The Mountaineers
Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to...
Name: Brittney Moraski (she/her)
Hometown: I grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I like to compare my hometown to Forks, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula: both are geographically remote areas and close to water, with lots of trees! I was fortunate to be surrounded by outdoor recreation where I grew up. Admittedly, it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned to appreciate these resources.
Member since: 2017
Occupation: I work as a strategist at Starbucks Coffee Company.
Favorite activities: Any activity that physically exhausts me. I value the outdoors for helping me get out of my head and into my body!
10 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
WHAT FIRST BROUGHT YOU TO THE MOUNTAINEERS?
I moved to Seattle in 2016 for work, with few connections to the area. I was interested in recreating in the Pacific Northwest, and The Mountaineers provided training and opportunities to do so safely. During a period of my life that could have been lonely, The Mountaineers offered me community.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOUNTAINEERS MEMORY?
Eating ripe huckleberries – “a summer’s worth of photosynthesis!” – on an August Mountaineers backpack circumnavigating Mt. St. Helens on the Loowit Trail. I shared this experience in an article I wrote for Mountaineer Magazine.
What does adventure mean to you?
Personal growth is only possible when we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. Adventure to me is seeking personal growth by way of adrenaline and Type II fun.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO DONATE TO THE MOUntAINEERS?
In addition to supporting The Mountaineers, I serve as a board member and advocacy chair for the Seattle Public Library Foundation. Like the library, The Mountaineers creates opportunities for people to gather and form friendships based on common interests, potentially across generational, socioeconomic, or other identity-based categories. We’re all better off when our communities are bigger than those we consider most like us. I donate to The Mountaineers because I see how its work makes the Pacific Northwest a more welcoming place to recreate – and call home.
What impact do you hope to have in our community through your donations?
As our region continues to grow, I hope my donations make it possible for the next generation of newcomers to find their way – literally and figuratively – on our trails, waters, and mountains, just as I did through The Mountaineers.
Lightning Round
Sunrise or sunset? I appreciate any version of sun in the Pacific Northwest!
Smile or game face? Game face - trail conversations are wonderful, but I also seek the outdoors for thinking time.
What's your favorite close-to-home outdoor activity? Weekend Mt. Si conditioners are good for my body and soul – as long as I have my 11th Essential.
What's your 11th Essential? My iliotibial band wrap is the best $20 I’ve spent at REI; it gets me down mountains!
What's next on your bucket list? I’m hoping for a good result in the lottery this spring, so I can explore (and ideally, complete) the Wonderland trail.
