Skiing & Snowboarding

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Tab Wilkins, a volunteer leader with the Foothills Branch who encourages our leaders to be more collaborative, to learn from and recognize near-misses, and to embrace opportunities for feedback. Read more…

The trick to staying alive in avalanche terrain is to stay away from dangerous conditions. Here are Bruce Tremper's "10 Commandments of Low-Risk Travel". The following is excerpted from the new  Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, 3rd Edition and has been edited for space. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Henry Romer, a volunteer leader and instructor with the Olympia Branch who leads for multiple activities and encourages new leaders to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available within our Mountaineers community! Read more…

Join us September 20, 2018 to hear from Andrew Mclean, the first person to summit and ski the 'Alaska Family' of peaks Father Denali, Mother Sultanan, and child Mt. Hunter. Read more…

In what experts are calling an astonishing event, three-year-old Mountaineer member James McKinney executed perfect cross-country skiing technique in his first attempt. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Danielle Graham, a volunteer leader with the Foothills Branch who encourages aspiring leaders to glean tips and tricks from every leader they interact with, and who wants all members to feel valued and included in The Mountaineers' community. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Tom Eckhout, a volunteer leader with the Olympia Branch who cherishes every moment he has in the mountains. Read more…

Built in 1938, Meany Lodge is home to a thriving ski community. We provide a family friendly atmosphere similar to the huts in Europe. Our ski school is nationally recognized, and all instructors are Mountaineers who have received formal ski instructor training. Our instructors are volunteers, who want to share their joy of skiing and help you meet your goals. Read more…

Anyone who has been around me for a nanosecond in winter knows I love cross-country skiing. A lot. Maybe even more than climbing, kayaking, downhill skiing, and biking combined. (Gasp!)  Read more…

Join us for Mountaineers Books’ next live web event January 25 to “Discover California’s Best Backcountry  Ski Tours,” featuring pro-skier and backcountry expert Jeremy Benson, author of the new Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: California. Benson is Tahoe-based, and his insider beta is sure to get you stoked to find new powder lines. Read more…

The 13th Annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival will show at the Bellevue Botanical Garden on Monday, January 22 and at the Seattle Mountaineers Program Center on Monday January 29.  Adventure, environment and climate, youth outdoors, ski culture - you’ll find it all in this award winning lineup of eight films.  Read more…

Picture yourself tromping through a winter wonderland with your friends, family, and favorite Mountaineers trip leaders. The Mountaineers will be celebrating Winter Trails Month in January 2018, in conjunction with the national Winter Trails organization. Read more…

The Mountaineers' rustic Mount Baker Lodge is nestled in the spectacular North Cascades and is a beautiful, fun getaway three hours from Seattle. Located within walking distance of the Mt. Baker Ski Area, come up this winter to enjoy a weekend in the mountains. Read more…

Are you interested in cross-country skiing with The Mountaineers this winter? Several of our branches offer a variety of classes. Take a look, learn about the differences, and decide which might be the best option for you! 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…

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…

If you're looking to take your backcountry skiing to the next level, we hope you'll join us for an immersive weekend at our Baker Lodge March 17-19. We'll use the Baker Ski area to practice skiing tactics in steep terrain while building confidence to ski the backcountry. Read more…

For the last four decades, the Everett Branch has offered a Nordic (cross-country) ski course in January and February. This year we carried on the tradition and introduced a new batch of adventurers to the joys of Nordic skiing. Read more…

Experienced adventuristas often forget what it was like to be 'the noob'. We have our kit dialed, know how much food to pack, and can go from no plans to leaving on a two-day ski trip in 30-minutes without breaking a sweat. But we were all beginners once, and each have someone to thank for taking us out for our first hike, bike, ski, or climb. Read more…

My first avalanche transceiver was the original Ortovox S1, which sported 3 antennas, a slick grid search, and looked like a transponder from Star Trek. Considering flip phones were just on the way out and Myspace was still relevant it didn’t seem out of place. Read more…

Mastering your personal layering comfort is one of the most difficult aspects of backcountry travel. Too many clothes and you're soaking yourself from the inside out. Too few and you're freezing your little tootsie off. No bueno either way. Read more…

I fell in love with the snow as a child. We didn’t have a lot of the white stuff where I grew up near London, England but I was fortunate in that my parents took my brother and I skiing in Austria. Every winter after that I tried to get in at least one ski vacation.  Read more…

Meany Lodge is looking to fill several committee postions that will put you at the heart of one of The Mountaineers most vibrant communities.  Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we've believe venturing into the outdoors is an essential piece of the human experience. We go outside to wander and explore the adventurous spirit within ourselves. It's important to implement low-impact recreation skills to keep our wild places as sanctuaries for the human spirit; so our grandchildren can experience the sensation of discovering an untouched place. Read more…

I consider myself one of the ‘lucky ones’. I learned to ski shortly after learning to walk, and remember a childhood of white Montana winters racing after my parents down the ski slopes. Winters get cold in Big Sky Country, but fueled on a steady stream of hot cocoa and M&Ms, my dad managed to teach not only me, but my younger twin-sisters, to be pretty darn good skiers. Read more…

Grab your outdoor bucket list and adventure buddies to tune into a night of human-powered winter celebration, with ten edge-of-your-seat films celebrating backcountry skiing and other adventures! Read more…

Crampons are an indispensable tool for any alpine mountaineer. But sometimes it's not so "cut-and-dry" as to when you should use them. Read more…

While some folks are still disillusioned about last year's ski season, our team at Stevens Lodge is 100% convinced that this will be a year to remember...and we are doing lots of work to prepare the lodge for an epic season! Read more…

Terry Breaux is what you would call an expert camper. He fell in love with the outdoors as a kid the first night he slept in a tent under the stars. He continues to pursue bikepacking expeditions today, always testing gear and seeking ways to create better shelters for outdoor users.  He's been designing tents since 1989, and for the last nine years he's worked at MSR. Now he's spreading his tent knowledge with you. Read more…

Ten years ago the Forest Service issued a travel management rule designated to regulate wheeled vehicle use on Forest lands. At the time, snowmobiles were considered “optional” to regulate, and were therefore not included in the legislation. Then, last summer, we asked you to share your voice on a new proposal for winter travel management in our National Forests. Now, a new regulation known as the Over Snow Vehicle Travel Rule has been passed to account for snowmobile use. Read more…