Youth Blog

A hush spread over the crowd of 500 well-dressed Mountaineers, all eyes on the stage in anticipation. From behind the curtain emerged Jaydalen Blossom, a 14-year old outdoor enthusiast and participant with Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), a youth-serving mentorship and empowerment organization we partner with as part of our Mountain Workshops program. Jaydalen joined us to speak about the connection to people and place she feels in being outside, and to offer a fresh perspective on why protecting these places and experiences is more important than ever. Read more…

SheJumps and The Mountaineers are pleased to present Wild Skills Day again this year - a free day camp for young girls (age 6-12) to learn the skills they need for outdoor adventuring. You can read more about this exceptional experience from Wild Skills Director Christy Pelland. We still have a few spots left to join us in Tacoma on June 8, 2019. Read more…

When most people think of Mount Rainier National Park, they think of the park’s namesake peak, a towering 14,441-foot stratovolcano that’s famous the world over. But Washington State’s iconic mountain only scratches the surfaces of the area’s summit possibilities. Longtime Mountaineers Gene Yore and Mickey Eisenberg identified the 100 peaks surrounding Rainier and set about climbing these lesser-known gems. Gene, who took on the challenge at age 72, overcame cardiac arrest and a broken femur on his way to reaching all 100 peaks. Read more…

A little past noon, the younger members of our group started getting hungry. One of the parents found a small rock outcropping with a nice view for a bite, and I unburdened myself of my backpack and sat down next to my father. Taking in the early autumn air of the Appalachians, we ate the sandwiches he’d prepared earlier that morning. Read more…

Our small town in rural Pennsylvania didn’t have a community center. Or a swimming pool. The only thing for us children to do when we weren’t in school was hike the surrounding hills and mountains. My family was poor, so we never went on vacations that didn’t involve a tent or camper. My strongest and most vivid memories growing up are from experiences in the outdoors. Spending time in the forests and mountains is as natural to me as breathing. Read more…

Our new Gear Library is committed to helping the next generation explore the outdoors. Since launching in August 2018, we have partnered with local youth-serving agencies to offer free access to outdoor gear to help increase access to our wild places.  We are excited to announce that car camping and backpacking gear are now included in our gear offerings! Attend our upcoming Gear Library orientation on April 8 to learn more. Read more…

One of the core elements of our mission at The Mountaineers is to engage future Mountaineers. Many of our members may not know about everything we do to foster youth involvement in the outdoors, and we hear that some people are surprised to learn about our robust youth program, which has three distinct parts: outreach programs (like Mountain Workshops and our Gear Library), school break camps, and year-round outdoor clubs. One of these year-round programs is The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC). Designed for teens aged 14-18, MAC includes a wide variety of outdoor activities and focuses on developing strong alpine climbing skills.  Read more…

The Mountaineers’ Gear Library is deeply committed to helping everyone explore the outdoors. Since launching in August 2018, we have partnered with local youth-serving agencies in a joint effort to increase access and to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors. Read more…

In August of 2017, our sixth class of Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) reached graduation. MAC is a year-round outdoor club for teenagers in The Mountaineers. With about 30 participants a year, many join in 8th grade or as freshmen, and grow into outdoor leaders through their senior year in High School. Some of our MAC kids come up through Explorers, our middle-school outdoor club. Read more…

Meet Addison - an eight year old with a quiet yet self-assured presence. Addison, like all Mountaineers, loves the outdoors. She loves swimming, fishing, kayaking, rock climbing, and camping in her family’s gigantic tent – “no seriously, it’s gigantic!” she’ll tell you. Read more…

After four adventure packed days at The Mountaineers Meany Lodge, it was time for the seven campers to head home. The kids, ages 7 to 10, ran into hugs from their parents with huge grins on their faces. They instantly began to list all the fun memories they made at camp. "We went sledding, we built a snow fort, we learned to snowshoe, the lodge food was incredible..." Surprisingly, one of the loudest, most frequent, and incredibly enthusiastic proclamation was "DOING DISHES IS FUN!" Read more…

The Mountaineers relies on the generosity of our community to provide courses and programs that make a difference in so many lives. Last year, donors gave $65,000 in scholarships that made it possible for 492 youth and 54 adults to experience the wonders of the great outdoors - many for the first time. We have set a goal to raise $20,000 to specifically support The Mountaineers Access Program (MAP) by the end of the year, and this #GivingTuesday all donations will go directly to support MAP scholarships, because everyone should have access to the outdoors.  Read more…

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 marked the official kick off of the Mini Mountaineers! The sun was shining and we enjoyed a beautiful nature walk through Magnuson Park. Read more…

Do you know we have five different types of salmon in the Pacific Northwest? This weekend, students in the Salmon Safari Mountain Workshop program learned a "handy" way to remember all of them. Read more…

After every youth program, we see young Mountaineers leaving standing taller and waving goodbye to new friends. Outdoor experiences create a supportive environment for self discovery where kids are encouraged to challenge themselves and grow. Youth adventures are thrilling, complex, and social - they’re transformational, and necessary, and that’s why we’re expanding our youth serving programs with a new family-oriented program: Mini Mountaineers!  Read more…

I started climbing about twelve years ago, in the mountains of North Carolina in my mid-20s. Climbing did not come naturally to me, and I still constantly fight the cognitive dissonance of wanting to ascend higher and master moves while facing a petrifying fear of heights. Through the years I have experimented with ways to manage this fear, which has made room for this activity to make a positive impact on my life. I’ve used climbing as a vehicle for travel and exploration. My closest friends are those who’ve tied into a rope with me. And climbing is the activity I most enjoy teaching to new and aspiring Mountaineers. Read more…

Our Pioneers, Explorers, and Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) members are off and running on a year full of awesome adventures! Registration is open  and the clubs are filled to the brim with eager young members and their families. As we look to the adventures ahead, the youth department is identifying a need for more volunteers to assist with trips.  Read more…

Judy Sterry remembers the exact day she joined The Mountaineers. It was her 14th birthday, the minimum age required to become a member at the time. By 16, she had climbed all six of Washington’s major Cascade volcanoes: Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Olympus, and Mount Rainier – 65,640 feet in total elevation. Read more…

For a few days in late August, a group of students from our Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) joined the Access Fund's Conservation Team for stewardship work at Washington Pass. The project improved the well-used, but ill-maintained climber’s path that branches off of the Blue Lake Trail to access climbs on Liberty Bell, one of Washington’s most coveted and impressive peaks.  Read more…

It’s fall, the air is crisp, the leaves are turning golden brown, and The Mountaineers Youth Clubs are launching new seasons to transform our young Mountaineers into lifelong outdoor enthusiasts! Join our youth clubs this fall as we welcome new members and plan for a year of learning new skills and adventuring. Read more…

Thanks to support from hundreds of people and partners, we're excited to launch our new Mountaineers Gear Lending Library and leader training programs. As we seek to continue to engage future Mountaineers, expand our youth programs, and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors, this resource will make the outdoors more accessible to all outdoor enthusiasts. Read more…

With Mountaineers summer camps celebrating their 7th birthday this year, we are expanding our overnight youth programming! This year we offered our second annual 3-day overnight camp on Mount Rainier in addition to our weekly themed summer camp options, and we're adding one more: a 5-day, 4-night getaway for kids aged 10 and up at our Mount Baker Lodge! Read more…

In August of 2017, our sixth class of Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) reached graduation. MAC is a year-round outdoor club for teenagers in The Mountaineers. With about 30 participants a year, many join in 8th grade or as freshmen, and grow into outdoor leaders through their senior year in High School. Some of our MAC kids come up through Explorers, our middle-school outdoor club. Looking ahead to our seventh year, we now have 26 alumni who are in college, or have graduated from college, who still come back to visit and volunteer. They are using their Mountaineers outdoor and leadership skills to do amazing things. We asked two of our past MAC presidents to tell us about what they’re doing now. Here’s what they had to say: Read more…

Here at the Seattle Program Center, we look forward to the start of summer and are busily preparing ourselves for the hive to once again be buzzing with activity from our younger Mountaineers members. For eight weeks we will have around 65 students per week participating in Mountaineers Summer Camp. During this time, students will get a chance to climb, sail, kayak, explore the local parks around Seattle, and participate in two separate overnight camping trips. After the successful trip to Mount Rainier last summer, we have added a second overnight up to our lodge at Mount Baker. Read more…

Many current Mountaineers had their start as kids when their parents got them out into the backcountry and taught them the skills and resilience to enjoy the outdoor world. Be a part of continuing this legacy with your own kids, by taking the Backpacking with Kids Course. Read more…

Looking for something for the kids to do over school vacation? Do you have a really active kid who would LOVE to learn more climbing and other outdoors skills? The Mountaineers have a new opportunity just for you. Our week-long camps are offered during Winter and Spring Breaks and designed for campers ages 6-12. Sign up today! Read more…

Mountain Workshops, The Mountaineers’ youth outreach program, has become well established in our Seattle location over the past five years. But these programs have just recently begun in Tacoma. By partnering with other youth-serving agencies, our goal is to reach youth that may not otherwise have the opportunity for rich outdoor experiences. Read more…

Both Stephanie Houston and Logan Urrutia served on the Mountaineers Adventure Club Leadership Team. The Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) is a Youth Leadership program run by teen members of The Mountaineers. With staff and volunteer support, the stated aim is to help the youth of the Puget Sound discover and explore the public lands and waterways of the Pacific Northwest, to help them grow as individuals, and to foster greater connections to our public lands to help steward and conserve them for future generations. These youth represent not only the future of The Mountaineers, but the future of responsible, sustainable outdoor recreation. But I'll let them speak for themselves… Read more…

“Look Mom!” I cried. “Bison!”

We were heading to the geysers [in Yellowstone National Park], but when we rounded the corner we saw a field of bison.

We could see a calf fighting its sibling, each one tumbling into the dust. We could see the bulls wallowing in the mud pits. We could even see the cows looking after the calves. It was an amazing sight seeing the bison covering that field like ants covering honey.

That’s one of the many exciting memories Samuel Tinker shared with me. Read more…

While we were climbing on the south side of the Feathers, one of our Mountaineers Adventure Club (MAC) instructors noticed that the party climbing next to us had a strange anchor set up for their toprope. On closer look, we realized that their anchor was a non-locking carabiner at the end of each chain, with single webbing loop going through both non-locking carabiners, and the rope was running directly through the webbing loop. Read more…