Stuck Inside Youth Blog

Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) is a year-round club for teens, giving them access to education and skills rivaling many adult programs. Imagine an at-your-own-pace Basic and Intermediate Alpine Climbing course, taken over a period of four years with sport climbing, skiing, hiking, and backpacking thrown in. As a young member, you learn from upperclassmen, and as you gain more experience, you begin passing down that knowledge to others. Most importantly, you learn to take care of yourself and others in the mountains. Read more…

June may have been a cold and rainy month, but if the heat of the past couple weeks is any indication, summer is finally here. Our activity calendars are filling up and so are trailhead parking lots. Most trail snow has left, mosquitoes have arrived en masse, and the summits are generous in their offerings of clear-skied views. Read more…

In continuation of our article "Belationships, Packmances, and Nature-Loves" from our spring 2022 edition, we thought it fitting for summer to showcase two stories from Mountaineers sailors who met their partners on the open water. After all, what’s more romantic than the Salish Sea? Read more…

It’s a hot afternoon in July, but the Seattle Program Center basement is invitingly cool. Ethan Metzger, Gear Library Manager, sits at an old wooden desk. He is surrounded by shelves full of packs, snowshoes, and boots from floor to ceiling. A rolling workbench is cluttered with repair and cleaning supplies and a couple of large tents are set up to air out.  Read more…

Have a gear wishlist a mile long, or some extra gear you'd like to unload? Come to The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center from 6-8pm on Monday, August 29 for our upcoming Gear Grab.  Read more…

The Everett Branch is an increasingly diverse and close-knit community with committed volunteers and leaders. Our courses, programs, and activities are highly sought after and often imitated across the organization. We are looking for enthusiastic and intrepid volunteer leaders to help steer our branch for the next 2-3 years. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members and volunteers. For our volunteer profile this week we talked to... Read more…

The reputations of Katie “Salty” Gerber and Heather “Anish” Anderson precede them. Katie is a renowned wilderness instructor and guide who has logged thousands of miles on trails including the CDT, PCT, Colorado Trail, and Oregon Desert Trail. Heather is a record-smashing legend who was named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for her 2018 Calendar Year Triple Crown (hiking the AT, PCT, and CDT all in one year). Now they have joined forces to combine what they’ve learned on the trail and through their expertise in nutrition and personal training to create Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Planning, Training & Resiliency, new from Mountaineers Books. Read more…

Meet Elizabeth Nakashima, a Foothills hike and urban walk leader, as well as the Treasurer of the Foothills Backpacking and Hiking Committee. Elizabeth joined The Mountaineers to train for a hike across the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and has been with us ever since! Read more…

Meet Colin Chapman, a backpack, hike, and snowshoe leader, as well as a 2021 Super Volunteer. Colin joined The Mountaineers to participate in the Foothills Backpacking Building Blocks (B3) course and now he’s a leader for the course! Read more…

Update: The Inflation Reduction Act passed Congress and has been signed into law. Thank lawmakers for making these historic investments in our climate and public lands a reality. Read more…

Join The Mountaineers this fall for an evening of inspiring and captivating outdoor films handpicked from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. Read more…

Each October, the Olympia Mountaineers gather to celebrate the work we have done, the fun we have had, and the friendships we made during the program year.  Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to... Read more…

Join us on September 15 for our End of Summer Bash hosted by REI. Adults 21 and over can enjoy a fun night of food, drinks, and music on the outdoor terrace at REI Seattle’s Flagship Store. Read more…

The magic of Mount Rainier has inspired Mountaineers for generations. From our early involvement advocating for wilderness areas and building trails (including the Wonderland Trail) to today’s river of hikers, backpackers, trail runners, and climbers flowing into the park, it has long been one of the most popular and stunningly beautiful recreation destinations in the region. Read more…

We are thrilled to welcome you on Saturday, September 24 to support our impactful conservation and advocacy work. The Mountaineers has a long and rich history as a regional leader in these efforts, and we need your help to continue moving the needle on climate policy. Read more…

Join The Mountaineers as we host author and climber Jeff Smoot at The Seattle Program Center on September 13 for a presentation on his new book All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing. Read more…

Join the new Seattle Backcountry Ski Committee at the Seattle Program Center for its inaugural event, a screening of two great ski films produced by Teton Gravity Research. Meet up with friends, have a beverage, and build the stoke for the upcoming ski season. Read more…

Join The Mountaineers in welcoming famed snowboarder Jeremy Jones on November 10 as he presents his new book The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains. Read more…

As a part of our mission to help more members of our community get outdoors, The Mountaineers has a Gear Library to provide low cost, high-quality gear to individuals, families, and organized groups. In an effort to build sustainable programs, we are updating our Gear Library pricing and membership structure.  Read more…

Last year, we announced that The Mountaineers is leading Outdoor Alliance Washington, a group of organizations representing the human-powered outdoor recreation community in Washington State. The goal of Outdoor Alliance Washington is to forge strong relationships with lawmakers and land managers to effectively advocate for shared conservation, recreation, and climate priorities. By amplifying the voices of more than 75,000 recreationists across the state, we can achieve a more sustainable future for Washington’s outdoors. Read more…

Education lies at the heart of most everything we do at The Mountaineers. As a 116-year-old outdoor education organization, we’ve found that the more you know about your environment, the more you can enjoy it. Our courses, activities, and initiatives teach outdoor enthusiasts new ways to experience and enjoy Washington’s landscapes. We educate and empower youth to connect to nature by introducing them to the many benefits of outdoor experience, including perseverance, self-confidence, and appreciation for the natural world. Read more…

Mount Rainier National Park is a wonderland of outdoor escape, offering a little something for everyone. Hikers, backpackers, cyclists, naturalists, and climbers flock to the park, enjoying its larger-than-life views and breathtaking natural beauty. At Mountaineers Books, we are fortunate to have a wealth of titles centered on this incredible place. Below are a few resources for anyone who wishes to explore the wonders, large and small, of Rainier. Read more…

Leaving the cars behind, a group of young teens were a little unsure, but excited, as they walked up the trail together. Hiking is not something that they would usually choose to do on a summer afternoon. We’re just looking at a bunch of trees? Where do we go to the bathroom? Is there even cell service up here? Jiordi Henderson, Recreation Lead at Seattle Parks and Recreation and one of the chaperones for the day, hoped that the kids would be able to unplug. Read more…

Historically, The Mountaineers Leadership Conference has been a one-day conference of leadership development for our community of outstanding volunteers. This year, the Leadership Conference will take on a new format and name, but the heart of this one-day professional development event and opportunity to collaborate across branches will remain.  Read more…

Our five-year strategic Plan, Vision 2022, provided an important foundation for us as leaders in innovative outdoor education striving to engage future generations in advocacy, adventure, education, volunteerism, and community. Vision 2022 also put a stake in the ground for our goal of becoming a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization where all people can feel belonging. Read more…

With Vision 2022, we developed a plan through high engagement from our community. Based on community feedback and support, Vision 2022 provided an important foundation for us as leaders in innovative outdoor education striving to engage future generations in advocacy, adventure, education, volunteerism, and community. We hope to build on that foundation as we look ahead to our  next strategic plan. Read more…

As a Mountaineers member, you receive free access to our quarterly Mountaineer magazine, keeping you up-to-date with everything our organization and community have been up to. Hear from regular contributors on topics from training exercises to trail tips, and read features from our members sharing stories from the outdoors. We encourage you to access all of our updates, stories, tips, and more in the tree free online magazine today. Read more…