Blog

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Join us on July 18, 2024 to kick off the summer with great company! The Olympia Branch annual summer picnic celebrates our unique local community. The event is open to members and their families and guests.  Read more…

The alarm jolts us from our slumber at 4:45am. I unzip the tent and walk to the cliff to see a blue sky on this clear, April morning. I feel no wind. A happy scream escapes me as I run back to camp. With no time to lose, Ricardo and I stuff cereal into our mouths while dressing in our paddling clothes and drysuits. Coffee will need to wait. We have to start paddling quickly, before the wind returns. Read more…

Summer is here, and for adventurers, this means one thing: it's time to hit the trails, explore new landscapes, and create unforgettable memories in the great outdoors. Whether you're a seasoned Mountaineer, an avid hiker, or just looking to embark on your first adventure, we have the books and maps you need to prepare. During the month of July, enjoy 25% off all books and maps, and 40% off all merchandise.  Read more…

Growing up in Seattle, I wasn't fully aware of the human-caused impacts on our environment, nor did I understand our responsibility to give back to our shared home until an elementary school field trip taught me about the impact our stormwater systems have on local salmon populations. Picking up trash with my classmates and spray-painting stencils of salmon near storm drains around our local watershed remains imprinted in my mind, reminding me of the interconnectedness of nature and our charge to steward it. Read more…

On June 13, 2024, we celebrated the legacy and impact of our 50+ year members with a hosted lunch at the Seattle Program Center. We are thankful for their commitment to our outdoor community and for their steadfast support of The Mountaineers mission. 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…

I’m standing on the Ptarmigan Ridge trail – a nine-mile day hike in the North Cascades lined with lupine, sedges, and patches of blueberries – seriously questioning my sanity. We’ve been hiking for over ten hours in the hot September sun. To make this route qualify as a Conditioning Hiking Series (CHS) graduation hike, we added the Chain Lakes Loop, another six miles through lush forests and alpine lakes. Coleman Pinnacle, Mt. Baker, and Goat Lake are just some of the incredible views we’ve observed so far. Read more…

To continue to grow a community of Mountaineers who adventure with purpose as conservation advocates, we came together virtually on June 4 to share the latest policy updates from our conservation team. As we discussed progress on our federal conservation priorities and how our members can best advocate for the outdoors, we heard your passion for protecting the Northwest’s special outdoor places and creating a better climate future for all. Our members’ dedication to and engagement in conservation drives our staff-led advocacy and encourages us to create more opportunities for our community to learn and advocate together. Read more…

Looking for a deeper involvement in The Mountaineers? The Seattle Hiking Committee is holding biannual officer elections in September 2024 for fiscal years 2025-26. We're excited to share details about the open positions and encourage all interested members to self-nominate, joining the organization's legacy of volunteer leadership.  Read more…

Meet Chris Ensor, a Foothills Hike, Urban Walk, and Cross-Country Ski Leader and 2023 Super Volunteer. Chris has earned Key Leader and Super Volunteer badges every year since 2014. He earned the Foothills Branch Service Award in 2020. Read more…

The Mentored Backpack Leaders course is an exciting, new offering for the Foothills community. The main objective of the course is to provide an additional pathway for branch members pursuing the Backpack Leader badge. Read more…

Danielle Graham joined The Mountaineers in 2016. She enjoys being outside with the club in almost every activity. In addition to serving as the Foothills Safety Officer, Danielle currently leads the Foothills Women’s Scramble course and represents The Mountaineers as a member of Outdoor Alliance's Grasstops Collective, a new leadership development and advocacy training program. Past leadership roles include co-leading the Intro to the Natural World course, serving as an At-Large member of the Foothills Branch Council, and chairing the Foothills Cross Country Ski Committee. Read more…

I’m injured. Again. This time it’s bad. An ordinary posthole on a scramble resulted in seven separate tears in my knee. Read more…

Public lands and waters - the places we hike, climb, paddle, and find connection and belonging outdoors - are critical to The Mountaineers experience. Without them, the transformational opportunities and experiences our community provides would cease to exist. In our Conservation 101 blog, What Are Public Lands?, we celebrate the various types of federal public lands, but state-managed lands also play an important role in the outdoor recreation experience. Read more…

When my husband and I moved to Seattle from India, we thought we would stay here for about five years, then go back home. But a friend introduced us to The Mountaineers, and now 20 years have gone by. The Pacific Northwest has become our home thanks in large part to this Mountaineers community that embraced us and made us feel that we belong. Read more…

In a continued pursuit of a safe, welcoming, and inclusive culture, the Board of Directors launched a new Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault (SHSA) Prevention Advisory Committee in December 2023. This is an ad hoc advisory committee chartered to develop recommended near-term and long-term improvements to our bylaws, behavior policies, and operational procedures to address the risk of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault of our members. The committee is charged with defining and understanding the risks of sexual harassment & sexual assault within The Mountaineers, identifying ways to prevent these behaviors, and identifying ways to respond to these behaviors. 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…

Your passion, expertise, and generosity are the cornerstones of everything we achieve at The Mountaineers. We’re thrilled to present our annual impact report for fiscal year 2023 (ending September 30, 2023), a testament to our shared commitment and vision. Read more…

Enjoy 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…

A collection of trip reports that chases away our fair-weather friends with the devastating reminder that summer is still 20 days away. Read on, dear friends, for sticky whirlpools, spring snowstorms, an untouched summit register, fruitful work, and the ongoing saga of variable, early season conditions in the Pacific Northwest.   Read more…

With the western sun shining brightly on the Seattle Program Center, 122 volunteers, donors, and staff gathered for a Block Party to kick off summer and celebrate their contributions to our outdoor community, celebrate our mission impact, and have a bit of fun, too!  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…

We’re excited to once again be calling for nominations for individuals to join our Board of Directors, and new this year we are also seeking individuals to join as part of our branch leadership. Our open nominations process is rooted in our core values and ensures we bring forward an excellent and diverse slate of candidates to be elected by membership. Nominations are due by June 21, 2024. Read more…

Several Mountaineers members have pooled their donations to create a surprise $5,000 matching challenge, today and tomorrow only! Starting now and continuing through midnight tomorrow, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000.  Read more…

North, the hill plunges over 600 feet. South, it drops a similar elevation in increments. The hilltop is maybe a hundred feet wide, flat, and stretches a hundred yards or more perpendicular to the valley’s western wall before descending in stair steps to the creek running north. My mind tries to comprehend time and what has happened to sculpt the amazing configuration of this valley. Read more…

New people are drawn to our outdoor community with each changing season. Mountaineers programs and books provide resources so everyone has the chance to develop skills to enjoy the lands and waters of the PNW confidently and responsibly. When you support The Mountaineers, you help to engage a vibrant community of outdoor enthusiasts. 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…

Buildings contribute a significant amount to global CO2 emissions, and Mountaineers facilities are no exception. As an organization that cares deeply about healthy lands and waters, we have a unique obligation to aggressively reduce our impact on the environment and respond to the climate crisis. While we do this through public lands advocacy, stewardship, and low-impact recreation practices, we still emit thousands of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions through our operations. Throughout the development of our strategic plan, Adventure with Purpose, we consistently heard from volunteers and donors that we need to make faster progress toward reducing our organization’s carbon footprint. In 2020, we formalized our commitment to this important work through the creation of our organizational climate statement. Read more…

The Mountaineers is partnering with the Sacred Lands Conservancy, an Indigenous-led nonprofit with strong ties to the Lummi Nation, to produce a series of educational pieces on the importance of mindful recreation and how we can all develop deeper connections to the histories of our natural places. Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley is a Lhaq’temish fisherwoman, an enrolled Lummi Nation tribal member, an elected member of Lummi Nation’s Fisheries and Natural Resource Commission, and President of the Sacred Lands Conservancy (SLC). We hope you enjoy this blog from her, written in collaboration with SLC’s Julie Trimingham, which shares more about tribal treaties of the Pacific Northwest - which allow us to live, work, and recreate on these lands and waters - and how we can all strive to uphold them today. - Conor Marshall, Advocacy & Engagement Manager Read more…