Courses & Activities

On August 10, 2014, Mountaineer Joe "String Bean" McConaughy reached the Canadian border and completed a historic effort: thru-hiking the full 2,600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border in just 53 days and six hours. He averaged 51 miles a day on the PCT. He broke the "assisted hike" PCT speed record, set just one year earlier, by an astonishing six days and two hours. As recently as 2011, the PCT speed-hike record was 64 days. Read more…

Written by Joe Sambataro, Northwest Regional Director for The Access Fund Read more…

After months of fundraising, the outdoor climbing wall has been installed at the Tacoma program center. Be one of the first ones to try it out at our family climbing night on August 27th at 6pm. We'll provide all the equipment necessary for both adults and youth. No prior experience necessary!

Hosts open The Mountaineers lodge at Mount Baker, prepare food menus, supervise and assist meal preparation, operate the lodge, and ensure a welcoming, pleasant, mountain stay where individuals, families, friends and groups of all ages can explore, learn about, experience and enjoy summer and winter outdoor backcountry activities in a friendly, communal and supportive environment. The lodge operates in a cooperative fashion with each guest helping the hosts with meal preparation and other lodge operating tasks. Read more…

November 2 - The Tooth/South Face
Injury: None.  
Cause: A number of converging factors. Read more…

Do you spend time outdoors during the winter? Do you backcountry or cross-country ski, snowboard, snowshoe or enjoy winter mountaineering? If your answer is yes, then you may be impacted by the new rules for Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) Travel Management. Read more…

Intense Basic? Climbing immersion? Mountaineering "boot camp"? I’m not quite sure what words best describe nine-straight 12-hour days of climbing instruction, including two nights out for the snow-training portion. But, wow, what an unbelievably wonderful experience! Read more…

The need for the Ten Essentials is not apparent until something goes wrong. Maybe you're surprised by darkness, weather, or a slow partner, or an injury slows or prevents travel. Whatever happens, the lack of an Essential can result in death.  Read more…

The Mountaineers has hundreds of volunteers who make our programs possible, and thanks to super volunteers like Chris Chapin and Deling Ren, who both work for Microsoft, their volunteerism is going even further in the form of  cash donations to The Mountaineers from Microsoft's matching gift program. Read more…

Max approached us with the following:  Read more…

This person will help us organize and access a large volume of images that contribute to the professional look of our magazines, website, and publications. Read more…

The summer that I was three years old, my family went backpacking for three days, hiking three miles a day. At four years old, it was four days, four miles. You get the idea. This was part of my parents’ system for introducing us to the outdoors. Read more…

I was 13 when I climbed Boulder Peak in the Olympic Mountains by myself—and I guess you can say that I never stopped climbing after that. Read more…

It's 8pm on a rainy Monday night. The perfect time to be indoors for a Basic Navigation Workshop. A record 90 students have shown up to learn navigation skills from 34 volunteers. And overseeing it all is Peter Hendrickson, Navigation Committee Chair. Walking between tables, quietly observing and stopping to course correct a student, or provide words of encouragement, Hendrickson is in his element. Read more…

Attendees of our Leader Seminar will learn what it means to lead a Mountaineers hike or backpack, how to prepare and lead your participants in a safe and enjoyable outing, and how to handle some common on-trail leadership challenges, as well as how to post a hike or backpack and a post-trip activity report. This course will get you started towards becoming a trip leader for the Seattle and Foothills Branches. Read more…

As winter is still in full effect in most of our mountains, access for recreational opportunities in ONP continues to be a priority for many folks. Read more…

Mt Hood Palmer Glacier
Injury: Corneal Edema causing blindness in one eye
Cause: Lasik Surgery, altitude, drying wind Read more…

Many years ago, The Mountaineers devised a set of guidelines to help people conduct themselves safely in the mountains. Based on careful observation of the habits of skilled climbers and a thoughtful analysis of accidents, those guidelines have served well not only for climbers but for all wilderness travelers. Read more…

It’s in!

Last year, the Washington Climbers Coalition, the American Alpine Club and The Mountaineers, with support from the Access Fund, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Spokane Mountaineers and the entire Northwest climbing community, raised $50,000 for the installation of a toilet at the Frenchman Coulee climbing area (better known as Vantage) in Central Washington. Read more…

This month we spoke with Nina Crampton, a volunteer leader who enjoys teaching almost as much a good beer after a long day in the mountains. For extra entertainment, read her interview with a British accent – she’s from the UK! Read more…

Each week, The Mountaineers interview a member of our outdoor community to ask 10 Essential Questions. This week, we spoke with Yinan Zhao, a climb instructor who came to America from China with big dreams of conquering Mountains.  Read more…

Dogs at the trailhead, belayers in lawn chairs, long lines queued up at the classics in Eldorado Canyon — the crags seem more crowded and more crazy than ever. In fact, according to the Outdoor Industry association, in the United States more than 3.6 million people participated in climbing in 2011. Many of these new climbers are entering outdoor climbing solely through rock gyms, without having the opportunity to apprentice with an experienced friend or mentor— resulting in climbing accidents and conflicts. How do you become a responsible crag citizen? Read more…