Courses & Activities

Mount Rainier National Park has over 100 climbable peaks (not counting Mount Rainier itself) either within or immediately adjacent to the Park boundary, and most are seldom visited and underappreciated. In this sense they are “secrets” and worthy of being featured in this Secret Rainier series, where we outline the benefits of these 76 scrambles, 15 hikes, and nine climbs. In this issue of Secret Rainier, we describe Copper and Iron Mountains. These two gems in the park require an arduous day but are well worth it. Read more…

In July 1996, I was a rock climber with very little experience in the mountains. I found myself in Glacier, having moved to Washington State from the relative flat-lands of the East Coast, where "it might be hot but at least it's humid." I was working for a small outdoor education program, and my new friend there suggested we go climb a technical peak in the North Cascades. Read more…

As staff liaison to the Everett branch, I have the opportunity to attend their branch banquet to witness the pride of accomplishment, honor exceptional volunteers, and to be inspired by their always entertaining featured speaker. This year, Lowell Skoog, a distinguished climber, skier, writer, photographer, and Mountaineers historian, gave a presentation on the past and future of Northwest mountaineering. Read more…

The Mountaineers and Adidas Terrex are pleased to present climbing phenom Molly Mitchell on May 14 at the Seattle Program Center. An accomplished 5.13+ trad climber and youth coach to aspiring climbers, Molly values fighting hard, trusting the process, and measuring success - even in the smallest of increments. Come learn how she celebrates success while being vulnerable and battling an anxiety disorder. Read more…

A little more dirt and a little less snow are filling the pages of our trip reports now that we're well into spring. You all promptly stepped into your hiking boots this month too, it would seem. But regardless of the trails clearing up, I still see plenty of rain jackets! Hooray for indecisive weather and unreliable forecasts through the next month or two! Read more…

My friend Roger Rosenblatt and I had arranged to meet early one Saturday morning in April some years ago to go skiing in the Snoqualmie pass backcountry. Neither of us were especially good skiers, so our normal trips involved going up a logging road, and then branching off to find a lake or view rewarding ridge line. Read more…

We are excited to partner with Dr. Kodner and her students from Western Washington University for a third year on a citizen science project related to snow algae! This summer, take your alpine adventures to the next level and help us collect samples of summer "watermelon snow" algal blooms. These samples will support studies related to climate change and algal evolutionary biology. Read more…

When Dave Enfield describes one of his first and most memorable Mountaineers scrambles along Mazama Ridge, he does not mention the iconic views of the Tatoosh Range, the subalpine meadows down below, or Mount Rainier looming above. He does not bring up the early-season frost spreading from underfoot to distant peaks and chilling glaciers. He does not speak of beauty or majesty. Dave describes something entirely different: leaving his tent in the morning, all he saw was pure white. 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…

The following is an excerpt from My Old Man and the Mountain, by Leif Whittaker. The Seattle Times called Leif's memoir "an entertaining coming-of-age yarn from a likable, talented diarist."  Rock & Ice  said it was "engaging and humorous." The American Alpine Institute found it to be "a beautiful piece of writing, funny and sad, insightful, and engaging." 

The book is just out in the paperback edition. See what you think. Read more…

Our Mountaineers naturalist committees offer opportunities to learn about the plants, animals, marine life, and geology of the Pacific Northwest. To help you get involved, the Olympia Naturalist Committee is offering new activities in May and June to help you learn more about the birds of our region. Read more…

You’ve seen them around: whether with a speed walking grandpa, that youngin’ plowing down the path, or the ultrarunner in the video of the Rocky 100, trekking poles (also called hiking poles or walking sticks) are an outdoor accessory almost as old as hiking itself. But… why would you use them? Read more…

When most people think of Mount Rainier National Park, they think of the park’s namesake peak, a towering 14,441-foot stratovolcano that’s famous the world over. But Washington State’s iconic mountain only scratches the surfaces of the area’s summit possibilities. Longtime Mountaineers Gene Yore and Mickey Eisenberg identified the 100 peaks surrounding Rainier and set about climbing these lesser-known gems. Gene, who took on the challenge at age 72, overcame cardiac arrest and a broken femur on his way to reaching all 100 peaks. Read more…

I looked around at the others, perhaps 75 in all, and saw that almost everyone was quite a bit younger than me. One exception was an instructor who looked like he might at least hail from the same part of the century. The lines on his clean-shaven face were well-defined and weathered in a good way. Read more…

Are you an experienced Mountaineers activity leader who dreams of multi-day adventures in far-flung places? Global Adventures leaders have taken groups skiing, snowshoeing, climbing, scrambling, backpacking, trekking, and day-walking in Alaska, the Rockies, the Alps, Patagonia, Peru, the Himalayas, the British Isles, New Zealand, Japan, and more. The Global Adventures program may be the perfect place for you to live your travel dreams with capable Mountaineers Groups, and, at the same time, take your trip planning and group leadership skills to a new level. Read more…

Our small town in rural Pennsylvania didn’t have a community center. Or a swimming pool. The only thing for us children to do when we weren’t in school was hike the surrounding hills and mountains. My family was poor, so we never went on vacations that didn’t involve a tent or camper. My strongest and most vivid memories growing up are from experiences in the outdoors. Spending time in the forests and mountains is as natural to me as breathing. Read more…

Dierdre Wolownick has lived an interesting life - mother, wife, teacher, musician, linguist, writer, runner and climber. Her son Alex Honnold is one of the two or three most famous rock climbers in the world. Dierdre herself started climbing late in life and at age 66 she climbed El Cap, making her the oldest woman to accomplish the feat. Find out how the author of The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story keeps life exciting. Read more…

With just three days left in his 23-day, reality television ordeal, Don Nguyen was the very embodiment of the show’s title, “Naked and Afraid.” Cold rain and winds pounded and compromised his primitive shelter in the Namibian wilderness. As he shivered uncontrollably, in the buff and borderline hypothermic, he pondered an ending that he ultimately refused to accept. Read more…

Our new Gear Library is committed to helping the next generation explore the outdoors. Since launching in August 2018, we have partnered with local youth-serving agencies to offer free access to outdoor gear to help increase access to our wild places.  We are excited to announce that car camping and backpacking gear are now included in our gear offerings! Attend our upcoming Gear Library orientation on April 8 to learn more. Read more…

Hiking goals in Alaska are as diverse as the people you meet out on the trail; they come in all shapes, sizes and ambitions. But one thing is pretty universal: The ideal of an end-of-summer “goal hike” that you train for all summer long. Read more…

Spring has sprung! Can't you tell? T-shirts and sandals are trickling back into our lives, people are sitting outside just for the fun of it, and all of a sudden it makes sense to buy sunscreen again. Read more…

Progressive Climbing Education (PCE) is a strategic initiative to advance our Mountaineers climbing programs, 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. This quarterly communication is intended to provide regular updates about each committees' projects, offer transparency, and ensure that all branches are able to provide feedback and input to proposed changes to the climbing programs. Read more…

For our Leader Spotlight this month we talked to Gordie Swartzman, a naturalists leader with the Seattle Branch who encourages new leaders to lead out of their passion! 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…

One of the core elements of our mission at The Mountaineers is to engage future Mountaineers. Many of our members may not know about everything we do to foster youth involvement in the outdoors, and we hear that some people are surprised to learn about our robust youth program, which has three distinct parts: outreach programs (like Mountain Workshops and our Gear Library), school break camps, and year-round outdoor clubs. One of these year-round programs is The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC). Designed for teens aged 14-18, MAC includes a wide variety of outdoor activities and focuses on developing strong alpine climbing skills.  Read more…

The weather is warming and many climbers are moving from gyms to outdoor rock. Most will be working on sport climbs with bolted anchors. Here's a refresher on the correct way to clip into bolts excerpted from Chapter 6, "Sport Climbing and Bolted Anchors" in the new book,  Rock Climbing Anchors, 2nd Ed., by Topher Donahue and Craig Luebben. Read more…

A few years ago, I took a group of Nordic skiers to the Dolomites in Italy. One couple in my group was looking forward to celebrating a significant anniversary in Florence and Rome following our ski adventures. We had been in the Dolomiti for about 10 days and, on this day, had enjoyed a rigorous mountain ski. After lunch and a ski back to a side valley where our path crossed a road, the anniversary couple decided to take the rest of the day off and bus back to the hotel. Read more…

Jeff Smoot is the author of Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change, and the Race for 5.14, a fast-paced history-cum-memoir about rock climbing in the late '70s and early '80s—a pivotal and contentious time.  Read more…

Enjoying the great outdoors can definitely work up an appetite. Packing the right amount of food and water on a hike is essential. Not only will you need energy, but it allows you to go further down the trail when it’s so easy to turn back. Seasoned hikers know the common snacks you can quickly throw in a bag, like beef jerky and nuts. But there are more options available. Consider these DIY organic snacks to bring on your next hike. Read more…

Lush green corridors. Colorful basalt. Smooth sculpted granite. Turquoise pools. Waterfall after waterfall. The world class canyons of the Pacific Northwest are one of our best kept secrets. And we're hosting a 2-weekend Canyoning Course in July to get you out in these magical places.  Read more…