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As a member since 1977, Will has been an active leader in our community for over a decade. His success in the Basic and Intermediate Sea Kayaking Courses led him to become a prominent Sea Kayaking leader at the Olympia Branch. For his service to the Olympia Branch, Will received the Olympia Branch Service Award in 2016.  Read more…

The most exciting moment of winter is the season’s first snowfall. Sometimes snow falls at opportune moments when you can witness small flakes gently speckling the sidewalks. Other years you wake up to the world carpeted in a perfect blanket of white. You step outside and marvel at the winter wonderland while scouring for the best place to have an epic snowball fight. Standing there, one of the first things you notice is a serene silence almost as breathtaking as the snow itself. You aren’t imagining things – the world actually is quieter when it snows. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Happy January Mountaineers!  As we ring in the new year with some of our favorite trip reports from last month, we hope you feel inspired to reflect on your past success as you forge ahead into a year full of adventure and personal growth.

This month we are  highlighting trip reports that "beat" the "winter blues" amidst the dark and dreary winter. Read on for our favorite January reports of smiles, snow, and the occasional blue sky.  
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Over the years, we’ve been on a long journey to protect ancient, old-growth trees in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Our community has answered our calls to action time and time again because it understands that protecting Roadless Areas in Alaska sets a strong precedent for protecting backcountry places in Washington State and beyond. Last week, the administration finalized protections for the Tongass, securing a much-anticipated win for conservation, climate, and Indigenous communities. Read more…

As Mountaineers, we tend to think in “seasons.” Snow season, smoke season, conditioning season, and summer camp enrollment season all come to mind. But what about tax season? More and more, Mountaineers members are donating to invest in our shared community values, such as conserving our public lands or making outdoor education more accessible. Maybe your life has been enriched by being part of The Mountaineers and you have donated in support of our mission. As tax season approaches, we’re here with some FAQs about your contributions and how they may impact your filing. Read more…

April 1 will be a night to remember. Once a year, we gather together to raise funds allowing us to elevate the way our community transforms lives through outdoor education and conservation. We exchange stories, raise our glasses, and are reminded of the tremendous contributions of our community’s most inspiring individuals. Read more…

Enjoy an excerpt below from Written in the Snows, written by renowned local skiing historian Lowell Skoog and published by Mountaineers Books. In it, we read the account of the first slalom ski race in the Pacific Northwest, an event characterized by equal parts thrill and chaos. Read more…

One of the unwritten core values at The Mountaineers is safety. When we go out together, we make every effort to return safely. And, safety is about more than just physical safety. Feeling emotionally safe - to ask questions, share concerns, and show up as your full self - is a key component to physically safe outcomes. To support emotionally safe environments for our participants, we are excited to share our new Emotional Safety in the Outdoors eLearning course. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members and volunteers. For our volunteer profile this week we talked to... Read more…

What are packrafts? Perhaps you have noticed the new packrafting activity and wondered what packrafts are and what they are good for. Perhaps you are thinking: I already own a pair of boots, what can a packraft do for me? Well, we plan to answer those questions with an evening event at The Mountaineers on February 15 that includes both equipment show-and-tell and stories of packrating trips. Read more…

Ten Mountaineers were fortunate to have plentiful sunshine and no winds for last February’s Global Adventure to Yellowstone National Park. We spent a week cross-country skiing in three sections of the park – Mammoth, North, and Old Faithful – which provided ample opportunities to experience the magic of winter in Yellowstone. Read more…

Olympia Hiking and Backpacking Committee Co-Chairs Carla Jonientz and Donna Krueger listened to Olympia hikers when they expressed interest in getting out, staying in shape, exercising, and socializing during the winter/early spring months. Read more…

 Have you recently sorted through your gear stash and found some things that you haven't used for a while or no longer need?  Rent a table at the Used Gear Sale and go home with some cash. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Federal public lands are central to The Mountaineers, playing host to nearly 60% of our programs and activities. Places like Mount Rainier, Washington Pass, the Olympic Coast, and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness connect us to nature and provide many public health benefits. Unfortunately, the 118th Congress spent the initial days of the new session making it easier to advance an anti-public lands agenda in the coming months.
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Advocacy has been an enduring theme throughout The Mountaineers history. In the face of intensifying impacts of climate change and increasing recreational use of public lands, it’s as important as ever that the outdoor community advocate to protect public lands and the outdoor experiences they provide. Read more…

Widely regarded as one of the world’s most legendary alpinists, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Jeremy Jones is an award-winning snowboarder, environmentalist, and entrepreneur. The founder of climate nonprofit Protect Our Winters (POW) and owner of Jones Snowboards, Jones has starred in dozens of snowboard films, including his highly acclaimed trilogy Deeper, Further, and Higher, and received 11 “Big Mountain Rider of the Year” awards from Snowboarder Magazine. His first book The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains (Mountaineers Books, 2022) explores the life-changing power of time in the mountains, the value of stoke, and how beauty and openness underscore all outdoor adventure. Please enjoy the following excerpt. Read more…

Mountain photography has been a passion of mine for over forty years, but I had little noticed (or perhaps intentionally ignored) mosses. After rejoining The Mountaineers in early 2015 to take the Introduction to the Natural World (INW) Course, I signed up for a few Naturalist activities that were oriented around mosses and lichens on wintertime hikes. I don’t recall wanting to learn about mosses and lichens - I barely knew what the latter were. I just wanted to expand my hiking repertoire. So I joined “moss hikes” on Cougar and Tiger Mountain. Read more…

My hometown of Bozeman, Montana, has four seasons: summer, fall, snow, and mud. Snow season is the longest. While the climate crisis has changed things, as a child I remember planning Halloween costumes based on what would pair well with my snowsuit, and I often celebrated my mid-May birthday in a snowstorm. I spent many a weekend at the local sledding hill sweating my way up (often quitting halfway) and squealing my way down. As such, I consider myself a connoisseur of fun in freezing season. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Over the past 18 months, Mountaineers volunteers have been working to create an Equity and Inclusion (E&I) Leader Toolkit for our community. The E&I Leader Toolkit is designed to help you (our volunteer leaders) foster a culture of belonging in your courses and activities. As part of our organizational commitment to equity and inclusion, we are working to create a Mountaineers where everyone can feel belonging. We hope this toolkit is a helpful resource for the many volunteers requesting more E&I support. Read more…

December's Top Trip Reports catalogs the closing chapter of a truly wonderful and joyous year, despite an end-of-month ice storm that had everyone wondering if they would "make it home for the holidays"!

Read on for some of our favorite trip reports from last month, including a tumultuous sea kayaking trip, arduous scrambles, numerous snowed-in parking lots, a spicy bikepacking trip, and endless smiles!  Read more…

We are just about done tallying our year-end donations and pleased to announce that you have helped raise more than $184,000. This includes a total of $11,000 in matched funds from two different matching challenges, made possible when members like you rose to the occasion. Thank you! Read more…

Meet John Murphy, a Foothills scramble, snowshoe, hiking, and trail running leader, as well as a 2022 Super Volunteer, Key Leader, and Key Instructor. Read more…

Since the inception of our day camps, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing our programs and community grow in breadth and depth. Every season is full of camp magic, laughter, bracelet-making, and outdoor adventure. Historically, camp has had an inevitably stressful registration day as well. In response to feedback provided by camp families, and in an attempt to make the registration process smooth for campers and staff alike, we’ve made the decision to reconfigure registration for our Seattle Day Camp offerings.  Read more…

Although snow-capped mountains and freshly-groomed trails dominate the public imagination this time of year, not all winter activities are snow-centered. This is especially true in the Pacific Northwest, where we have an abundance of activities to enjoy year-round with just a few modifications. In celebration of The Mountaineers diverse offerings throughout all four seasons, we connected with a few of our volunteers to learn how they continue to stay active throughout the chilliest months. Read more…

The Mountaineers is an incredible community of outdoor enthusiasts, students, instructors, advocates, and leaders. We are inspired by our community’s dedication to fostering connections to the outdoors. As we close the door on 2022 and look ahead to 2023, we reflect on our core values and how they’ve guided us through this past fiscal year. Read more…

Mountaineers from all branches, their guests, and community members are invited to join the Olympia Mountaineers on the first Wednesday of each month from November 2022 through March  2023 for our much-loved Adventure Speaker Series! Olympia Mountaineers have hosted this amazing free event for many years, and are pleased to be able to return this year with a line up of new and familiar speakers. Read more…

Like all Mountaineers, our Super Volunteers delight in small moments of frivolity. A cold beverage shared between a paddler and a powerboat. Playing lighthearted pranks during an Urban Walk. Watching the magnificent, performative hunt of a short-eared owl. Community-based fun is the heartbeat of The Mountaineers. Read more…