Courses & Activities

Glen: We met the day after Thanksgiving on a Seattle Mountaineers hike to Green Lake on the northwest side of Mount Rainier. There were 10 hikers on the trip and I struck up a conversation with the Polish American blond woman with a charming accent and dynamic smile. Tatiana was the bright spot in the crowd of hard-core hikers. We discovered that we had common interests besides hiking – other outdoor activities, travel, cultural events, dancing, serving others, and our faith. We also had similar degrees in geosciences. At the end of the hike, we exchanged cards and shortly after, scheduled our first date at Starbucks in December, 2013. If we both had not gone on this hike organized by the Mountaineers, we likely would have never met. Read more…

Name: Karen Portzer
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Member Since: 1981
Occupation:Accounting Analyst
Favorite Things to Photograph: Mount Rainier, Safeco Field, Architecture, Nature, Travel Read more…

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…

Mountaineering is an expensive sport. It's especially daunting for beginners, who often have to prioritize spending across competing items. With a fixed amount of money, do you go for Gore-Tex undies, an ice axe made of sleek unobtanium . . . or yawn, a compass? (Let's face it, a shiny new cam is way sexier than a compass.) Read more…

Earth Day is this Saturday, April 22, and we have se several ways for you to show your appreciation for Mother Earth this weekend. Join us for a stewardship activity, and please help us champion our low impact skills while you’re getting outside! Read more…

Name: Heather Mack
Hometown: Des Moines, WA
Member Since: 2008
Occupation: Immunology Research Tech
Favorite Things to Photograph: small, macro, and long exposures Read more…

Want to see your photography in a Mountaineers calendar? We're hosting a photo contest to create a 2018 calendar to be sold in our Seattle Program Center Bookstore. The grand-prize cover photo winner will receive a one-year subscription to Photoshop CC and Lightroom (courtesy of Abobe), a copy of the calendar, and their information/winning photo recognition in a blog post of the Mountaineers website.  Read more…

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…

During Junior Mountaineers Summer Camp in 2014, nine-year-old Sydney Swenson confidently announced to then Youth Programs Manager Caitlin O’Brien that she was planning to climb The Tooth in celebration of her tenth birthday. In January 2015, Sydney’s dad Matt Swenson sent an email to some of his friends in The Mountaineers climbing community asking if anyone was interested in joining him and Sydney on the celebratory Tooth climb. Read more…

Many people don't know that experienced Mountaineers volunteers have been leading domestic and international outdoor adventure trips for decades! We've taken Mountaineers to Nepal, The Dolomites, The Alps, New Zealand,  Peru, Patagonia,  Alaska, and Hawaii... just to name a few. Read more…

Three years ago, my friend Loren died in a skiing accident. A huge February storm rolled through the Pacific Northwest, and a bunch of us took extra days off to go skiing. He and a friend were skiing Crystal in-bounds on a Wednesday when Loren fell into a tree well. He suffocated before he could be rescued. Read more…

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…

The Mountaineers are offering a variety of backpacking courses designed to kick start your spring and summer adventures. In addition to general courses, we have special-focus seminars as well as leadership opportunities. Classes are offered at a variety of locations and you’re welcome at any branch. Read more…

We go outside to find inspiration, and the experience is even richer when we can capture beautiful images of the places where we play. If you're looking to get outside and while taking your photography skills to the next level, check out these upcoming courses from our Photography Committee. 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…

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…

Spring has sprung and it's time to get out on the water. Join The Mountaineers for our sailing kick-off event March 26. Then sign up for one of our two sailing course and attend free sailing trips with The Mountaineers for LIFE! Read more…

The Seattle Photography Committee is  scheduling activities for the spring and summer. You don't have to be a member of the Photography Committee to sign up for any of these events! Our goal is to combine good photography skills with other Mountaineer activities. Join us! Read more…

Climbers, scramblers, hikers, snowshoers are all keen to find good beta for the next adventure. Sometimes a simple, downloadable map customized for the trail or route is enough. Other times we want tracks to follow when traveling in questionable terrain. There is no shortage of private and public collections of maps and tracks online, but we want to make these materials more accessible to you. Read more…

Name: Lisa Gadeken
Hometown: Seattle
Member Since: 2009
Occupation: Accountant
Favorite Things to Photograph: nature, wildlife, go-karts 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…

As longtime hikers and explorers who think a lot about trails in the Cascades, the article “Trails Loved to Death?” by Craig Romano in the November/December 2015 edition of Mountaineer magazine really got our attention.  Read more…

Did you know Seattle is home to more than 560 publicly accessible staircases wander throughout Seattle's gardens, district neighborhoods, and urban nooks and crannies? That's over 10,0000 hidden steps! The Mountaineers are hitting the streets to explore these steps with urban adventures this winter.  Read more…

After lots of hard work all last fall and early this winter, we're pleased to announce two new major features have been added to our website: an online lodge reservation system and online merchandise sales. We've also made some smaller, noteworthy improvements. Read more…

This installment of Our Secret Rainier guides you to a monument and some amazing basalt columns in the national park. With extra effort, one can continue on to two scrambles in a remote part of the park.  Read more…

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…

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…

Co-sponsored by the Foothills and Seattle Hiking and Backpacking Committees, this presentation series is about the unique and special places our members have explored on two feet with a pack on their back. These are places worthy of a life-list for other wild-walkers, places that are off the normal tourist track but still in-reach of any fit and hardy Mountaineer with the urge to go far afield. Read more…

There’s nothing like that rush of exhilaration you feel upon cresting a high ridge bursting with wildflowers and surrounded by snow-capped craggy peaks. You stand upon your heavenly perch and gaze out with utter astonishment on how breathtakingly beautiful the natural world is; from the glistening glaciers before you to the fluttering butterflies among a carpet of brilliant blossoms below you. With senses completely overloaded, who among us hasn’t felt the urge to twirl amid the lupines and pull a Julie Andrews?  Read more…

Our Everett Lookout and Trail Maintenance Committee (LOTM), a “get it done” group that maintains historic fire lookouts and trails and participates in events like National Trails Day, is a great community for anyone looking to get outside and make a difference. In the coming months, 30-year member and stewardship rock star, Louie Coglas, will offer several opportunities to give back to our wild places. Open to anyone who wants to participate! Read more…