Impact Stories

I was 13 when I climbed Boulder Peak in the Olympic Mountains by myself—and I guess you can say that I never stopped climbing after that. Read more…

The summer that I was three years old, my family went backpacking for three days, hiking three miles a day. At four years old, it was four days, four miles. You get the idea. This was part of my parents’ system for introducing us to the outdoors. Read more…

Volunteers often spend 1-2 days a week training course participants in skills to ensure safe and responsible enjoyment of our natural world. Others also help coordinate and administer course offerings. This is the core of what defines us - The Mountaineers - as a community.  Read more…

The Mountaineers has hundreds of volunteers who make our programs possible, and thanks to super volunteers like Chris Chapin and Deling Ren, who both work for Microsoft, their volunteerism is going even further in the form of  cash donations to The Mountaineers from Microsoft's matching gift program. Read more…

Anyone walking by the Seattle Program Center on a sunny day would be hard-pressed to miss climbers ascending the trio of rock columns in the courtyard, one of which is aptly named Ohlson Peak, in recognition of a major donor to the basalt columns fundraising effort, John Ohlson. Read more…

It's 8pm on a rainy Monday night. The perfect time to be indoors for a Basic Navigation Workshop. A record 90 students have shown up to learn navigation skills from 34 volunteers. And overseeing it all is Peter Hendrickson, Navigation Committee Chair. Walking between tables, quietly observing and stopping to course correct a student, or provide words of encouragement, Hendrickson is in his element. Read more…

Like your typical Mountaineers member, Bill Hecker counts alpine climbing, skiing and rock climbing among his favorite outdoor activities. But thanks to his exposure to the natural world, he also includes gardening and bird watching. Read more…