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Heads Up: My Encounters with Owls as a Trail Runner

Lore has it that owls are wise creatures. So, what does it mean when, as a runner, barred owls repeatedly attack me? This is not a joke.  Read more…

Breakups and Breakthroughs: Finding my Independence in the Outdoors

It was November 2018, and I was sobbing in my car at the Seattle Bouldering Project (SBP). David had just broken up with me. He was a skier, mountaineer, and climber I’d met six weeks prior. I’d fallen head over heels with both him and the rock climbing hobby he introduced me to. Read more…

Climbing to Fall: An Alpine Ambassadors Trip to El Potrero Chico

My first fall is a well-mitigated disaster. Alvero performs his part flawlessly — the disaster is all mine. With my feet at about the height of a bolt and my knees bent, I cling to an awkwardly located crimp at my left shoulder and a side pull to my right, while twenty feet below me, Alvero explains to the group what he is going to do as I fall. Read more…

Trip Report: Hiking the Grand Canyon's Rim to Rim

Last year, I took the Basic Alpine Climbing course with the Foothills Branch. To prepare for Basic Climbing trips – which can cover long distances, thousands of feet of elevation gain, and 12+ hour days – I completed regular conditioning hikes with The Mountaineers through the winter and spring. Read more…

BeWild: Graham Zimmerman, A Fine Line - Nov 9

The Mountaineers BeWild Speaker Series puts passion and adventure on center stage! Join us at BeWild with Graham Zimmerman on November 9 to unlock inspiration, seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. Read more…

Become a Global Adventures Leader Info Session - Oct 23

The Mountaineers Global Adventures program is thriving and growing.  Many people who love to plan and go on multi-day adventures have been asking us what's involved in planning and leading a Mountaineers Global Adventure. Join us for an informational session on Monday, October 23 to learn more about our Global Adventures program and what it means to be a Global Adventures leader. Read more…

Trip Report: Five Mountaineers Explore Teton Crest Trail

Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park is a chance to experience glorious high alpine scenery like nowhere else in the United States. Highlights of this strenuous route include views of the Teton Range, alpine lakes, and a unique insight into the variety of geological structures that the park contains. Read more…

Running with Grief

The first time I ran the Mountain Lakes 100, I DNFed (Did Not Finish) the race at 61 miles in the middle of an early winter storm.  Read more…

Impact Giving | More than Breakfast and a Bunk

Every weekend this winter, tens of thousands of people will flock to the Cascades to play in the snow. The mountains come alive with the bustle of snow plows, ski lifts, and resort infrastructure catering to locals and tourists alike. And if you look closely, adjacent to the hubbub at three popular recreation areas, you’ll find vibrant and warm pockets of Mountaineers community. Read more…

Cross-Training: How Mountaineering Can Inform Ultra Running, Part 2

Running is often a solitary sport. Ultra-running is even more solitary. Thirty-mile training runs are a special kind of challenge and not one that my casual running friends are eager to join. Because of this, I train mostly on my own.  Read more…

Seattle Youth Volunteer Orientation Dinner - Nov 2

From belaying at the Seattle Program Center to supporting students on backpacking trips in remote corners of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, there are ample opportunities to get involved as a volunteer with Mountaineers Youth Programs. 

Join us on Thursday, November 2 for an evening of good food, good company, and introductory information on supporting the next generation of climbers and outdoor explorers through our youth programs.  Read more…

Top Tips for Shoulder Season Backpacking

I was forty years old when I went on my first backpacking trip. We visited Second Beach in Olympic National Park, and the experience left me hungry for more. I had to go again, first with friends who mentored me, and then solo. I couldn’t get enough. Read more…

Cross-Training: How Mountaineering Can Inform Ultra Running, Part 1

In 2014, at the age of 24, I started running. In 2018, I competed in my first marathon. In 2019, I competed in my first ultra-marathon. Since then, I have run the San Francisco (road) marathon, six trail races at the 50-kilometer distance, five trail races at a 50-mile distance, and one 100-mile race.  Read more…

New Course: Winter Trail Running Conditioning

The Foothills Trail Running Committee has just launched a new course: Winter Trail Running Conditioning.  Read more…

Andrew Okerlund, 20, becomes youngest to complete Washington’s Bulger List

On September 11, Andrew Okerlund became the youngest person to have completed the Bulger List: the highest 100 peaks in Washington. Not only did he climb all 100 peaks, but he managed to do so in a single summer – 85 days to be exact. He is the fifth person to have completed the Bulger List in one season and the second fastest, right after Jason Hardrath. Andrew's timing was impeccable as his college classes began only nine days later, making him the most interesting classmate in all of San Luis Obispo.  Read more…

Become a Ski or Snowboard Instructor at Meany Lodge

Our volunteers hosts at Meany Lodge are looking for several ski and snowboard instructors to join their wonderful team! Read more…

Walk Turkey's Lycian Way with Global Adventures

The first time I ever hiked on the Lycian Way, the oldest of Turkey's long trails, I was gobsmacked by the casual juxtaposition of ancient history and daily life.  Read more…

Sobriety: “Near Misses” in Basic and How to Find Support

It's 9:30pm. I’m on a glacier, on a private climb with my Small Instructional Group (SIG). I joined the Basic Alpine Climbing course in December, and now we are out on one of the best climbs of my life. It’s been beautiful all day, with amazing views, great company, and a feeling of comradery. We are crawling across a glacier in swirling mist and smoke.  The day’s warm weather has melted the top layer of the glacier, and the cool night air freezes it as we traverse. I am at the end of the rope, the last one to cross the glacier, and my crampons are skittering off the ice under my feet. Our climb is one misstep away from real danger. It will be a “near miss” if we make it off this steep slope, and it will be so much worse if I slip now. Read more…

Global Adventures | Shifting Perceptions of Adventure Travel

Trekking through Nepal’s villages for the first time many years ago, I felt like I was dropped into the pages of a National Geographic magazine. Everything was new to me. Read more…

Volunteer with Baker Lodge

Bring your work gloves and working spirit up to The Mountaineers Lodge at Mt. Baker!  Read more…

Retro Rewind | A Family’s First Climb of Mt. Rainier, August 1974

On the blue-skied morning of August 9, 1974, I steer our 1969 Ford van, “Bessie,” into the parking lot at Paradise. With me are my 16-year-old daughter Kim, my 14-year-old son Harold, and our fellow Mountaineer, 16-year-old Ken Cook. The four of us have completed all but one of our required climbs for Seattle’s Basic Climbing Course, and we’ve chosen Mt. Rainier as our graduation goal — a mountain none of us has summited before. Read more…

Impact Giving | Homegrown Expertise and Values-Based Publishing

As an independent nonprofit publisher, one of the goals of Mountaineers Books is to amplify the values of Mountaineers members. The editorial team has a finger on the pulse of our outdoor community and chooses projects that help bring readers to the frontlines of outdoor education. Read more…

Rose Vanderhoof, 78, Becomes Oldest Woman to Summit Mt. Rainier

On the morning of July 10, 2023, Rose Vanderhoof, 33-year Mountaineers member and avid outdoor enthusiast, became the oldest woman to summit Mt.Rainier at 78. She reached the summit with her son Chris Haugen, granddaughter Aleah Haugen, friend Mingrey Hildebrandt, and Mt. Tahoma Trails Association’s High Hut Manager Dr. Leyton Jump, who led the climb. This trip marked Rose’s ninth, and last, summit of Mt. Rainier.  Read more…

The Wonderful Burden of Backcountry Parenting

Our group erupted in peals of laughter as I smashed the pee-soaked diaper into the boulder with my boot, hoping to squish out some of the water weight. I peeled back the diaper in astonishment. Not a drop of pee had transferred to the rock. Read more…

Why You Should Sign Up for Navigation Courses

I thought I didn’t need a navigation course. As a frequent trail hiker who carried the Ten Essentials (paper map included), I was confident in my skills. I used my phone’s compass and altimeter apps to orient myself and figure out what I was looking at. When I went home, I reviewed my route on my paper maps. I had the Gaia app, and I always knew where I was and where I’d been. Read more…

How to Get Involved as a Lodge Host

Among The Mountaineers properties are our three rustic lodges: Baker, Meany, and Stevens. Each nestled close to their own mountain terrain, our lodges provide a restful atmosphere after a long day outdoors. Read more…

Remembering Mountaineer Scott Shafer

We are devastated to share that Scott Shafer has passed away. He was a widely beloved and respected member of The Mountaineers community as a climb leader, SIG leader, Super Volunteer, teacher, mentor, climbing partner, and friend to many during his 26-years as a Mountaineers member. He passed away on June 26, 2023, after a four month battle with cancer. Read more…

Learning to Backpack as an Adult

As a San Francisco-born and raised city girl, I used to dread backpacking. My love of the outdoors inspired me to move to the Pacific Northwest in 2016, but backpacking remained a beast I feared to tackle. Read more…

Summiting at Seventy: A septuagenarian's dedication to the alpine

Neal Kirby and his sprightly crew were the first to attempt Mt. Baker via Coleman Glacier last season after a washout added nearly ten miles to the climb. Being the first, they had the coveted and grueling responsibility of kick stepping and trail breaking through miles of fresh, untraveled snow. Black Buttes basecamp — their intended resting stop for the night — was just in sight when ominous clouds enveloped the mountain. With the warning flashes of fast-approaching lightning, no one was in the mood to become a hillside’s electrical conductor. They retreated to treeline and set up camp for the night. Read more…

Discover Your Backpacking Dreams and Unlock New Badges

Memorial Day has come and gone, and summer can't be too far behind, right? That means it's high time to get serious about planning your summer (and fall) backpack trips, and we can help. We have four Mountaineers backpacking award badges to offer ideas, inspiration, or perhaps a gentle nudge. Grab a friend or two or three and check them out, or join a Mountaineers backpack trip and leave the planning to us. Read more…