History

History

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Retro Rewind | Hidden but Not Forgotten

In 1953, George Rogers stood atop the stunning Mount Olympus with a group of fellow climbers from The Mountaineers. At the time George knew his family history was deeply intertwined with the club, but he had no idea just how much until, 67 years later, he saw a Retro Rewind piece in Mountaineer magazine entitled “An Olympic Summer, 100 Years Ago.” A sentence caught his eye – “The most summits by a single member was eight, completed by Phillip Rogers, Jr.” His first thought was, “Could that be my dad?” Read more…

Retro Rewind | Marge Mueller: Pioneering Illustrator and Guidebook Artist

Marge Mueller, author, co-author, book designer, mapmaker, illustrator, and lifetime member of The Mountaineers, passed away in September at the age of 84.

Many think of Mountaineers Books as synonymous with outdoor legends like Fred Beckey, Harvey Manning, Ira Spring, and others whose guidebooks were published to much acclaim and who inspired a new generation of writers and photographers. There is, however, one woman—an established Pacific Northwest author in her own right—who helped make so much of the success of their work possible. Read more…

Mountaineers Books 60th Anniversary

Over the past sixty years, Mountaineers Books has built something incredible. Beginning with a single book, written and produced by volunteers, we have grown into a world-leading outdoors publisher with over 650 titles in print and nearly 17 million books sold since 1960. Today we sell books in print, online, and on-demand, around the world and in a dozen languages. Mountaineers Books are nearly as well traveled as Mountaineers members. Read more…

Retro Rewind | An Olympic Summer, 100 Years Ago

The Spanish Flu swept the globe in 1918, just over 100 years ago. While we could find little reference of how this impacted Mountaineers at the time, we’re watching as a similar pandemic grinds our spring and summer plans to a halt. At the time of writing, the Stay Home, Stay Safe order is still in place, and we don’t know how and when getting outside will return to ’normal.’ So for this Retro Rewind, we decided to look back one century ago at the summer excursion of 1920, to see just what Mountaineers members were up to and find inspiration in their intrepid spirits.  Read more…

Retro Rewind | When Lifts Stop Running: Washington ski resorts of yesteryear

Skiers and snowboarders in Washington State are lucky to enjoy a wide range of opportunities to zip down the hill. You want the deepest snow? Head to Mt. Baker. Easy access from Seattle? Snoqualmie has you covered. Looking for something small and community-oriented? Visit Meany Lodge! With a range of options to choose from, Washingtonians have it pretty good. Over the past 100 years though, the ski map of Washington has changed dramatically. The Cascade and Olympic Mountains have been home to dozens of resorts, and the ones you see now are the few that remain. Of the current popular areas, few were present in the minds of skiers before the last few decades. Buckle your boots – we’re going for a trip to the hidden gems of yesteryear. Read more…

Olympia Mountaineers Honor Life & Legacy of Branch Founder Paul Wiseman - Aug 27

The Olympia Mountaineers invites you to a dedication gathering celebrating Paul Wiseman, the late founder of the Olympia Branch of The Mountaineers who established our branch in 1963 and leaves behind and indelible legacy.  Read more…

Retro Rewind | In Asahel’s Footsteps: A Legendary Adventure Photographer

Asahel Curtis described Mount Shuksan in the first Mountaineers annual as “a beautiful mass of igneous rock with cascade glaciers flowing outward on all sides, except the north.” He, along with W. Montelius Price, claimed the first ascent of the peak in 1906 (Shuksan’s Curtis and Price glaciers serve as namesakes to the climbers). Asahel brought his faithful companion – a 10+ pound box-style camera – with him to the top. As was his trademark, he was simultaneously pioneering two fields: mountaineering and photography. Read more…

Retro Rewind | The Family of First Ascents: The Fierys Climb Their Way Through Mountaineering History

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…

Retro Rewind | Into the Archives

In the first few decades of The Mountaineers existence, members planned long, yearly excursions into the wilderness every summer and winter. On these annual trips, our members ventured into the mountains to explore and discover first ascents on unmapped peaks. In 1912, The Mountaineers spent July 20 - August 10 traveling around Mt. Rainier. Read more…

Did You Know? The Long and Unlikely Journey of Our Basalt Columns

“The night before we didn’t sleep. We were seriously worried it’d be a disaster,” says John Ohlson, the man who hatched the idea of erecting 25-foot basalt columns at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center.  Read more…

Retro Rewind | The Teenagers Who Summited Rainier… in Winter

We thought we were in a safe spot, but before we knew it, my Dad was falling into a crevasse. Moments earlier, we had arrived back at high camp and started to unclip from the rope – the tether that allows climbers to catch one another in the event of a fall. Then, in an instant, the snow collapsed under Dad. He pulled his leg out, but was unable to gain purchase and started sliding down the slope into the void. Only one of us, a new climber named Scott, was still attached to him. Read more…

Retro Rewind | Mary Anderson, Decades of Inspiration

Born Mary Gaiser on December 7, 1909, in Yakima Valley, Mary loved Washington and the natural world from a young age. She moved to Seattle and taught grade school until the mid-1930s, all the while sharing her love for wild places with her students. She was especially passionate about biology and natural history. Read more…

K2 40th Anniversary: Inspiration Through Generations

As a teenager in the 1950s, I was a voracious reader fascinated with several books that became the classic accounts of the so called “Golden Age” of Himalayan mountaineering. Among this treasure trove was K2: The Savage Mountain, the unforgettable story of the 1953 American K2 expedition. It stirred a fascination with K2 in me which has lasted a lifetime. Read more…

An Epic Climb of Mount Rainier Via the Willis Wall

The wind is howling; it’s pitch dark, and heavy snow is blowing sideways. I stagger, trying to stay on my feet while Jim shouts at me from the bivouac to get in. Struggling in the gale, I lift one leg, try to step into the sack, and am blown flat on my side. I get up and try again. “If you don’t get into the sack, you’re going to die,” I think. Read more…

To Everest and Beyond - Tom Hornbein Reflects on Life and Mountains

As Tom Hornbein stood in the shadow of Everest, he knew getting to the top wasn’t enough. He wanted more.

In 1963, Tom was a member of a sponsored expedition designed to send the first Americans to the summit of the highest peak in the world. The strategy was clear: climb the South Col route first established by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. While summiting via the South Col was far from a guarantee, the proven route was their best chance.  Read more…

The Legacy of Clark Schurman

Clark Schurman joined The Mountaineers in 1936 and devoted his abundant energy and talent to developing mountaineering techniques and a philosophy oriented to safety.  In his book, Molenaar called Schurman “An intense, brusk little man with the military way, he had a soul highly sensitive to the beauties of the mountain and to the dreams of youth. Visitors to the small, musty auditorium in the basement of the Guide House long remembered Schurman’s evening program of tinted lantern slides (and the first Kodachrome slides) which revealed the beauties of the mountain and its surrounding parklands. Schurman’s poetic interpretation of the great natural forces at work helped bring the mountain close to the hearts of his guests.” Read more…

Governor Evans and the Book That Saved the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

A picture is worth a thousand words, but the images collected in The Alpine Lakes are worth even more than that. The photographs in this book, published by The Mountaineers in 1971, inspired President Gerald Ford to designate the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. 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…

John Davis - A True Lifetime Member

John Davis’ imprint on Seattle is inspiring. In addition to being the founder of Davis, Wright, Tremaine law firm in 1944, John served on the boards of many nonprofits, including Whitman College, the Pacific Science Center, and the Seattle Symphony. The Mountaineers was also a recipient of John’s strong commitment to giving back to his community. He volunteered as a leader at The Mountaineers serving as board president in 1968, climbing committee chair in 1967, as an editor of the second edition of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills, and as a co-founder of the Mountaineers Foundation. A lifetime member since 1959, John passed away in April of 2015 at the age of 101.  Read more…

The Case for Tahoma

The name Rainier means a lot to people in the Pacific Northwest: it's our majestic guardian mountain and the first major summit for many local outdoor enthusiasts. It was also the training ground for famed Mountaineers member and first American to summit Mount Everest, Jim Whittaker. Do you know what essential item he carried on his journey to the top of the world? Why mountain-fresh Rainier beer of course! 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…

Legends and Lore Reaches Back Across the Pond

“I must stress that this book is a fascinating read,” wrote Noel Dawson in his review of Sherpa: The Memoir of Ang Tharkay, which appeared recently in an issue of the UK’s Climber magazine. “It tells a very important story that could so easily have been lost.” Read more…

A Living Legend - Fred Beckey

Mountaineer climbers in 1939 were well aware of their unparalleled good fortune. Only the highest Northwest peaks had been climbed, and all a young climber had to do to score a first ascent was head for the nearest blank spot on the map. Many of the mountains hadn’t even been surveyed, and the climbers often went without benefit of a map. Often they explored the area first and returned later, relying on their own notes to reach the summit. Read more…

How The Mountaineers Helped Create The Olympic National Park

In The Mountaineers: A History, longtime Mountaineers President Edmond Meany summed up the club’s mission in the 1910 annual: “This is a new country. It abounds in a fabulous wealth of scenic beauty. It is possible to so conserve parts of that wealth that it may be enjoyed by countless generations through the centuries to come… This club is vigilant for wise conservation and it is also anxious to blaze ways into the hills that anyone may follow.” Read more…

Theater in the Wild

When I first learned The Mountaineers had a theater, I thought it was a bit strange. What does acting and drama have to do with mountaineering? The answer, in short, is community. Before forest access roads and rules that limit parties to 12, it was common for large groups of Mountaineers to spend days together just to get to where we now park our cars. To entertain each other in the evenings, animated camp-fire stories and performances, when organized with props, quickly became a type of theater. Read more…

Mountaineers Patrol Race: A Grand Tradition Revisited - Feb 27

Two years ago, Mountaineers members revived the Patrol Race. With a rich history of misadventure and competition, racers were excited to take part in this storied tradition. We're honored to be hosting the event again this year on February 27. Read more…

Happy Birthday, Fred Beckey!

Fred Beckey, a living legend among Northwest Mountaineers, is a climber, environmentalist, historian, and author. He has achieved enduring recognition as the most imaginative, persistent, and thorough explorer and mountain investigator of the Cascade Range Wilderness. Last year we celebrated Fred as the recipient the of 2015 Mountaineers Lifetime Achievement Award at our BREAKTHROUGH dinner and auction featuring Fred, Colin Haley, Mike Gauthier, and Alex Honnold.  Read more…

Thank You Veterans!

At The Mountaineers, we know the power of nature to restore our souls and inspire our spirits. Read more…

50 Years of Wilderness: the past and future of our protected lands

As Mountaineers, we have accessed and experienced some of the most remote areas of this region. Close your eyes and think about where you were on you favorite or most recent trip outdoors. Chances are this trip brought you to some sort of protected land, quite possibly to a federally designated “Wilderness” area, such as the Olympic Wilderness, the San Juan Wilderness, Mount Rainier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Boulder River Wilderness and more.  Read more…

A Climbing Evolution: 40 years with The Mountaineers

We’re aware some people perceive us as an ‘old guy’s club’. And while that may have been the case 60 years ago when we were inventing methods of climbing the highest and most remote peaks, it just isn’t true anymore. Read more…