Safety

HOW TO: HANDLING AN INCIDENT ON YOUR TRIP

Learn about the suggested steps to take before, during, and after any incident on your trip.

The Pacific Northwest environment can be unforgiving yet Mountaineers safely climb remote peaks, ski glaciers and backcountry terrain, hike and backpack in wilderness areas, and navigate the waters of Puget Sound. Our enviable safety record is not by luck. The Mountaineers make safety the top priority on all trips, without sacrificing adventure.

The Mountaineer Safety Committee and the Branch Safety Officers work to improve the safety awareness of all leaders and participants, and to ensure all Mountaineer activities follow established procedures and standards.

To accomplish these responsibilities, the Safety Committee:

• Collects and analyzes Incident and Safety Concern reports from trip participants, and takes key learnings to share in our Annual reports and future recommendations. Selected incidents appear in monthly Mountaineer climbing newsletters.

• Meets with activity committees to disseminate the lessons learned from the past year’s incidents.

• Works with activity committees to develop and maintain safety and skill standards within the Mountaineers that also reflect national/international norms.

• Assists the Mountaineer Chief Executive Officer in investigations of extremely serious incidents. Outside (non-Mountaineer) experts also frequently take part in the investigation. The results of the investigation may lead to changes in the way trips are run, or updates to an activity’s safety or skill standards.

Check out the various forms, reports and policies shown in the left sidebar and "Committee Materials" portlet at the right. Browse the Safety Blog posts to learn how leaders responded to incidents on their trips.  Read about handling an incident if one were to occur on a trip.

For questions or comments about the Safety Program, please send an email to our Safety Committee at safety@mountaineers.org.

Safety isn't just wearing a helmet. The Mountaineers prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming organization. More specifically we have board policies related to harassment, anti-discrimination and member problem behavior to help ensure that everyone is treated equally and respectfully.  Please use this online form  to report harassment or problem behavior.