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Do you like to explore our state and take photos of the places and things you find? Join the Seattle Mountaineers Photography Committee during warmer weather as we explore and photograph places that are either new to us or have been forgotten. Read more…

My plan was initially without a hitch. Hike from Longmire on the Wonderland Trail to Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground. Do a little photography in those famed fields, visit the Mirror Lakes and then head back out via the Kautz Creek Trail. It would be a nice 14.5-mile hike with some decent elevation gain. My hiking partner would leave a car at the Kautz Creek trailhead and we would drive back to Longmire to retrieve my vehicle. Plan was good — until my hiking partner couldn’t make it. I was on assignment, so the hike would go on.  Read more…

Last Sunday, search and rescue teams responded to an emergency call from a popular early-season climb in the Olympic mountains. Two climbers slipped on a steep snowy slope while climbing The Brothers. One fell “into an opening in the snow and over a rock face with running melt water,” and sadly did not survive. This tragic accident has brought an annually recurring hazard back into the thoughts of everyone within the outdoor community: the danger posed by snow bridges.  Read more…

Over a frigid week in mid-February, seventeen Mountaineers from across the organization converged in the warm and welcoming Canadian Alpine Club Lodge in Canmore, Alberta, to spend a week working on ice climbing skills in this penultimate North American ice destination.   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…

We've been talking about the Land and Water Conservation Fund since last spring AND we finally have big news to share: Read more…

Hailed as America’s best conservation program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been vulnerable to a lack of funding and re-authorization from Congress. This past March, LWCF was permanently reauthorized, meaning this important conservation and recreation program will be around for the long haul. However, this does not actually guarantee it will receive funding every year. Since being established over 50 years ago, more than half of its intended funding - over $22 billion - has been diverted for other, non-conservation purposes. Read more…

As Mountaineers, we are committed to learning from our experiences. We examine every incident that happens on a Mountaineers trip for opportunities to improve the ways we explore and teach. Our volunteer safety committee reviews every incident report and picks a few each month to share as examples of ‘Lessons Learned’. The trip report below describes what happened on this trip, in the leader’s own words, and outlines the lessons the leader has identified. In some cases, we offer additional key learnings from the incident. Read more…

The Mountaineers endorses Washington State ballot Initiative 1631 because we believe that a healthy environment is essential to the future of outdoor recreation and public lands. Read more…

During the past two years, we've worked to connect our community to more digital tools, allowing volunteers to easily manage activity and course information online and enabling members to quickly locate and sign up for activities and courses. Traffic to our website has doubled and we've seen a 115% increase in our members' use of social media. Read more…

June 6, 2013: As the plane swooped over brown hillsides and stucco homes with tile roofs, I realized how very far from Washington State I was. I stared east, where clouds and ridges loomed faint and low on the horizon. I remembered the last time I was here, eight years younger and vastly inexperienced. I had faced the same distance, but this time I knew the extent of the land that sprawled between me and Washington, which had become my home. I already felt the pull of the mountains I knew like friends, and the people I loved.  Read more…

We just released two new books for avid hikers and climbers looking to use yoga to hike farther and climb higher. Each guide - one specific for climbers and one for hikers - were written by  Nicole Tsong and feature photos of our members! Read more…

The most prestigious mountain festival in the world, The Banff Centre’s Banff Mountain Film Festival celebrates 41  years in 2017 by continuing to bring the best action, environmental, and adventure films to audiences in Banff and in 40 countries across the globe. Read more…

One of Washington State’s most beloved wild places - the Enchantments, located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness - could be impacted by a proposal to replace an aging dam. The Washington State Department of Ecology recently announced plans to replace the Eightmile Lake Dam in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The plans raise concerns about appropriate actions in a protected wilderness area and impacts on recreation. Read more…

This  spring, longtime Mountaineer, beloved friend, and trip leader Shari Hogshead passed away at the age of seventy-nine of an aortic aneurysm. At just 5'0" tall, she was still the biggest person you'd ever hope to meet. Read more…

In each issue of Mountaineer magazine, we feature two lovebirds who met through The Mountaineers and share a passion of the outdoors. This fall, we talked to Damien Scott and Dandelion Dilluvio-Scott.  Read more…

We are pleased to announce David Geeraerts as the Olympia Branch Alpine Scramble Leader of the Year.  David was also selected in 2015.  This year he has lead over 15 trips, and more importantly people enjoy his trips.  Read more…

Self-assessment is  an approach instructors can use to maximize student learning and place students in the driver's seat for their own learning by using a checklist or scorecard.Metaphorically, a self-assessment tool can serve as a topo map for students to see where they are, where they're going, and how much further they have to go to achieve their learning goals.  Most importantly, it can stimulate extremely useful dialogue between instructors and students, especially when their assessments differ. Read more…

When is a group in the outdoors too big? Too small? The answer, of course, is subjective, and also depends on the place and the activity. The Mountaineers Outdoor Ethics Policy encourages leaders to choose a maximum party size based on seven important factors. Read more…

Last week we asked you to save the date for our special gala event on April 11. We even hinted that you should 'Expect the Unexpected'.  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…

We were attempting a winter scramble of Quartz Mt via the east gully. The approach was pleasant and without incident. The forecast was for moderate avalanche danger below tree line and considerable above. While the route was below tree line, due to the nature of the gully on our route, we thought the conditions were considerable, and we were on the look out for any surface activity. Read more…

On March 23, 2020, Governor Inslee issued a stay home, stay healthy order for Washington state. The goal of this order is to help slow the spread of COVID-19 to “flatten the curve.”

We are being asked/ordered to stay at home with the exception of essential activities. These activities include going out for groceries, medical care, and approved work in an essential business. We are also being asked to observe strict social distancing protocol and hygiene measures when we do leave the house. Read more…

Nuts, trail mix, energy bars? They do the trick. But it doesn’t take long for regular snacks like those to become boring and bland. So I went on the search for something full of flavor, but healthy and compact. And something that would sustain me too.  Read more…

The U.S. Army has proposed several helicopter landing sites in the North Cascades for pilots to practice flyovers and high altitude landings. Some of the proposed landing zones have raised concerns because of their proximity to popular recreation areas and trails. Read more…

Everything about this climb was perfect, until it wasn’t. Read more…

Scraps, Peels and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home, by Jill Lightner, is a new book about how to waste less food. As a nation, Americans waste "between 35 and 40 percent of our food supply," according to Jill's research. And, "Nobody likes it," she adds. But while we might not be able to change everyone else, we each can work on minimizing our own food waste. Scraps, Peels and Stems offers scores of tips and more than 70 recipes.  Read more…

The Mountaineers annual Leadership Conference is dedicated to the ongoing development of our volunteer leaders. Discussions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been incorporated since its inception in 2014, and we’ve strived to include a wide array of presenters and sessions centered on inclusive and equitable programs. At the 2018 conference, we chose to introduce a full track focused on DEI, an exciting first for this event. Read more…

The Mountaineers rely on the generosity of its donors to fulfill our mission. While revenues such as book sales, course fees, and membership dues contribute greatly to our success, philanthropic donations support about 15% of our annual budget. Individuals, foundations, and companies give to The Mountaineers because they’re inspired by our deep commitment to connecting people to the transformative power of wild places. You can make the most of your donations by understanding the ins and outs of tax rules for donations to nonprofits. Read more…

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