Blog

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 are thrilled to hear that biologists have observed the largest Chinook salmon run since 1992 in the Elwha River and that dam removal is back on schedule. Biologists counted 1,741 adult Chionook and mapped 763 redds (salmon nests) between the mouth of the river and Glines Canyon dam. Of the total salmon counted during the one-day survey, 75% were observed upstream of the former Elwha Dam site. Read more…

The Forest Service is holding their final public meeting for the Sustainable Roads Project in Everett on November 13 (rescheduled due to government shutdown earlier in October). Read more…

Dogs at the trailhead, belayers in lawn chairs, long lines queued up at the classics in Eldorado Canyon — the crags seem more crowded and more crazy than ever. In fact, according to the Outdoor Industry association, in the United States more than 3.6 million people participated in climbing in 2011. Many of these new climbers are entering outdoor climbing solely through rock gyms, without having the opportunity to apprentice with an experienced friend or mentor— resulting in climbing accidents and conflicts. How do you become a responsible crag citizen? Read more…

Congressman Norm Dicks and Senator Patty Murray recently introduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to permanently protect more than 126,500 acres of Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their major tributaries, a total of 464 river miles, as Wild and Scenic Rivers. If enacted, the legislation would designate the first new wilderness on Olympic National Forest in nearly three decades and the first-ever protected wild and scenic rivers on the Olympic peninsula. Read more…

Aki Kurose, located in the Rainier Valley neighborhood, is a school where the students do not often get the opportunity to get outdoors. They are located in an economically depressed neighborhood, and lack transportation to get their students engaged in outdoor pursuits. Our education department teamed up with Robin Gannet's special education class to get these youth outdoors! Read more…

Regardless of your favorite outdoor activity, sometimes circumstances can make it hard to enjoy the experience. The volunteer leaders at The Mountaineers commonly deal with these situations as they help people explore, learn about, and conserve the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Read the following scenario and see how your assessment aligns with those of our experienced trip leaders.  Read more…