Olympia Adventure Speakers Committee
Olympia Mountaineers invites members and non-members to join us at our evening socials featuring speakers guaranteed to inspire your next adventure.
The Adventure Speaker Series meets on the first Wednesday of the month, November through March. We meet at the Friends Meeting House, 3201 Boston Harbor Rd. NE, Olympia 98506.
6:00 - Doors open. Meet the Mountaineers, check out our library, watch the audiovisual presentation, and pick up pamphlets on membership, activities, and classes.
6:45 - Branch announcements of upcoming classes and events.
7:00 - The Adventure Speaker Series starts promptly at 7pm. Arrive earlier for parking and seating.
The event is free, but please RSVP. Our RSVP sign up links will be added to this site soon.
For more information, contact Carolyn Burreson.
2025-2026 Olympia Mountaineers Adventure Speaker Series
November 5: Mike Kretzler, The Pembrokeshire Coast Path
Mike Kretzler will describe his trip to Wales last June, trekking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. He led a crew of nine Mountaineers on this Global Adventure along the 186 mile trail in southwest Wales. He'll show pictures of the route and the charming and comfortable lodgings along the way and talk about how you could do this trip, too.
Mike (mkretzler@comcast.com) is a twenty-five year member of the Mountaineers, leads snowshoes, hikes, and backpacks, and is a recovering navigation instructor.
December 3: Craig Romano. Vancouver BC Urban Trails
Come run, hike, and walk the amazing array of trails within the Metro Vancouver Regional District with an award winning guidebook author. Craig Romano will be highlighting trails in one of the world’s most beautiful and dynamic cities. Urban Trails Vancouver BC spotlights 55 destinations from downtown Vancouver to Bowen Island—the North Shore Mountains—and the Fraser River Delta. Discover trails in Richmond, Surrey, Langley and Burnaby. You will also learn about the area’s rich natural, ethnic and cultural history. Urban Trails Vancouver BC offers trail and travel insight for residents and visitors alike,
including border crossing and public transportation information.
Craig Romano is a prolific outdoors writer. having authored more than 25 books. He has
hiked more than 35,000 miles in Washington State alone and is an avid ultra-runner having completed the challenging Cuyamaca 100K Adventure Run and White River 50 mile run. Visit him at CraigRomano.com, on Facebook at “Craig Romano Guidebook Author,” and on Instagram at Craig.romano.
January 7: Carolyn Driedger, New views of Mount Rainier
Rainier is renowned for supporting the largest glacier ice mass in the contiguous U.S. Over recent decades, new observations have transformed our understanding of its glaciers and adjacent features.
Carolyn Driedger-Mastin (cmastin@comcast.net) will lead us on several virtual hikes, with each revealing intriguing stories, including some ‘chilling’ tales of glaciers and lava flows. This presentation can help you explore Mount Rainier with a fresh perspective. Here, we make virtual hikes to five locations at Mount Rainier. Each journey tells a story of interactions among ancient hot lava flows against cold glacier ice. The bulk of Mount Rainier's cone was constructed during eruptions taking place at the time of a great ice age. The mountain's glaciers were enormous. Lava from eruptions cozied up close to the ice, chilled, and hardened in place. This interpretation of the landscape was developed and recognized in full over only the past 30 years, and it has revolutionized our understanding of the mountain's ridges, valleys, and steep-walled cliffs. After viewing this presentation, your hikes at Mount Rainier will never be the same as you browse the landscape with a fresh pair of eyes.
February 4: Bob Kandiko, Turkey
"Everyday in Turkey will blow your mind.” This simple suggestion was the seed that led to a month-long exploration of Western Turkey. From the call to prayer echoing between mosques in Istanbul, to Ancient Greek temples, to kayaking and hiking the Lycian Way on the Mediterranean, to trekking
and biking under the rock towers of Cappadocia. It really did blow our minds!
Bob (rkkandibauer@gmail.com) has an obsession to find new places to explore. He is a fabulous photographer, writer, author of over a dozen books, rock and glacier climber, skier, kayaker, retired teacher, husband, backpacker, bicyclist, and cook. He has a wealth of outdoor knowledge and knows how to put on a good photo show.
March
March is Olympia's Banff Film Festival. So, instead of attending the Speaker Series, get your adventure fix by attending the Banff Film Festival at Olympia's historic Capitol Theater on March 6, 7, and 8.