new from Mountaineers Books, offers a definitive and visually rich history of the past century of Northwest ski culture. Read more…

A galaxy of bubbles and foam swirls on top of my latte as I watch raindrops race down my kitchen window. Two drops catch my attention as they zig and zag along their paths, only to collide and drop to the sill, melting into the puddle awaiting them. I return my gaze back to my coffee and hiking books spread out on the table. There are better things to do on a wet winter day than plan trips for warmer months. 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…

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. Read more…

Knee pain is a common complaint among outdoor athletes of all ages. Knees function best when the hip and ankle joints move well throughout their entire range of motion. In other words, by improving mobility and strength at the joints above and below the knee, you will be less likely to experience knee discomfort as you age. Read more…

We’ve all been there: a near-miss during a trip. They’re a possibility even with the best safety planning. But rather than categorizing them as bad luck, paying close attention to near-misses will offer insight into why they happen, and how you can prevent them. Read more…

I had a light bulb moment this summer when I got back from a backpacking trip. Read more…

As the birthplace of Nordic skiing, it’s safe to say that the Norwegians have fine-tuned the art of cross-country skiing. From skis, Swix Wax, and Rottefella bindings to the Birkebeinerrennet and eating waffles on the trail, cross-country skiing is deeply embedded in Norwegian history and culture. Read more…

The Pacific Northwest is home to many unique and beautiful animals, but there is one strange, slimy creature that is often overlooked: The Pacific banana slug. Oft-forgotten until they’re underfoot, banana slugs are critically important members of the forest community from southeast Alaska to central California, and they play a big role in our ecosystems each autumn. Read more…

“This was his country, clearly enough. To be there was to be incorporated, in however small a measure, into its substance - his country, and if you wanted to visit, you had better knock.”
-John McPhee, Coming into the Country Read more…

From climbing Mount Baker to cragging weekends at Smith Rock, members of our teen club, The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC), have been busy this past year! Backpacking, cross-country skiing, and alpine climbing are just a few activities these active outdoorspeople have ticked off. Read more…

“And they said it wouldn’t last.”

Both snappily dressed in robin’s egg blue, two octogenarians sit perched in their warmly-decorated living room, eyes glittering. Their home is dotted with family photos, historic photographs, and art collected on far-away adventures. Read more…

Meryl Lassen (she/they) is a 7-year member, Super Volunteer, and member of our Equity & Inclusion Working Group. She has written about her personal journey to find belonging in the outdoors, and she’s an outspoken supporter of The Mountaineers efforts to create a community where all people feel belonging. Read more…

Five years ago, I made my first donation to The Mountaineers. At the time, I was seeking organizations that elevated our region's quality of life and were committed to improving our collective environmental impact. Initially drawn in through the conservation and advocacy program, I was inspired to join the members and donors who give back to fully fund the department. Charitable giving supports 75% of The Mountaineers Conservation and Advocacy program, and the remainder is funded through membership renewals. Read more…

Get to know this week's member spotlight! Read more…

Sometimes when we take a close look at a particular page in history, we find that the most commonly believed story is not necessarily the most accurate. Omitted facts, hidden characters, and forgotten conversations linger in an archival twilight zone, waiting to be unearthed to reshape the past. Their discovery can be thrilling. Read more…

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. Read more…

No one ever thinks they’re going to get old. As Kenny Chesney reminds us - “don’t blink, because life goes by faster than you think.” And fast it goes. Read more…

Steve Swenson and Scott Johnston, both 67, have a combined 103 years of climbing between them. Steve is still making first ascents in the Karakoram, and Scott is an active climber and co-founder of Uphill Athlete, a service that offers educational resources, training plans, and coaching to amateur and professional mountain sports athletes. Read more…

The following is excerpted from Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home by Lynda Mapes, a new book from Mountaineers Books conservation imprint Braided River. Through interviews with scientists and Northwest Native tribal members, Mapes lays out the human causes behind the orcas' precarious situation, revealing that the health of the southern residents is deeply entwined not only with Chinook salmon, but with the entire natural world of the Pacific Northwest. Read more…

The Mountaineers is an organization that lives and breathes through the hard work and dedication of our talented volunteers. For 115 years, our programs have taught the next generation of hikers, climbers, paddlers, and more, and these students have chosen to contribute back to the programs they came from, sustaining our community. Yet, as demand for our programs continues to grow, recruiting a sufficient number of leaders to run programs is a constant challenge for volunteers within the organization. Read more…

The last brilliant fuchsia tones faded away from the slopes of Cerro Tronador as we looked across the deep chasm of the Rio Alerce. We were perched on the porch of the Otto Meiling Hut, and the 3,470m mountain (translated to “The Thunderer”) was the seventh stop on our nine-day trek. Read more…

The car is locked, and the keys are inside. Having already endured a 3am start, many miles of skinning in tough conditions, and a sporty ski and hike back to the car, the disappointment at not reaching Shukan’s summit is now dwarfed by the locked car doors. Facing the prospect of hiking another 10+ miles out in ski boots, we get creative. Read more…

In 1953, George Rogers stood atop the stunning Mount Olympus with a group of fellow climbers from The Mountaineers. At the time George knew his family history was deeply intertwined with the club, but he had no idea just how much until, 67 years later, he saw a Retro Rewind piece in Mountaineer magazine entitled “An Olympic Summer, 100 Years Ago.” A sentence caught his eye – “The most summits by a single member was eight, completed by Phillip Rogers, Jr.” His first thought was, “Could that be my dad?” Read more…

You’re six weeks out from your big multi-day summer adventure. You want to be in peak condition before you go, and you have an opportunity to simulate your outing once or twice to check your preparedness and adjust your training program. Read more…

Wildfires. It seems that every summer, they’re in the news. Whole towns have burned to the ground in recent years. Thick smoke blanketed the entire west coast in the summer of 2020, forcing us to stay indoors. Anticipating and preparing for fire season has become the norm in some areas of the world, but what if I told you that our forests have been preparing for imminent fires far longer than we have? Read more…

Few have directly witnessed the insidious change that our warming climate has wrought on the Pacific Northwest. Those who have seen the impacts are often outdoorspeople who have been intimately connected with the land for decades, watching as it slowly morphs under the pressure of a changing climate. Pat O’Brien is one of those people. Read more…

This past January, Satish Shanmugasundaram was thinking about what resolutions to set for 2021 and getting outside more was at the top of the list. One of the first adventures inspired by his resolution was a snowshoe trip to the banks of Lake Kachess. There, he first learned about The Mountaineers. “I was struggling with the directions and I saw a group. One of them told me that they were from The Mountaineers, and I immediately signed up. Read more…

You’ve been day hiking and are ready to have your first overnight in the wilderness, but you’re not sure where to start. Below are a few steps to take before you go to maximize your chances of having a fun, successful trip:   Read more…