Alvaro Juarez
When I started out in the bicycle industry, I was full of enthusiasm, excitement, and passion. With my head in the clouds and my heart with the stars, I didn’t know where my feet were supposed to be planted. I needed a mentor – someone who could redirect my tractor beam aspirations into a plan with a focused goal, process, and outcome.
After nearly five years of evolving from shop apprentice to skilled mechanic and program manager, helping all walks of life with their bikes, I found myself transitioning into an instructor, then mentor, at the bike shop. I was teaching people skills that once seemed like rocket science, but now felt like second nature. This transformation from novice to confident leader was made possible thanks to former colleagues whose patience and guidance shaped my development. Because of them, I have a deep passion for passing along skills to others.
Cultivating leadership through MAC
Experiences like mine are common among students beginning their first year with The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC), a year-round program designed to get teens outside. Newcomers enter the program with an ambitious list of goals, in search of experience and mentorship that can help them get there. This is where The Mountaineers ethos of learning and giving back comes into play.
In a typical adult Mountaineers program, participants sign up for a course because they want to learn new skills. The hope is that after completing the course, graduates feel inspired by the experience of learning from volunteer instructors and return as leaders themselves to share their skills with the next generation of students.
MAC operates in a similar way, except that in addition to learning from adult volunteer instructors, MAC students have the opportunity to learn from their own peers: previous MAC students who are eager to empower younger students and give back to a program that taught them so much. And, once a student has graduated from MAC, they are encouraged to return as a youth instructor and help subsequent students achieve their outdoor recreation aspirations.
Blake Bundesmann attaching his lunch to a haul line before a climb. Photo by Ryan Welsh.
What it looks like to give back
Our MAC alumni epitomize The Mountaineers vision of a volunteer-led organization, empowering young recreationists to get outside safely and equipping them with the knowledge to teach others how to do the same. Hear from Blake Bundesmann, a former MAC student, on what it was like to return to MAC as a volunteer:
“As a MAC alumni, returning to the annual MAC trip in Squamish as a volunteer was a wonderful way to give back to the program and step into the shoes of some of the awesome mentors that taught me how to be self-sufficient in the outdoors. I got the opportunity to take several students on their first multi pitch, and it brought back memories of my first MAC multi-pitch experience.
“I was proud to see younger members from my time in MAC growing up and taking leadership positions and developing skills for themselves and others. Being a MAC volunteer is a great opportunity to practice both my risk management and group leadership skills, and to test my problem solving skills with unexpected challenges. Coming back as a volunteer is a very different experience than when I was a participant, but the core values of MAC have not changed and it's great to see the program grow.
“My favorite memory is climbing Spirit of Squamish with [my cousin] Lily. It was super fun to have a family bonding moment while giving back and also getting to climb something so awesome with someone who can warm up on my projects.”
Blake’s experience volunteering with MAC embodies what leadership looks like with The Mountaineers: well-rounded, safety-oriented, and collaborative. Our youth programs are lucky to have volunteers like Blake supporting our current MAC students – youth leaders like him enrich everyone’s experience.
Lily topping on a boulder once hanging high above the valley floor on the Stawamus Chief.
The importance of seeing yourself in a mentor
MAC is a valuable program not only because it cultivates future leaders, but because it provides younger recreationists with the unique opportunity to learn from their own colleagues. Hear from MAC student Lily Peeper, Blake’s aforementioned cousin, on her perspective learning from her peers during last summer’s MAC trip to Squamish, BC:
“My cousins, Rylee and Blake, joined MAC before me and were the ones who encouraged me to sign up as well. Both of them would check in on me and help teach me without interfering with my independence. One of the few differences when Blake came back as a volunteer was that I was surprised by how much he had learned at college. For example, we were having trouble finding anchor kits (although I had checked for them the night before), so he taught me a new anchor [system]. Since my goal for the Squamish trip was to become more comfortable with leading on trad, he let me lead a lot of the pitches.
“Climbing Spirit of Squamish was very fun, and I got to put a lot of the skills I learned throughout MAC together. I was surprised and excited about the number of students who returned. Usually, there are a few people who always return, and a few people from the year before. When I talk with the other students, most of them plan to or want to come back for a few days on the summer trip.”
Because of the generations of MAC students and volunteers who return to give back to their community, MAC Alumni like Blake have the ability to step into leadership roles, and MAC students like Lily are able to leave their comfort zones and have amazing climbing experiences.
MAC Alumni Linus Skukas with Simon Hove before climbing the first pitch of Spirit of Squamish.
Shaping tomorrow’s outdoor leaders
Blake and Lily’s stories remind me of MAC's vision and goal: for students to graduate as highly competent outdoor leaders with skills that will shape their relationship with the mountains and other recreationists into their adult lives. We want our students to reach beyond that “ah-ha” moment of when a skill clicks, and envision themselves as leaders who can pass on those “ah-ha” moments to others. I'm proud to say we have accomplished this goal, and are continuing to do so.
The experiences students have in our MAC program wouldn’t be possible without the support of our volunteer leaders. If you’re interested in volunteering with MAC, please contact alvaroj@mountaineers.org to learn more.
This article originally appeared in our summer 2025 issue of Mountaineer magazine. To view the original article in magazine form and read more stories from our publication, visit our magazine archive.
