Blog

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 gives us much more than we bargained for. Read on, dear friends, for a tale of two trips, professional pizza chomping, a handsomely warm ascent, and a skosh too little snow.   Read more…

I’ve always been a physically active person. I love hiking and camping, and can withstand extreme heat and cold rain. Snow sports, on the other hand, were an entirely different game. I had friends who skied, but often tuned out when they talked about skiing because I didn’t understand the jargon. Read more…

It was day nine of an 11-day trip on the John Muir Trail when I hit a wall. I had packed too many bulky carbs and not enough calories in my bear can. At the time, this was the longest backpacking trip I had done. My spouse and I were able to make our “gorp” last until we were rescued from our plight by my sister who carried in our resupply, just in time. Enduring such slim pickings and operating on so few calories was a mentally exhausting and horribly demoralizing experience.  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…

In 1977, Nigel Foster and Geoff Hunter set off on a shoestring adventure to explore a country of just 222,000 people. Hear the story of the First Circumnavigation of Iceland by Kayak, and how such an expedition came about in those days before dry suits, cellphones, hand-held waterproof VHF radios, GPS, or the World Wide Web. That’s before the home computer, and twenty years before Google came onto the scene.  Read more…

As part of The Mountaineers leadership development team, I have the privilege of supporting our impressive collective of 3000+ volunteers. The dedication of our volunteers is incredible, to say the least. The list of their contributions to our community and the greater outdoors has grown significantly over our 117-year history. From planning and guiding activities, to mentoring new Mountaineers, to managing our lodges, it’s clear that our volunteers are generous with their time. While they share a common passion for the outdoors, our volunteers are driven by a range of motivations, such as paying it forward or expanding their adventure partner network. Our leadership development programs enhance these intrinsic rewards and invest back into our volunteers. Read more…

Books give power to our personal stories. Whether you want to discover a new place, learn a new skill, make a lifestyle change, or feel a sense of connection with the natural world or a fellow adventurer, Mountaineers Books are there to educate and inspire.  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…

It works great for many people to strap on a loaded pack and hike to get in shape for the upcoming season. However, for some – including many beginners – without a bit more structure and guidance, this approach can run the risk of injury, discouragement, and ultimately, slower progress than you had hoped for. What if you could develop a tailored strength-and-conditioning training plan aimed at reaching your trail goals safely and efficiently, with a progression of exercises and training activities? And what if you could build it with the guidance of a professional physical trainer who specializes in helping people get ready for life-list treks and backpacks? Read more…

 The Mountaineers BeWild Speaker Series puts passion and adventure on center stage. Join us at BeWild with Bernadette McDonald on March 14 to learn more about the history and legacy of mountaineering in the Greater Ranges. Read more…

Mountaineers programs have always been infused with a conservation ethos. “Mountaineers don’t just love being outside, we love the outdoors itself,” wrote Betsy Robblee, Conservation & Advocacy Director at The Mountaineers. “We want to share the natural world with others and take action to protect the outdoor experience for future generations.” Read more…

During the first student training sail of the 2023 Seattle Mountaineers Sailing Course, an orca decided to put on a show just north of Shilshole Bay Marina. The orca performed a “spy hop” to check out its surroundings. Students were thrilled! Read more…

The only thing constant in life is change. You can never go home again. All things must pass. These thoughts continuously run through my mind as I progress further along my life journey. I’ve always had a strong sense of time and place, which leaves me melancholically longing for the past and lamenting the passing of moments which I perceive as being more favorable than the present. The world is changing rapidly, and often not in ways I welcome. Constant change can be exciting or, if you’re wired like me, a source of anxiety. To counter the barrage of forces I can’t control, I often seek the solace of wilderness, where I expect insulation from the rapid transformations of the outside world. Read more…

Keta Legacy Foundation and The Mountaineers are happy to share the good news that we have reached a settlement agreement to resolve a legal dispute between the two organizations, dating back to November 2019. The settlement agreement allows both organizations to move past this dispute, focus on our respective missions, and get back to working together on shared goals at our adjacent properties in Kitsap County. 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…

It was early February 2021, and Seattle had been darkened by overcast and rainy skies for weeks. Even worse, we were eleven months into the pandemic, and I was feeling isolated. Birds in my yard had been my only physical companions throughout Covid. Other than my two sisters I’d visited in Pennsylvania, I’d not been hugged or, for that matter, even had a handshake since the previous March. I generally don’t mind solitude, but that degree of isolation felt far different. 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…

Nearly 200 current and aspiring volunteers turned out at our Seattle Leadership Conference on December 2 for a dynamic day of learning and networking. Outdoor professionals from diverse backgrounds led our community through a series of interactive sessions exploring leadership from multiple angles. Read more…

Erin has been a member of The Mountaineers since 2020. She is the Chair of the Foothills First Aid Committee, a Trail Run Leader, and a Co-Chair of the Everett Lookout and Trail Maintenance Committee. Erin received the Key Instructor, Key Leader, and Super Volunteer badges in 2023. When she’s not recreating in the wilderness, Erin spends long hours on her feet as a bedside nurse and working toward her BSN. Erin also enjoys sharing her knowledge of First Aid. Read more…

Meet Val Ensor, a Foothills Urban Walk Leader and Peak Society member who loves to share her love of the outdoors and knowledge of local history with those attending her Urban Walks. Read more…

100 backpacks with kids and teens and counting! And at least that many trail meltdowns… but also thousands of smiles and expressions of awe at the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, interesting trail conversations, unplugged spontaneous games (think fresh mud burgers served on flat rocks), and watching skills and confidence grow with each trip. Read more…

For the past four years, I have held the awesome and humbling responsibility to steward one of The Mountaineers most revered treasures: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills. As the volunteer editor for the forthcoming 10th Edition, I’m excited to share with you an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment and keep mission-based publishing thriving, by adding your name alongside the dedicated outdoor educators and world-renowned climbers who make this work possible. Read more…

This story is a love story. And it starts, as many do, in someone else’s clothes, on someone else’s board, with the guidance of patient friends. Read more…

Join recent graduates of the Olympia Intermediate Climbing Course as they share information premier climbing destinations. The presenters will cover route recommendations, logistical considerations, and inspirational photos, so that attendees can plan their own trips to these fantastic crags. Read more…

This past year, our volunteers remained at the core of our operations. Thank you to the nearly 3,000 members who volunteered their time during fiscal year 2023 (October 2022-September 2023), and to the many others who supported from afar! Each of you has made a difference. 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…

A collection of trip reports that plays with fire... Oh wait, not fire... plays with ice, considerable avy conditions, atmospheric rivers, and just about everything else that one could expect of an El Niño winter. Read on, dear friends, for a double summit, an adequate pit toilet, the Silly Stilly, and (my personal favorite) "snack ledge." Read more…

Since our update last spring, we’ve been working on many improvements to our website to support the work of our volunteer leaders and to make accessing information easier for everyone. This round includes improvements to rosters - including the ability to bulk update, sort by all columns, and have “sticky headers” to make navigating long rosters easier. We also upgraded our site search functionality to be smarter and more dynamic, specifically to help folks find our Mountaineers Books titles. We added the option to schedule Practice Sessions and eLearning courses, improving leader and member experience. Plus, we made many other small fixes to improve your overall website experience. Read more…

Summer camp comes in all shapes and sizes, and Mountaineers Youth Programs are no exception. Since the inception of our youth programming in 2011, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming participants of all ages to our Seattle and Tacoma Program Centers, as well as the lands and waters of the PNW. This summer, we’re excited to introduce a new Foothills Day Camp program, and continue our Overnight Lodge Camp programs for their second year with sessions running at all three Mountaineers lodges in 2024. Read more…