Climbing

Climbing

All posts

"The Climbers" Awarded Grand Prize in 2017 Banff Mountain Book Competition

Chosen from a field of more than 170 international titles, The Climbers by photographer Jim Herrington was awarded the prestigious Grand Prize at the recent 2017 Banff Mountain Book Competition in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  The Climbers was also named the competition's Category Winner for Mountaineering History. Read more…

The Life and Times of an International Mountain Guide with Charlotte Austin - Nov 7

Have you ever wondered what it's like to guide climbers to the summit of Mount Rainier? Would you like to know the five things that are always in a travel writer's backpack? Do you want to work outdoors, or maybe pursue a career as a guide? Read more…

Leader Spotlight: Rodica Manole

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Rodica Manole, a volunteer with the Everett Branch who encourages her fellow women to step into leadership roles because you’re more ready than you think you are. Read more…

The Tooth - Hit knee on rock during rappel... Passing out came later

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…

Make your ideas a reality - volunteer on a committee!

Did you know that The Mountaineers club didn’t have a paid employee until 1984? Tired of all of the paperwork, the growing organization hired a part-time administrator to help with waivers and dues so that volunteers could focus on the fun stuff: developing courses, providing instruction, leading trips, and running committees. Read more…

Climbers: Join us at Forefront 2017 - Oct 13

Back by popular demand, and open to all branches, FOREFRONT 2017 will take place Oct 13 from 6-9pm at the Seattle Program Center. You will have a chance to move from one table to the next learning climbing techniques and concepts from instructors and special guests, including representatives from Black Diamond and Petzl.  Read more…

Dragontail Peak, Serpentine Arete - A reluctant call on the Personal Locator Beacon

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…

How To: Pick a Sleeping Bag

Has it happened to you? I was camping at 11,500 ft at Guitar Lake along the John Muir Trail on the last day of a 2013 backpacking trip with my 3 sons. The low overnight temperature was 32 degrees, and while I should have been comfortable in my 30 degree rated sleeping bag, even with all my clothes on, I was barely warm.  Read more…

Registers & Canisters: A Grand Northwest Tradition

I heard the buzzing first. As we were placing our signatures back inside the summit canister, an unfamiliar noise tickled my eardrums. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I could see the hair on my partners’ heads rising to the sky as if to kiss an invisible balloon. I spun frantically searching for the source when it dawned on me: it was us. We were buzzing. Our ice axes and skis and the metal zipper pulls were vibrating in unison. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew it was time to move, and fast. Read more…

Mount Stuart - Rockfall Hits Solo Climber on Descent

Team member names used with permission Read more…

Five Great Books For A Fresh Perspective in August

Although my bookshelf overflows with well-thumbed copies of our where-to hiking guides, these stories and how-to titles have each offered me a different way of seeing the world. Read more…

Leader Spotlight: Sherrie Trecker

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Sherrie Trecker, a Climb Leader who knows how to delegate, wants to inspire more women's leadership, and always has a bag of gummies in her backpack. Read more…

Learning from Near Misses: Situational Awareness Averts Catastrophe on The Tooth

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…

Essential Repellent: What You Need to Know to Survive the Battle of the Bug

The West Coast’s winter was wet and soggy. The forecast for the spring and summer is lingering snowpack, muddy trails … and bugs. Lots of bugs! Read more…

Join us for two screenings of "Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey" - Sept 9 & 16

A 94-year-old Northwest native, Fred Beckey is the quintessential “dirtbag” - the original in a breed of rebellious, fearless mountain climbers. Director Dave O’Leske spent 10 years shadowing Beckey throughout the world as chronicled those tales in DIRTBAG. We hope you'll join us for a special screenings September 9 or 16! Read more…

5 Great Books for July You Probably Haven't Read

Mary Metz, current title Senior Editor, is well into her thirty-first year at Mountaineers Books. She found picking only five books to be quite a challenge, so she’s glad that her predecessors already covered two of her all-time faves, Stehekin and A Field Guide to the Cascades and Olympics. And she cheats a little.* Read more…

Mountaineers Moment: A Chance Connection During Intense Basic

We end every staff meeting by sharing what we call "mission moments." These inspiring stories of when we get to witness our mission in action reflect the positive impact of our work on the outdoor community and bring us the warm fuzzies inside. As staff, we find these reminders invigorating, helping us understand the broad reach of our mission to help people get outside. Read more…

Lessons Learned - Glissading into a 30-foot Hole - Aasgard Pass

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…

Art's Picks: Five Favorite Books

Mountaineers Books has about 700 titles in print, and many of them are wonderful. This month Art Freeman, the publisher’s Chief Financial Officer, recommends five of his all-time favorite titles. Art is an avid skier, hiker, sailor, and climber, who has completed the Washington Bulger List of 100 highest mountains in the state. When he’s not playing outside, he has a book in his hands. Read more…

How To: Protect from Sun on the Snow

This is my friend Casey. She's a rockstar, and summitted Mt. Baker via the Squak Glacier in a single day last June. We spent 13 hours on our feet to summit and get down, with 7-8 of those hours under direct sunlight. Read more…

Climbing Mount St. Helens for Moms - A Pacific Northwest Tradition

Nearly 33-years ago, on a balmy spring Saturday in Whitefish, Montana, my mom was 41-weeks pregnant and mowing the lawn. As I would be in life, I was stubborn in birth and had made myself quite cozy in her belly for an extra week. The doctor told my mother that being active would hurry me along and the lawn needed attention, so she was mowing when the contractions finally started on Saturday afternoon. I was born 16-hours later at 5:26 am on Sunday, May 13. It was Mother’s Day. Read more…

Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict - An Interview with Steve Swenson

Steve Swenson, a current Mountaineers Director at Large, has been climbing for more than 45 years. He has made ascents of K2 and Everest, both without supplemental oxygen. In 2012, he and his partners made the first ascent of Saser Kangri II (7518 meters), then the second-highest unclimbed mountain in the world, a feat for which they were awarded the prestigious Piolet d’Or. Steve and his wife, Ann, divide their time between Seattle and Canmore, Alberta. Read more…

Your Go-To Adventure Buddy

Funny songs and unlimited jokes. That’s what Andre brings to the mountains according to his friends — along with his gregarious nature and enthusiasm for people. He moved from New Orleans to Seattle with his mom and sister after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, staying for college and beyond.  Read more…

Don't Get Tripped Up

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…

Progressive Climbing Education - A multi-year plan

In mid-2016, The Mountaineers Board of Directors voted to allocate funds to begin a project called Progressive Climbing Education. The goal was to dedicate resources to advance the goals and initiatives  of our passionate volunteers. Done well, these strategic investments will make our suite of volunteer-led Climbing Programs more fun for volunteers to run, easier to recruit volunteers for, more attractive to new climbers (especially those coming out of the gym), and more advanced for our highly-skilled volunteers and students.

On January 12, 2017, the Board of Directors ratified a multi-year Progressive Climbing Education Plan and approved $131k to fund the first phase of work in 2017.  Read more…

A Mountain for All Ages

As a group of 6-year-old Junior Mountaineers campers was walking toward the waterfront at Magnuson Park, the volunteer counselor pointed out, “Look! There’s Mount Rainier!” To which one camper replied, “Hey that’s like us! We’re the Junior MountRainiers!” It was a cute play on words and a great metaphor for the awe the mountain inspires and the way our volunteers can use it to encourage kids to dream of big goals. Read more…

Happy 94th Birthday, Fred Beckey!

Fred Beckey, a living legend among Northwest Mountaineers, is a climber, environmentalist, historian, and author. He is recognized as one the most imaginative, persistent, and thorough explorer and mountain investigator of the Cascade Range Wilderness.  Read more…

The Doug Walker I Knew

Life is full of people you don’t know for long, but who have a profound impact on your life and work. I met a guy like that a little more than a year ago. It was at the REI flagship in Seattle, for an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Read more…

Born to Climb

Sometimes our passions find us young. Sometimes they don’t find us at all – and sometimes, we’re born for a specific purpose. For me, that purpose was adventure. Specifically, the kind that can be found trekking, kick-stepping and climbing up a mountain. And especially, the kind that is done with friends. Read more…

Climbing Gym Auto Belay – Clipped In? Uhh...

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