Junior MAC - Olympia

Please read this description in its entirety before registering.

Note: Jr. Mountain Adventure Club (Jr. MAC) membership is $250 in total for the Fall Rock Climbing 2022 course. Participants may register here and pay in full, or may contact beckyn@mountaineers.org to set up a  payment plan. 

We offer financial assistance! To apply for financial assistance click here.

The Jr. MAC Fall Climbing Course provides youth ages 12-15 an opportunity to dial in their climbing skills and goals. The goal is to understand basic rock climbing skills, develop a sense of understanding how to climb outdoors, assess risk, and understand personally boundaries when working with a group. 

Jr. MAC members will spend three months  working on their skills and climbing in a variety of outside settings once a month to practice skills learned in monthly meetings. These months include:

SEPT: We will Learn the basics to rock climbing, such as how to tie in as a climber, how to belay, and techniques to make climbing more efficient. Our weekend trip will be enjoying a variety of routes at Exit 38.

OCT: We will learn how to build anchors and how to mock-lead climb and mock-lead belay. All Explorers will stay on top-rope belay during these mock learning sessions, but will understand the theory behind this. Our weekend trip will be at Vantage with the option to stay overnight.

NOV: We will go over all of the learned skills and practice, practice, practice. Our weekend trip will be a FUN weekend of climbing at Smith Rock to celebrate graduating the Jr. MAC Rock Climb Fall programming!

Jr. MAC will be supported by Mountaineers staff, but parents are encouraged to actively participate and possibly even lead some trips if they feel ready. Staff will provide opportunities for parents to advance their own outdoor skills as well as learn key skills for leading kids safely in the outdoors. This program will focus on skill-building for both youth and adults, and on building an outdoor community.

*Note that while  parents/guardians are encouraged to be active participants in the club, there is plenty of flexibility so that youth can participate in a trip even if a parent/guardian can't make it.

Jr. MAC is a club and requires a time commitment and program fee of $250 (which can be paid in installments). In return, members gain a community of outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy spending time learning skills together. As families grow through our programs, lifelong friendships are built. When graduates of our teen program come home from college, they meet up with other Mountaineers friends to go hiking, backpacking and climbing. This program is just the beginning.

Note: Youth ages 12-15  register as participants, and therefore pay the registration and program fee. Parents should become a Qualified Youth Leader and then register for the Jr. MAC program as a  Chaperone (there is no fee for this).