Blog

This month, we're sharing the trip reports that epitomize fall adventures. From colorful foliage and misty mountains, to crisp mornings and dustings of snow, October in the Pacific Northwest surprises us with a little bit of everything.  Read more…

We're pleased to present you with the outcome of the 2021 Board & Branch elections, and we're grateful to everyone who participated by voting and accepting a nomination. Your participation shows a deep commitment to the organization, and this year, we saw over 1,700 votes.  Read more…

After a rollercoaster of a year and a half, we are looking to the year ahead with cautious excitement. For fiscal year 2022, The Mountaineers Board of Directors have approved a high-confidence operating budget of $9.785M to provide the vital support needed to educate and engage the next generation of recreationists and conservationists. Read more…

Seth Kantner, author of  Ordinary Wolves, Swallowed by the Great Land, Shopping for Porcupine, and Pup and Pokey will be in Alaska reading from and discussing his latest book, A Thousand Trails Home. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Takeo Kuraishi, a volunteer leader with the Seattle Branch who serves on the Climbing Committee for  the Foothills and Seattle branch. Takeo is also one of our newly elected Board Directors from the 2021 Board & Branch elections! Read more…

Seth Kantner, author of  Ordinary Wolves, Swallowed by the Great Land, Shopping for Porcupine, and Pup and Pokey will be in Montana reading from and discussing his latest book, A Thousand Trails Home. Read more…

I had a light bulb moment this summer when I got back from a backpacking trip. Read more…

Join the Olympia Branch for a Hiking and Backpacking Committee meeting! This online meeting is a place for hike and backpack leaders within the branch to come together, share ideas, and get a refresher if you haven’t led any activities for a while. We will be reviewing our plans for the 2021-2022 season, providing news on the latest Mountaineers leader guidelines, and sharing experiences from the last year. Read more…

Many books have been written about mountain adventurers of the male persuasion. The accomplishments of women? Not so much. As a mission-focused, nonprofit publisher, Mountaineers Books is committed to broadly sharing the transformative power of the outdoors from unique perspectives. Read more…

It’s the kind of day you never forget. During a routine spring skiing adventure, Bryan Papé found himself lying in the snow with skis strewn down the mountainside. He'd sustained a fractured femur and only a tree was keeping him from collapsing. Read more…

This blog is excerpted from a recent Climbing Magazine interview written by Madeline Taub and featuring Lauren DeLaunay Miller, author of the soon-to-be published anthology Valley of Giants: Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing. Until October 31, you can support the Mountaineers Books publishing program and get your name (or the name of a loved one) in Valley of Giants when you donate $100 or more by October 31.  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…

As the birthplace of Nordic skiing, it’s safe to say that the Norwegians have fine-tuned the art of cross-country skiing. From skis, Swix Wax, and Rottefella bindings to the Birkebeinerrennet and eating waffles on the trail, cross-country skiing is deeply embedded in Norwegian history and culture. Read more…

Have you taken the Basic Alpine Climbing Course or the Basic Glacier Travel course? Are you interested in continuing your climbing journey with The Mountaineers? Join the Intermediate Climbing program and become a rope climb leader next year! 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 invite you to apply for this winter's Alpine Ambassadors ice climbing program in Canmore! The program will help you develop more advanced ice climbing skills on challenging terrain with support from each other, skilled volunteers, and professional guides. Volunteers from all branches are invited to participate in this innovative, aspirational program, which seeks to infuse The Mountaineers with deeper skills and inspiration to give back.   Read more…

Thanks to support from outdoor enthusiasts like you, we’re able to successfully advocate for public lands protections and outdoor access. It starts with building relationships with lawmakers, management agencies, and their staff at the federal and local level in order to influence legislation and advocate for critical funding to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities and protect our beloved Pacific Northwest landscapes. Read more…

For six years, The Mountaineers has been a proud member of Outdoor Alliance, a national coalition of human-powered outdoor recreation organizations working to conserve America’s public lands. We joined Outdoor Alliance because we know that the voices of climbers, paddlers, hikers, mountain bikers, and backcountry skiers are much more powerful when we speak together. Our collective voice increases our community’s leverage with federal and state decision makers on public lands and recreation. Read more…

The Pacific Northwest is home to many unique and beautiful animals, but there is one strange, slimy creature that is often overlooked: The Pacific banana slug. Oft-forgotten until they’re underfoot, banana slugs are critically important members of the forest community from southeast Alaska to central California, and they play a big role in our ecosystems each autumn. Read more…

On Friday, President Biden restored protections to three national monuments, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in southeast Utah. These spectacular landscapes are sacred to Indigenous peoples and contain world-class recreational opportunities. The President used his authority under the Antiquities Act - a bedrock conservation law - to permanently protect these lands as national monuments. 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…

“This was his country, clearly enough. To be there was to be incorporated, in however small a measure, into its substance - his country, and if you wanted to visit, you had better knock.”
-John McPhee, Coming into the Country Read more…

Leaves are changing, temperatures are dropping, and the air is feeling crisp. No matter how you decide to enjoy autumn, there’s one thing we can all agree on: We’re lucky to live in a place where fall is this awesome. Read more…

As a 501(c)(3) volunteer-led organization, The Mountaineers depend on the generosity, initiative, and leadership of our volunteers. We are humbled by the service provided by board and branch directors whose positions are confirmed by members each year. Thank you for all you do as members to elevate our mission, and for your participation in the election process for these organization-wide leaders! Read more…

The Mountaineers is committed to leading innovation in outdoor education. A key component of this commitment is investing in our volunteer leaders, the heart and soul of our vibrant organization. Read more…

Mountainfilm on Tour showcases a selection of culturally rich, adventure-packed, and incredibly inspiring documentary films curated from the annual Mountainfilm festival held in Telluride, Colorado.

In lieu of a traditional in-person gathering, The Mountaineers will be hosting a virtual screening of Mountainfilm on Tour with an inspiring program of films that explore themes connected to Mountainfilm’s mission of using the power of film, art, and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. Films can be viewed from Oct 14-17, 2021. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Larry Walker, a volunteer leader who discovered alpine hiking later in life. He serves in the Safety, Kitsap Branch's Alpine Scrambling and Climbing Program, and Tacoma Branch's Hiking & Backpacking Committees.  Read more…

Did you know that The Mountaineers has year-round outdoor adventure clubs for youth? At the Seattle branch, there are five different clubs broken up by age for youth ages 6 through 18: Pathfinders for 6-7 year olds; Nomads for 8-9 year olds; Explorers for 10-11 year olds; Junior MAC for 12-13 year olds; and MAC (Mountaineers Adventure Club) for 14-18 year olds. Read more…

From climbing Mount Baker to cragging weekends at Smith Rock, members of our teen club, The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC), have been busy this past year! Backpacking, cross-country skiing, and alpine climbing are just a few activities these active outdoorspeople have ticked off. Read more…

Women have always been at the center of Yosemite, climbing on the walls, crafting their own equipment, establishing new routes, and showing us all what it means to dance with rock. Lynn Hill freed the Nose, Beth Rodden established the hardest single pitch climb in the Valley, and Sylvia Vidal raised the bar for hard aid solos. More recently, Libby Sauter, Josie McKee, and Quinn Brett completed mind-blowing speed ascents and link-ups, and Chelsea Griffie became the first African American woman to climb El Cap. Read more…