Equity Blog

Many people choose to "opt outside" (#OptOutside) on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and this year you can opt outside at no cost thanks to a free day with Washington State Parks and other lands covered by the Discover Pass. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. Our Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Committee was founded in 2018 and works across the organization, with a focus on long-term, systemic, cultural change. We are excited to share the progress we’ve made since our April Town Hall and to announce that applications are now open to join the E&I Committee in 2022.  Read more…

Meryl Lassen (she/they) is a 7-year member, Super Volunteer, and member of our Equity & Inclusion Working Group. She has written about her personal journey to find belonging in the outdoors, and she’s an outspoken supporter of The Mountaineers efforts to create a community where all people feel belonging. Read more…

The Mountaineers, in partnership with the Mountain Education Alliance (MEA), is looking to develop an online Equity & Emotional Safety in the Outdoors training for our volunteers. We're seeking DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) curriculum experts to submit proposals for consideration. Please help us spread the word. Read more…

With the addition of four new members, the Equity & Inclusion Steering Committee started building The Mountaineers first organization-wide Equity & Inclusion (E&I) strategy in the latter half of 2020. That work has continued into this year and we are thrilled to share it with you now.  Read more…

The COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted everyone equally. Communities of color have been disproportionately affected at all levels, and in the past year, anti-Asian violence has been on the rise throughout our cities, region, and country. This week, eight people were murdered by a racially-motivated white gunman. Six of the victims were Asian women. Read more…

Language is powerful. We use a string of characters or words to attempt to capture history, context, meaning, intent, and often, emotion. Language is subject to personal interpretation -  most context-laden words rarely share the exact same meaning from one individual to the next. That’s what makes language imperfect.  Read more…

Birthdays are an annual reminder of the passing of time. From the first time you hit double-digits to becoming an official teenager to getting your driver's license to being able to vote and then drink, many of us have rituals to mark these significant milestones. One popular tradition is the idea of a #30Before30 challenge, and today a new cohort of late 20-somethings is taking this challenge to the next level. Read more…

As a white person, my own education on Native history and culture is ongoing and largely self-directed, and I want to share a few things I've learned in the hopes that it will be helpful to others like me. Read more…

More than two years ago The Mountaineers announced our intention to engage in equity & inclusion (E&I) work. This commitment stems from our belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We're grateful to all in our community who have been engaging and supportive, and we're excited to share the work we’ve done so far in 2020 and introduce you to our new steering committee members. Read more…

We're excited to be partnering with Climbers of Color in support of their mission to create more leaders of color in mountaineering. Established in 2017, Climbers of Color is a Washington State nonprofit that aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the climbing and mountaineering community by developing leaders of color. To accomplish its mission, Climbers of Color provides supportive mentorship, technical training from BIPOC professional guides, and access to key resources including gear and scholarships. Read more…

Theresa Silveyra and Amber Chang are both accomplished climbers and mountaineers. They recently teamed up for Theresa’s #30Before30 project: an ambitious plan for Teresa to climb Wy’east (Mt. Hood) 30 times before Theresa turned 30. Amber joined Teresa for a celebratory summit number 31! Read more…

The American Alpine Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, Colorado Mountain Club, Mazamas, and The Mountaineers join with those speaking out and taking action against racist, sexist, and otherwise derogatory route names, and we welcome the conversation about how best to move forward as a community.  Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL. In order to realize this aspiration, we must take a critical look at our internal systems and processes to identify and discuss barriers that keep The Mountaineers from being a community where all people can feel a sense of belonging and experience the outdoors.  Read more…

On June 3, 2020, a multiracial family was harassed, intimidated, and trapped by intentionally felled logs over the road in a public forest camping area near Forks. Fortunately, other local residents and high school-age youth were in the area and had tools to clear the road, and sheriff deputies escorted the family safely back to the highway.  Read more…

Welcome back! Each week, The Mountaineers youth team is sharing ideas and activities for kids of all ages to stay engaged while also staying close to home and following your county’s phased guidelines. Last week's Stuck Inside celebrated the H20 (so fun!). This week, we are sharing youth-specific resources on racism to support Black Lives Matter.  Read more…

All people should have equal opportunities and access to engage with nature. Our members, and the greater community at large, should be free to enjoy the outdoors without fear. They should be able to go birding (#ChristianCooper), go for a jog (#AhmaudArbery), walk to the store (#MikeBrown), walk with their family (#CliffordGlover), breathe (#EricGarner, #GeorgeFloyd), and live (#FreddieGray, #BreonnaTaylor) without being targeted for the color of their skin. Black lives matter, and we are committed to continuing to fight for equality. Read more…

About a year and a half ago, The Mountaineers announced our intentions to formally engage in equity and inclusion (E&I) work. Guided by our Board of Directors, this commitment stems from our belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. Studies also show that groups with better diversity make better decisions. In an organization where safety is so highly valued, investing in E&I will only make us stronger and more resilient. We’re grateful to all of you who have participated in making our community one where all people feel safe and respected. Read more…

We believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love, and that's why we seek to provide opportunities for all. As a reflection of our Core Values and the strategic priorities of Vision 2022, we’ve invested in internal equity to be sure everyone feels a place of belonging in The Mountaineers. Recently, we invested in improvements to the My Profile page for you to share your pronouns and demographic information. Read more…

The scene is one familiar to every Mountaineer: a full car on a long drive back from a successful outing. The conversation is flowing and everyone is at ease after having shared an inspiring time out in the wilderness. Then, inevitably, a fellow climber asks me the question: “Where are you from?” Read more…

Refuge Outdoor Festival is a 3-day camping experience geared toward people of color. Introduced in 2018, Refuge is "centered on building community through outdoor recreation, conversations (community talks, workshops), music, and art that appeal to a diverse and inclusive audience." The Mountaineers signed on as a sponsor of Refuge because we know affinity spaces are important places to build connections with each other and the outdoors, and we'd like to invite you to participate in this year's festival on behalf of The Mountaineers. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and held two listening sessions in July 2019 to hear your feedback about how we should work to confront our internal systems of inequity. Thank you to everyone who participated in these sessions. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and are seeking your feedback to confront our internal systems of inequity. Please join us for a July working session to share your thoughts and help be part of the solution. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and have assembled a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Committee to direct our strategy, priorities, and resourcing to make progress on this goal. We have recently completed our committee charter, and are planning our next town hall style listening session to gather your feedback and share some of the results of our committee work. Read more…

Climbing can be an intimidating sport. For plus size people it’s even more so. Worrying about whether or not a harness will fit your body is a huge barrier to so many. Many of you have told me that you’re scared or have felt uncomfortable trying a new sport when you’re surrounded by other straight sized folks. I really want to break down those barriers and offer a more comfortable space to learn in. Don’t worry, I’ll show you the ropes (pun intended)! Read more…

Many people use an abbreviated slang word in climbing without consideration or afterthought. This word is frequently used alongside other words like rope, harness, and belay. If you search on the Internet for this word, the first 5-10 results would reference the term to describe a piece of standard climbing gear. Countless climbing websites recognize the slang word as a standard, and our basic climbing students are even indoctrinated with its common use. And all of us are wrong. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. We aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, and have assembled a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Steering Committee to direct our strategy and financial investments to become a place where, a century from now, future generations will recognize themselves in The Mountaineers. Read more…

In Tucson, a large Latino community abuts Saguaro National Park but seldom visits it. It was there that I met Cam Juárez through work that Barack Obama made possible. Juárez was a planner and project manager outside the Park Service when he agreed to take on the challenge of connecting his community with Saguaro. Juárez is a miracle, really. He has birth defects that caused shortened upper limbs and missing digits, and a cardiac condition. His mother was a single parent and a migrant farm worker in California’s Central Valley, where she likely was exposed to pesticides associated with defects suffered by her son and now her grandson as well. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we believe a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. As we aspire to offer outdoor opportunities for ALL, we are assembling a board-chartered Equity & Inclusion (E&I) Steering Committee to lead our efforts to become a place where, a century from now, future generations will recognize themselves in The Mountaineers. Read more…

The Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) is an annual gathering of outdoor professionals that creates an unparalleled opportunity for experts from throughout the industry to share knowledge and best practices. We were lucky that this year's conference was so close to home - just down the road in Portland, OR - which allowed us the opportunity to send a group of fourteen staff and volunteers to learn and share on behalf of our organization. Read more…