Sarah Holt
Please join us for an evening of fun, camaraderie, and festivities as we celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our fellow Tacoma Mountaineers!
This year’s Tacoma Branch Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, Dec 8, at the Tacoma Program Center. We’ll be honoring our most dedicated volunteers, awarding Peak Pins, and enjoying a special presentation by Tacoma Mountaineer and Bulger finisher, Dan Lauren!
THE FEAST
The Tacoma Branch Council will be supplying a main course of lasagna (regular and gluten-free options), and we ask that attendees bring a dish to share. If your last name begins with letter A – N, please bring a side dish or salad. If your last name begins with letter O – Z, please bring a dessert. Beverages are BYOB.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Conquering the Bulgers - a peakbagging Adventure 18 years in the making
On August 19, 2017, Dan Lauren became the first Tacoma Mountaineer to complete the Bulger list - commonly referred to as the "Top 100 peaks in Washington state" - by climbing Abernathy Peak with his wife Nadine on their 38th wedding anniversary.
He unknowingly started this journey 18 years ago during his first summit of Mt. Rainier on his Basic Graduation climb in 1999. While working on various peak pins over the years (Cascade Classics, Cascade Volcanoes), by 2012 he had obtained about 40 Bulger summits and started thinking seriously about completing the list. In 2013, he put a team together and summited the hardest Bulger, Mox Peak, on his 55th Birthday (big thanks to Tyler Farr for being the "rope gun" on that trip). He knew the list was attainable.
He started 2014 with 50 peaks to go, many remote and seldom climbed, and barely heard of! While many of these peaks are not "repeaters", all have shown a different aspect of the great state of Washington, particularly in and around our wonderful North Cascades National Park.
Dan joined The Mountaineers in 1998 to take the Basic Climbing course, graduated Intermediate in 2003 and has been a climb leader and volunteer for many years. His volunteer duties have included Tacoma Basic Chair, Tacoma Intermediate Chair, and Tacoma Climbing Chair. He was instrumental in starting the organization wide Safety Committee which he chaired for many years, then volunteered at the organization administration level as Board Member, President Elect, and finally President. He's enjoyed the last couple of years of "taking a break from volunteering" and just climbing!
