Dee Ann Kline Parkinson
Welcome new Olympia Branch members. You may have a few months and some courses and activities under your belt, or you might be brand new and getting ready to launch into 2020 with a bang, but wherever you are on your Mountaineers journey we're glad you've chosen the Olympia Branch to get you started!
The Mountaineers is a nonprofit community led by volunteers to share skills and help people connect to the power of the outdoors. To help you get the most out of your Mountaineers membership, here is some information to help you get started:
Complete Your Profile
Please take the time to review and update the information on your Mountaineers member profile online. We ask that you include an image for identification and safety. Choose an image that shows you and your love of the outdoors.
Pay special attention to:
- Contact Info: This information needs to be up to date and current; trip leaders use your contact information to plan and lead activities.
- Email Newsletter Preferences: Keep informed about events in The Mountaineers and Olympia Mountaineers. To continue to receive the Olympia monthly email, be sure to designate Olympia for branch communications.
- Alerts & Notification Preferences: A new feature, you can now opt to automatically receive notifications when a new activity or course is listed.
- Pronouns & Optional Demographic Information: Another new feature, you can now share your pronouns on your profile, and you can opt to share your demographic information to help us track our progress and hold The Mountaineers accountable to delivering on our mission and core values.
Explore the website
Mountaineers.org is your entry portal to all Mountaineers activities, courses, events, news, and information. Start here to learn what is happening club wide. Explore the drop down menus on the grey bar at the top of the page. Check out the Trip Reports on the lower left side of the page and the link to Mountaineers Books on the lower right side. Did you know that Mountaineers Books was founded in 1960 and is the premiere publisher of books and materials on outdoor activities?
Now that you are familiar with the main home page, visit the Olympia Branch page at www.mountaineers.org/olympia (I recommend adding a bookmark to easily access this page). You can also access your branch page from your My Profile page and from the drop down menu in the main header under Locations and Lodges.
There are seven Mountaineers branches and each branch offers different activities. You can participate in courses or activities with any branch, regardless of your branch affiliation. Use the buttons below to learn about the types of courses and activities you can participate in, their difficulty ratings, and prerequisites for participating, and explore our courses, how to enroll, requirements to graduate, and the equivalency process for demonstrating requisite skills. Use the Search Tab or the Menu on the left side of the page to narrow your search.
Special Olympia Branch Events & Activities
The Olympia Branch challenges everyone in The Mountaineers to take the Stewardship Challenge and give at least one day a year to preserving and protecting our wonderful public places. We think caring for these places is a critical component of doing our part to assure outdoor experiences are still available for future generations.
TAKE THE STEWARDSHIP CHALLENGE
We host the Adventure Speaker Series on the first Wednesday of each month from October through May (excluding November). This social event is open to the public, and features speakers who will inspire your next adventure.
We keep a month by month calendar of Branch events and meetings. Anything that's classified as an 'event' (which generally means a special presentation where you sit in a seat) will show up on our events calendar.
Learn More
The About Us page offers a summary of annual events, current officers and committee chairs. You can also learn more about our Branch Library with over 1400 titles of printed and audio materials, and you can rent bear canisters from the library.
Make 2020 your year for exploring the Pacific Northwest and beyond. See you in the mountains or the hills or the seas or where ever your adventuring spirit takes you!
