COVID-19 Response

Visit this page often for updated information on The Mountaineers COVID-19 response.

Indoor programming is suspended through at least December 14. As hospitalizations rise, remember to Recreate Responsibly. The Mountaineers encourages members to play it safe and minimize the risk of their activities. Please continue to visit this page for updates.

This page was last updated 12/1/20.

In alignment with Safe Start Washington, The Mountaineers has developed a phased re-opening plan for our programs. We believe these activities can resume in the context of Governor Inslee’s phased guidance, which encourages safe and appropriate outdoor recreation that is respectful of our region’s healthcare and emergency response infrastructure, the capacity of our agency partners to manage the land, and the need to keep our families and communities safe.

Guidance for Mountaineers Programs During COVID-19
- The Mountaineers COVID-19 Code of Conduct*
- FAQs for Mountaineers Programs During COVID-19

*Please read the FAQ for information about how the COVID-19 Code of Conduct agreement will be administered.

Activities should operate according to the phase of the trip destination. The Mountaineers encourages everyone to evaluate their personal risk profile prior to attending an in-person trip, and to make conservative decisions that protect the health and safety of our community. Mountaineers trips may not operate in Phase 1 counties, though they may operate in Phase 1.5 counties.

Current County-by-COUNTY status

The most up-to-date information about each county's status is available on the Washington State Coronavirus Response website.

View County Status

Please review the full Mountaineers guidance before listing or registering for your next trip.

In developing The Mountaineers phased reopening guidance, we consulted with staff, leaders, and the Risk Management Committee. Throughout, we’ve done our best to interpret state guidance and similar guidance from our partner organizations and apply it to Mountaineers activities. Our guidance encourages members and leaders to adhere to public health recommendations and keep activities conservative to reduce the impact on emergency response and healthcare infrastructure.This guidance will continue to be refined as we receive updated guidelines from the state and input from members and leaders.

As public lands begin to reopen, it's critically important for our community to recreate responsibly. We've provided a detailed update on our new How To: Recreate Responsibly blog, and we ask all of you to follow those guidelines if you do choose to recreate. We’re also tracking Public Land Closures During COVID-19, which is being updated regularly.

Timeline of Updates

For a full timeline of our COVID-19 response plan, please visit our Coronavirus blog.

Overview
Mountaineers Guiding Principles
Refund Policy
Additional guidance for:
- All Members & Guests
  - If you have confirmed COVID-19 or are worried that you might have COVID-19
  - If you have close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19
- Volunteer Leaders

overview

This page has the most current Mountaineers guidelines in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is meant to be a resource for members, volunteers, guests and staff. For a detailed timeline of changes, or to review only the most recent changes, please visit our COVID-19 Blog.

Mountaineers Guiding Principles

Health & Safety: Our top priority is the health and safety of The Mountaineers community. As a part of the broader community, our response to the COVID-19 outbreak will also support the overall well-being of people in western Washington.
Compliance & Coordination: We will fully comply with public health orders/guidance and coordinate with public land managers and partner organizations on outdoor recreation policies and procedures. We will provide our community specific guidance and tools to ensure our operations promote safe and responsible outdoor recreation.
Mission Alignment: We will make balanced recommendations to protect our community’s safety while minimizing the impacts to Mountaineers mission-filling programs and protecting the interests of members, volunteers, and staff.
Decision-Making & Communications: We commit to being decisive, communicating frequently and transparently, and providing actionable guidance and change management support for our members, volunteers, and staff.
Community Support: We will show compassion and support for individuals and communities most impacted.

Refund Policy

COVID Refund Policies

Standard cancellation policies apply, including any special refund rules listed in the leader's course description.
With the course leader's permission, students may receive a credit for the next time the same course is offered.
In the event that a leader cancels a course, the leader will notify students whether a credit for a future course is an option. Either way, a full refund will be offered.
Students who cannot attend due to injury or illness are encouraged to contact the leader to discuss options.

Additional Guidance

All Members & GUests

If you have confirmed COVID-19 or are worried that you may have COVID-19

If you have confirmed COVID-19 or are worried that you may have COVID-19, please follow this protocol:

Review the latest King County Public Health, Washington State Department of Health, and/or local health department recommendations and follow their guidance.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been at a Mountaineers facility or participated in a Mountaineers in-person activity in the past 14 days, please notify staff so that we can take quick and thoughtful action to protect you and our members:
1. Contact us at 206-521-6001 or info@mountaineers.org. Or, contact a member of staff you feel most comfortable with.
2. If you cannot reach anyone on staff within two hours, please contact the emergency line 206-521-6030.

Our goal is to support you, protect your privacy, and reduce the risk to our community. It will be helpful for us to know things like when you started feeling sick, when you tested positive, and what Mountaineers activities you participated in over the past 14 days. It will also help us to know if you have any specific concerns we can help address.

Staff will then notify participants from the rosters of those activities to let them know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 on the trip, and that they should take extra precautions for 14 days. The sooner staff know and can contact participants, the more we can protect you by reducing word-of-mouth panic.

If you have close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19

If you have close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, please follow this protocol:

Review the latest CDC Public Health Guidance for Community-Related Exposure and follow their guidance.
Mountaineers In-Person Programming: If you participated in Mountaineers in-person programming during the exposure period, as defined by the CDC, contact us at 206-521-6001 or info@mountaineers.org. Or, contact a member of staff you feel most comfortable with. Staff will then notify others from those program(s) and let them know that if they were in the exposure range, they should self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure.
Mountaineers Facilities: If you were in a Mountaineers facility during the exposure period, as defined by the CDC, contact us at 206-521-6001 or info@mountaineers.org. Or, contact a member of staff you feel most comfortable with. Staff will then notify others who were in the facility and let them know that if they were in the exposure range, they should self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure.
Note that the CDC’s definition of “exposure” is irrespective of whether the person with COVID-19 or the contact was wearing a mask, whether the contact was wearing respiratory PPE, and/or whether the exposure was indoors or outdoors.

Volunteer Leaders

During this shift in programming, we hope that some of you will be inspired to get creative using online resources for classroom sessions, meetings, and even community gatherings to help our community stay connected. Staff are here to help any volunteer with Zoom, creating a quick eLearning slidedeck, or any other creative remote options.

As a leader, your first course of action will be to determine whether to modify, reschedule, or cancel an upcoming trip, event, activity or course. For fee-based programs that have been canceled, you'll need to decide whether you want to offer a credit to use for the next time the program is offered, or to only offer refunds.

It is very important for volunteers to do the following:

Review our cancellation policy.
When you decide on a plan for their course/activity (cancel, adjust schedule, move online, etc...), copy Elaine at info@mountaineers.orgon the email that gets sent to students, so Member Services knows the plan. Ideally, please put it in the course description as well.
Individual free activities can get canceled via the website without contacting Elaine.
Contact Elaine as soon as a course is canceled if you DO NOT want member services to issue course credit for next year, allowing students to have priority in next year's enrollment. (or whenever the next iteration of the course is) Otherwise, students will be offered a refund or credit.

CREDITS FAQ

If the course fee will be increasing next year, how would ‘credits’ work?

If your course fee will be increasing, and you’re committee has decided it cannot accept this year’s course fee from any of the participants, it’s best if you do not offer receiving a credit as an option. Offering a credit should mean that we’re honoring this year’s course fee for next year’s course, regardless of the price. If it is not feasible for your committee to do this, we are happy to offer full refunds to all of this year’s participants. Then each can decide if they want to take the course next year and pay the higher course fee.

How will ‘credits’ be managed?

Member Services is keeping a spreadsheet of all credit requests we receive. We will be in touch with you several months before the next offering of the course to coordinate the addition of these folks to the roster. If you add the course to the website before we’ve been in touch with you, please let us know and we can send you the list of folks. Additionally, we are recording credit requests on this year’s course roster. That way all course leaders can see what each participant chose and have a reference for how many folks are taking a credit for next year.

Can ‘credits’ be used as a dollar amount that can be applied to different courses?

Unfortunately no. Our website isn’t set up to handle transactions like that, and doing it manually is not feasible for Member Services.

Scheduling an online meeting

Leaders wishing to move their events to an online format can complete an Online Meeting Request Form. This form helps staff expedite meeting requests.

If someone develops covid-19 symptoms during your activity

As a leader, it’s important to protect everyone on your trip as best you can, while also showing compassion for the participant who is sick. Try not to jump to conclusions - there are other illnesses (like the flu and common cold) that may have similar symptoms to how COVID-19 presents in some individuals.

With this knowledge, please do the following:

End the trip and return home safely. Unless the sick participant is so feverish they are incapacitated, this is NOT a medical emergency. Please avoid adding risk to your situation.
Support the sick participant as best you can, just as you would in any situation where a participant wasn’t feeling well. Wear appropriate PPE.
If the sick participant is coughing or sneezing, encourage them and all group members to cover their mouth with a face mask or cloth face covering. This can help the rest of the group support the sick participant by easing their anxieties about contracting an illness.
Before departing, ask all participants to notify staff if they test positive for COVID-19. Remind participants that there are other illnesses that may present similar symptoms to COVID-19, and that they should follow the precautions recommended by King County Public Health. Assure them that staff will notify them if we learn that they were in an activity with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
After the trip, file an incident report and notify staff so that we can help ease concerns where necessary.

If you learn that someone in one of your activities has tested positive for COVID-19

First, it’s important to confirm that they tested positive for COVID-19 (rather than thinking they probably have it). If you talk to them directly, please encourage them to reach out to staff so we can gather more specific information and respond appropriately. This is important because we can offer support to them and to other participants who may have had contact with them. Direct outreach from Mountaineers staff can help prevent rumors and hysteria, and protect the participant so that they can focus on getting better.

Please reach out to staff to let us know, and encourage the participant to follow the guidelines above for participants. Please DO NOT notify other participants from your activity. By allowing staff to streamline communications, we can ensure the right people have the information they need, without inducing widespread panic and to protect confidentiality as much as possible. Depending on the activity, staff may need your help understanding who from the roster might have been in contact with the infected participant.

Staff will then notify participants from the rosters of the activities this person participated in that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 on their trip, and that they should take extra precautions for 14 days. The sooner staff know and can reach out directly to participants, the more we can protect participants by reducing word-of-mouth panic.