Safety Blog Posts

Simul-climbing is an advanced climbing technique where both climbers simultaneously climb while roped together, with pieces of protection continuously placed between them by the lead climber. Given the long and committing nature of many alpine routes in the Cascades, simul-climbing can offer distinct benefits to climbers seeking to balance efficiency and safety moving over vast amounts of terrain; however, the technique has pros and cons, and nuances which warrant attention. It's important to dispel some common misperceptions about this technique. Read more…

Due to avalanche danger higher on the ridge (we hit wind deposition at 3900' on the ridge with 40 degree slopes either side), I elected to turn the group back. The descent to Damnation Creek was steep in places, but mostly in the 20-30 degree range. As soon as we turned around, several issues immediately rose. Read more…

We were attempting a winter scramble of Quartz Mt via the east gully. The approach was pleasant and without incident. The forecast was for moderate avalanche danger below tree line and considerable above. While the route was below tree line, due to the nature of the gully on our route, we thought the conditions were considerable, and we were on the look out for any surface activity. Read more…

During the Basic Snowshoe field trip on Saturday, Jan 21 at Grace Lakes, an 11-year-old skier fell while skiing. He was a few hundred yards and about 40 feet up slope above the first of the Grace Lakes. He made three loud, urgent screams. This incident was within hearing distance from where several snowshoe students and instructors were grouped. Read more…

Seattle Crag Course was conducting a class on various aspects of basic single and multi-pitch climbing for crag students. The south wall was where multi-pitch instruction was being taught and practiced. Read more…

Josh and I first met when we worked together at the Northwest Outward Bound School, and I’ve always been struck by his creativity, analytical skills, approach to teaching, and sense of humor. Josh has a rare ability to champion and role-model the highest values and expectations as an outdoor educator/guide — one of many attributes that make him such an inspiring professional colleague. Read more…

In the summer 2016, The Mountaineers hired Outdoor Safety Institute (OSI) to evaluate how we manage risk in our Global Adventures, Climbing, and Scrambling programs. OSI outlined a number of recommendations, and we have put together a plan to implement them. Read more…

This is a classic winter scramble up a scenic valley, past two mountain lakes, to a summit with outstanding views. Read more…

On December 29, 2002, a party of seven mountaineers were involved in an avalanche accident in Cement Basin near Crystal Mountain. While skiing, they triggered a slide that buried one and partially buried three. One person was killed and another sustained a broken leg.  Read more…

Upon starting the second rappel from the summit of The Tooth, a Basic student  hit his knee on the rock. He said it was fine, and after a minute to recompose himself, nothing more was discussed until after our final rappel to the rock field below the base of the climb. Read more…

Our plan was to climb Dragontail Peak by the Serpentine Arete car-to-car from the Colchuck Lake Trailhead on Thursday, August 31. We expected to return to the car around nightfall Thursday. We both had cell phones but did not expect to have service (T-Mobile). Each of us carried a one-way emergency-only AQR ResQLink PLB. Read more…

At 9am Sunday a major forest fire suddenly erupted about a mile south of our camp and required us to hike out soon afterward. The fire was near the trail we had hiked in on, so another backpacker camped near us led us out on an uncharted trail that he was familiar with. After we hiked out, the entire Indian Heaven Wilderness and surrounding areas were evacuated and closed. At last report the fire was still out of control and had consumed 1000 acres. Read more…

Smoky conditions from Canadian fires blanketed our region for much of August. The smoke eventually cleared, but only temporarily. The smoke is back, ashes are falling from the sky, and a unusually hot, dry period combined with little offshore wind has created a thick haze over the entire Pacific Northwest.  Read more…

Team member names used with permission Read more…

Imagine yourself out on a beautiful backcountry adventure. You pick the place - wherever you like! You've planned to spend the night, and as you're settling into camp, you get out your cook set and start to make dinner. All of the sudden - boom - you cut your finger. And yikes, its a bleeder! Read more…

Managing risks as an organization devoted to outdoor adventure and exploration is a conundrum. To fulfill our mission of Explore, Learn, Conserve, we must take risks. But what are the right risks to take, how do we measure those risks, and what happens if we take risks that have unintended consequences?  Read more…

A climber on rappel dislodged a piece of rock the size of a small computer or a VCR. It fell 10-15' and pinched one strand of the rappel rope against a thin ledge on the second to last rappel on the descent, severing it clean through. Read more…

A group of ten hikers with the Seattle Conditioning Hiking Series set out from the West Fork Foss 1064 trailhead for an out-and-back hike of Trout, Malachite, Copper and (if time allowed) Little Heart Lakes. Read more…

As many of you know, we recently published Education Manager Steve Smith's story "Lessons Learned - Glissading into a 30-foot Hole - Aasgard Pass."

The response has been pretty astounding. To date, the blog has been viewed 24,000 times with hundreds of shares on social media. Local news took note, leading to an interview with NWC Life Channel and an upcoming story with KOMO, as well as other requests from various media outlets. Read more…

After climbing for over 20 years in the Cascades, I have lived through a few incidents and near-misses. This is the story of how I almost died glissading down Aasgard Pass in the Enchantments. Read more…

While we were climbing on the south side of the Feathers, one of our Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) instructors noticed that the party climbing next to us had a strange anchor set up for their toprope. On closer look, we realized that their anchor was a non-locking carabiner at the end of each chain, with single webbing loop going through both non-locking carabiners, and the rope was running directly through the webbing loop. Read more…

After summiting the Tooth, we were descending from Pineapple pass around 4pm and had set up a single rope rappel to get a student down the rock step onto the steep snow below. Read more…

We were camped on a small ridge above a large snowfield north of Mazama Ridge. At around 5:45 a student reported seeing two people signaling for help from the snowfield below. We could hear them shouting that they were lost. Read more…

Three years ago, my friend Loren died in a skiing accident. A huge February storm rolled through the Pacific Northwest, and a bunch of us took extra days off to go skiing. He and a friend were skiing Crystal in-bounds on a Wednesday when Loren fell into a tree well. He suffocated before he could be rescued. Read more…

You’re done with the “hard part” of the trip. It’s all downhill now. On a trail. You’re tired. So is the rest of the team. Suddenly someone lets out a surprising loud “ouch!” He heard a pop. And now, your car seems so far away. Read more…

We all know how important good planning and preparation are to a successful outing. Familiarizing yourself with your route, having the proper equipment, checking the forecast, and reading past trip reports are all things that we can do to make our excursions more successful, regardless of whether they be a paddle, hike, climb or ski. Read more…

You’ve been planning a trip for a while now - maybe even for weeks or months. Your buddies are all psyched. You’ve double and triple checked your gear. Everything is packed and ready to go. Car is gassed up. But something’s not quite right. Read more…

Excerpts from the personal blog of Bill Ashby, Mountaineers Director of Operations.   Read more…