In the pursuit of getting people outdoors, The Mountaineers will again be bringing the outdoors to the people with its Second Annual OutdoorsFest on Saturday, September 17 at The Mountaineers Program Center in Magnuson Park.

If you are just getting acquainted with what the Pacific Northwest offers to the outdoor adventurer, if you want to find out how to enhance your outdoor experience, or you simply want to start from square one, The Mountaineers OutdoorsFest and its sponsors welcome you.

Indoor and outdoor climbing walls, seminars, a trivia fun run, beer garden, outdoor gear vendors with their latest innovations, and conservation groups will fill the Program Center from 10 am to 5 pm that Saturday in the northwest expanse of Magnuson Park along Lake Washington.

OutdoorsFest 2011 Schedule

9am - 5k Trivia Run

10am - OutdoorsFest Begins!

10am to 4pm - Workshops (click for details)

1pm - Mountaineers Annual Meeting with Special Presentation by Jake Norton

5pm - OutdoorsFest Ends

Curious about Membership? Join at OutdoorsFest!

If you’ve been thinking about joining The Mountaineers, but not yet taken that step, now is the time! If you join at OutdoorsFest, you can take advantage of a great deal on your annual membership dues and start enjoying your new member benefits, discounts, courses, and more right away!

Gear Swap at OutdoorsFest

Buy, Sell, Consign, Donate!

Looking to clean house and find a new home for your gently-used outdoor gear? Maybe you’re in need of some new gear? Come to the Gear Swap! The swap will run from 10 am to 5 pm or until we sell out!

Donated or consigned gear may be brought to the Program Center, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, between 9 am and 5 pm Monday-Friday.

If you want to sell your own gear during the day, please fill out a Sellers Application and email it to jeffb@mountaineers.org by September 12.

5k Trivia Fun Run

Grab your sneakers and your thinking cap!

Join us for OutdoorsFest’s Second Annual 5k Trivia Fun Run. Register HERE.

Participants run a 5k in Magnuson Park with a stop every 1k to answer a trivia question. Questions will be multiple choice and involve correctly identifying an unmarked trail, peak, lake, ridge or other landmark on a map. Correct answers will reduce your recorded finish time; incorrect answers will increase it. You’re fast, but do you know where Gothic Peak is?

Water and snacks provided!

Beer Garden from Noble Fir

Have a cold one in the shadow of the basalt columns during the festivities. The Noble Fir is coming over from Ballard to pour some delicious brews:

• Snoqualmie seasonal Oktoberfest Harvest Ale
• Two Beers Trailhead IPA
• Firestone Walker Nectar Red Ale
• Ninkasi’s seasonal Maiden The Shade IPA (there are only 12 kegs in the Seattle area and we have one!)

Bring the dam down!

As removal of the two-centuries-old dam on the Elwha River begins near Port Angeles, a coalition of partner organizations invite people to “Celebrate Elwha!” right here in Seattle. Watch a live video stream of the official ceremony, find out how local community groups are making a difference in the Elwha watershed, talk to Olympic National Park rangers and interact with a hands-on model.

After years of tireless work on the part of numerous organizations and individuals, including The Mountaineers, the deconstruction of the Elwha Dam is finally about to begin. Meet some of the people that made it happen and chat with them while learning about the next steps to bringing the dam down and restoring the once legendary salmon runs on the Elwha River.

Family Activities

There is something for everyone at OutdoorsFest, even the kids! Interactive games, crafts and information on family-friendly ways to interact with the outdoors abound in the Family Zone!

• Camp Fire USA will bring its ever popular “fireball” crafts for kids
• Face Painting, Story Telling and Bouncy House
• Sarvey Wildlife Center is bringing Birds of Prey
• Washington Butterfly Association will have games and activities to teach families how to identify butterflies and learn about their life cycle; they will even being doing a live butterfly release!
• The Center for Wooden Boats will be making wooden toy boats
• Wolf Haven will offer interactive wolf activities and crafts
• The Vera Project will be teaching kids about button making and community involvement
• Girl Scouts of Western Washington
• And more!

Annual Meeting and featured speaker Jake Norton--First Ascent guide and expedition photographer--at 1 pm

Hear Jake’s gripping accounts of his high altitude endeavors as well as his philanthropic projects.

Jake has worked as a professional guide since 1993. He was part of the team that discovered the body of George Mallory on Everest in 1999, and the first person to visit and document all of the pre-World-War-II camps on Everest. Jake has climbed extensively throughout the Himalaya and Andes, and also retraced Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1917 crossing of the island of South Georgia.

Jake is fluent in Nepalese and is currently working on climbing the 21 highest peaks (the Triple Seven Summits) in order to raise awareness about the lack of access to clean drinking water throughout the world. As a professional photographer, he has covered assignments for Discovery Channel, PBS/NOVA, BBC, Channel 4 and the Outdoor Life Network.

Book Sale in the Program Center Bookstore

These discounts will last all day, 10 am-4 pm, so stop by the bookstore and add some great titles to your library!

       All Books and Maps - 25% off
       All TOPO! Software - 25% off
       Book Sets - 30% off
       Book ?Seconds? - 50% off
       Clearance Titles - up to 75% off
       Logo Merchandise - 10% off