Facilitated Access Permitting

For Mountaineers course and trip leaders - use these pages to learn about the permit requirements for our land managers, and the timelines associated with the permitting processes.

First and foremost, all Mountaineers activities must comply with the organizational standards outlined in the Outdoor Ethics Board Policy. Read more on our blog about determining party size for Mountaineers trips.

How To use this guide:

First, visit the route/place page for the area where you are leading or planning to lead your activity. Determine the land manager for the area, as listed at the bottom of the route/place page - below length and elevation information, and above recommended and maximum party size information:
Then, find the corresponding land manager facilitated access permitting requirements linked in the list below. For information about which parking passes may be required at the trailhead, please refer to the route/place page.
If the land manager for your activity's route/place is not listed below (applicable to many city/county parks, land managers located outside of WA, etc.), we do not have a formal process in place for outfitter-guide or special use permits with that land manager. Please do your due diligence in researching land manager regulations, particularly if your activity is part of a paid course or clinic, or involves a large group, and reach out to staff at info@mountaineers.org if you have questions or need additional support.

Special Considerations:

If you are planning a stewardship activity, a Basic climb, or a field trip associated with a Climbing or Scrambling course, click here to review a few special considerations associated with these activities.

US Forest Service

National Park Service

National Parks - Washington

Washington State Land Managers

other land managers

Permitting Calendars

We've put together a series of calendars with important dates for permitting for course-related trips at Leavenworth, Mt. Erie, Vantage, Coleman Seracs, Observation Rock, Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, Paradise (Mt Rainier National Park), Ouray Ice Park and WA DNR-managed land.

Below are links to the annual permitting calendar, including all of the above areas. Use the iCal feed to get calendar alerts. Links to calendars for specific areas can be found on those areas' Land Manager page above.

Annual PERMITTING CALENDARAnnual Permitting CALENDAR - ICAL FEED

Special considerations

Stewardship Activities

Stewardship activities do not require outfitter/guide permits - however, all stewardship activities must be planned in conjunction with the land manager for the area. Depending on the project needs, stewardship activities may necessitate a larger group size than the maximum party size noted on the route/place listing. The land manager works directly with the organizing committee on the total group size allowed at that location. The maximum party size allowed on a route/place may be updated by our staff on a case-by-case basis. Please contact staff at info@mountaineers.org with any questions.

Priority Climbs List

In order to most equitably distribute access to our most popular Basic climbs, The Mountaineers maintains an annual Priority Climbs List that includes:

If you would like to schedule a climb to one of these destinations, please first refer to the current year's Priority Climbs List to determine which date(s) your branch has priority for scheduling which climb(s), and connect with your branch's climbing committee to move forward with the scheduling process.

Internal Climbing and Scrambling lottery

Due to complicated USFS permitting processes in the Leavenworth area, as well as a growing demand for teaching locations by The Mountaineers climbing and scrambling courses, the Internal Climbing and Scrambling Lottery was instituted to allow course leaders to plan their field trips while balancing access to the most popular teaching locations. This lottery is only for course-related field trips (not stand-alone climbs and scrambles), and currently includes:

Leavenworth
Mount Erie
Vantage
Tieton
Coleman Seracs
Observation Rock
Paradise
Mount Baker Recreation Area (includes Easton Glacier and Squak Glacier)

The lottery request form is made available to climbing and scrambling committee chairs and course leaders by early March, and results are published by early May. Please note that Leavenworth dates that are requested through the internal lottery are not finalized until we receive our final user day allocations from the USFS (typically sometime in late March or early April of the following year).

Frequently Asked Questions