Brynne Koscianski
In July 1984, my dad climbed Mount Rainier and dedicated the climb “to his unborn daughter” in the summit log. His love of the mountains would soon be infused into my life forever.
A lifelong pursuit of meaningful experiences was what inspired my dad to join The Mountaineers when I was in high school. He wanted to grow our outdoor community and learn the skills needed to keep our family safe while traveling in the mountains. After graduating from the Olympia branch’s Basic Alpine Climbing Course, my dad used what he learned from his knowledgeable volunteer instructors and planned a family climb of Mount Baker. You would soon find me and my brother practicing our crevasse rescue skills by prusiking up our neighbor’s basketball hoop!
It was on that family trip to Baker that I experienced the magic of moving under the stars for the first time. Turning off my headlamp and gazing up I felt small. I can still remember the feeling of the fiery sunrise as it crested the horizon.
It’s these kinds of awe-inspiring moments that bring me back to the mountains again and again. A few years ago, having joyfully returned to Seattle after college, my dad gifted me and my husband with a family membership to The Mountaineers. Like it did for my father before me, my membership brought so much more than just outdoor skills. It brought us into a new community of like-minded people who care about the future of our outdoor spaces.
I’m honored to say that in July 2017, my husband and I reached the top of Mount Rainier together. We posed triumphantly as the sun’s orange glow hit the horizon, and I smiled as I thought about how my dad had stood here almost exactly 33 years earlier.
I’m proud of my family’s legacy as Mountaineers, and of the legacy our organization holds as outdoor educators and public lands protectors. You are an important part of this legacy, too.
I hope you’ll consider joining me in making a gift to The Mountaineers this year so that we can protect and enhance our legacy together. The Mountaineers depend on donors like me and you who support conservation and outdoor access so that future Mountaineers can carry this legacy for generations to come.
I give to The Mountaineers because it has been a meaningful part of my family’s story. But I also give to The Mountaineers because I am committed to ensuring that these wild places are here to be a part of my children and grandchildren’s stories, too.
As Mountaineers, we connect people to place and we leverage that connection to the importance of advocacy. People protect the places they love and that connection drives people to take action. That’s why we believe members and donors like you will be the solution to the challenges ahead. Make your unrestricted year-end gift today by visiting mountaineers.org/yearendgift.
