News & Events

In 1965 Jim Whittaker led Senator Robert Kennedy to the first ascent of a remote mountain in the Yukon named after the late president JFK. Fifty years later, the sons of the original climbing team—a raucous band manager, a candidate for governor, and a young mountaineer—embarked on an expedition to the mountain to celebrate the special bond that connects them all. This expedition is captured in the film Return to Mount Kennedy, and was screened in front of packed house in Seattle on December 9, 2018, and will be featured again on February 19, 2019, at our Seattle Program Center. Read more…

Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books, is proud to present a brand new photography exhibit "Colorado: Sage Spirit and Roaring Rivers" in Concourse A of Denver's International Airport. An award-winning photographer, Dave Showalter has captured the spirit of Colorado wildlife and paired them with stories of Westerners working to preserve the land they love. Read more…

With great sadness we share the news of the passing of Steve Biem, a cherished member of our Seattle Branch climbing community and beloved father. He succumbed to high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) at Camp II on Ama Dablam this morning, after summiting with a team yesterday afternoon. Read more…

For five years, The Mountaineers has been proud to present our BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This year we welcome an arctic explorer, Caribou photographer, record-setting thru hiker, and barrier-breaking rock climber. Read more…

Please join us for an evening of fun, camaraderie, and festivities as we celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our fellow Tacoma Mountaineers! This year’s Tacoma Branch Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, Dec 7, at the Tacoma Mountaineers Program Center. We’ll be honoring some of our most dedicated volunteers, awarding Peak Pins, and enjoying a special presentation by Tacoma Mountaineer Tom Shimko on his epic mountain bike ride of The Great Divide. Read more…

The world-renowned Banff Centre's Banff Mountain Film Festival celebrates its 42nd year, continuing to bring the best action, environment, and adventure films to audiences in Banff and no less than 40 countries across the globe. Read more…

It's autumn in the Pacific Northwest yet sunshine still warms a constellation of colorful tents. Black, brown, Asian, and indigenous folks sit around a bonfire by a grassy meadow along the banks of the Snoqualmie River. Some have traveled across the region and some across the country by car, bicycle and plane. Read more…

Join us on December 18, in partnership with Washington Climbers Coalition, to see The Dawn Wall, a film capturing the captivating free climb of Yosemite's Dawn Wall. Read more…

It's hard to believe that it is only one year since we were in the Himalayas, chasing what at times seemed a near-impossible dream. In the Khumbu Region of Nepal we slowly made our way through the deep valleys with tall peaks towering all around us, and the tallest mountain on earth looming in the background. The most majestic peak of them all, however, was our objective –Ama Dablam. Peering up at this 22,349 feet tall peak with its near vertical summit sent chills down our bones and instilled us with doubt. What on earth had we gotten ourselves in to? Read more…

The Seattle Mountaineers Photography Committee is launching a new photo presentation series to celebrate the extraordinary photography adventures our Mountaineers members (and others in the Seattle area) have experienced around the world. We will be hosting these presentations to share photos, videos, and storytelling from the photographers among us. Read more…

It started with a phone call. Jim Whittaker, best known as the first American to summit Mt. Everest, had an idea. In 1978 'Big Jim' led the first Americans to the top of K2, and wanted to get his ’78 team back together, 40 years to the day of the summit. As a visionary leader, Jim knew the reunion would be a gathering for the ages and wanted to share the excitement with the community that supported him. Jim started climbing with us when he was fifteen, and as a lifelong Mountaineer he saw an opportunity to promote The Mountaineers, with all proceeds benefiting our nonprofit. We were honored and quick to agree. Read more…

We're devastated to share the news of the passing of Laurie Choate, an active member and volunteer leader with our Olympia Branch. She was hiking the Kendall Katwalk on a private trip on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, when she slipped and fell approximately 300ft. She did not survive. Read more…

In this sixth in our series of presentations by Mountaineers members from extraordinary adventures on foot in the wilds of the world, join long distance hiker Brian Lewis as he shares his photos and experiences from hiking the 1200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail! Read more…

Within five minutes of meeting Charlie and Carol Michel, it’s clear that they care very deeply about three things: sea kayaking, The Mountaineers, and our collective carbon footprint. Read more…

The Mountaineers Foothills Branch has been growing in leaps and bounds, both in our grown number of members and fun and educational program offerings. We'd love to have you join us! The Foothills branch serves members on Seattle's eastside, along the I-405 and I-90 corridors. Read more…

Established in 1979, Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating, inspiring, and motivating audiences about environments, cultures, issues, and adventures. We're excited to host these wonderful films again this year, and we hope you'll join us! Read more…

All new Mountaineers Members, welcome! We are excited to have you join our community of walkers, climbers, hikers, paddlers, photographers, naturalists, sailors, skiers, and more! We're a big organization with something for everyone, and we want to make it easy for you to jump right in!   Read more…

With the threat of invasive species, we are at risk of losing Snoqualmie's greatest treasure: our forests. The Green Snoqualmie Partnership continues the region's forest legacy and invites people of all ages to get outside, have fun, and engage in helping restore our green spaces. Read more…

Magnuson Park officials have recently installed a barrier preventing left turns after entering the park at the 74th street entrance. The purpose of this is to prevent traffic backing up into the intersection, which is the cause of a high number of automobile accidents and injuries along Sand Point Way.  Read more…

K2 is the second-highest and largely considered to be the world’s most dangerous mountain. Join us to hear behind-the-scenes secrets, unforgettable adventures, and epic tales of near-misses with Jim Wickwire, a summiter on the historic 1978 team, and Steve Swenson, esteemed alpinist, author, and K2 veteran. Read more…

With great sadness we share the news of the passing of Stephen Kornbluth, an active member of The Mountaineers community with our Olympia Branch. He was climbing Dewey Peak in Mt. Rainier National Park with two other Mountaineers on a private climb on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. While descending, Stephen fell. He did not survive the injuries sustained in the fall. Read more…

On September 6, 1978, Jim Wickwire and Lou Reichart became  the first Americans to stand on the summit of K2. Soon after, John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway summited as well. They all did so as part of a team-effort to climb the savage mountain, and we believe this is call for celebration. In partnership with REI Co-op, Vibram, and Magnuson Cafe & Brewery, we're throwing an unbelievable party and we want you there to celebrate with us. Read more…

Interested in learning how to snowshoe, kayak, or navigate in the backcountry? Want to meet new exploration buddies? Have a gear wishlist a mile long, or have some extra gear you'd like to unload? Come to The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center from 6-8pm on Monday, September 24! RSVP today! Read more…

Join us September 20, 2018 to hear from Andrew Mclean, the first person to summit and ski the 'Alaska Family' of peaks Father Denali, Mother Sultanan, and child Mt. Hunter. Read more…

Summer’s almost here, which means it’s time to put on your bathing suit, mentally prepare yourself for showing your sun-starved skin to the world, and head out to one of Washington State’s many beautiful swimming holes. No matter where you live, you don’t have to go far—there’s over 8,000 lakes and over 70,000 miles of river to choose from. For those of you who live in or near Seattle, here are our favorite swimming holes close to home: Read more…

Heather Hansen is an award-winning environmental reporter and author. Her book, Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service, published by Mountaineers Books, won the Colorado Authors’ League General Nonfiction award and was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Read more…

We are launching a new photo presentation series to celebrate the extraordinary photography adventures our Mountaineers members have experienced around the world. We’re hosting four presentations in the next year to share photos, videos, and storytelling from the photographers among us, and we invite you to send us your stories! Read more…

This June we welcome the Heather Hansen, the author of Wildfire: On the Front Lines with Station 8  from Mountaineers Books. She will take us on a journey through her experience after embedding with Boulder, CO wildland firefighters and share her lessons on what more we can do to help prevent such devastating wildfires. Read more…

Few people have done more for our organization than Tess Wendel, who has been a powerhouse for The Mountaineers from day one. She’s learned from and supported many different departments and volunteer groups, and after nearly six years with us, she is ready to move on and learn how other organizations and businesses get stuff done. With a heavy heart, we want to share that her last day with us will be June 15. Read more…

Tuesday night we had the pleasure to welcome the four authors of our Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail series to The Mountaineers BeWild Speaker Series for a panel discussion on section hiking the PCT. Just over 200 tickets were sold, and Philip, Tami, Shawnté, and Eli had a great time meeting everyone and signing copies of the books. The presentation was quite humorous, with Shawnté cracking jokes and Philip sharing a rather *ahem* personal story about his low point on the trail (hint: it involved chili dogs followed by a very long stretch of open trail with nowhere to hide). Read more…