Youth Blog

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.  Read more…

In a recent conversation with my mom, she told me she regretted not taking my sisters and me camping and hiking more when we were little. As a single mom, it just seemed impossible at the time. Read more…

This July, we'll be offering three weeks of outdoor-adventure themed summer camp. Each week has a different theme, but will all include plenty of hiking, climbing, outdoor skill-development, and tons of fun and games! Read more…

During Junior Mountaineers Summer Camp in 2014, nine-year-old Sydney Swenson confidently announced to then Youth Programs Manager Caitlin O’Brien that she was planning to climb The Tooth in celebration of her tenth birthday. In January 2015, Sydney’s dad Matt Swenson sent an email to some of his friends in The Mountaineers climbing community asking if anyone was interested in joining him and Sydney on the celebratory Tooth climb. Read more…

As a group of 6-year-old Junior Mountaineers campers was walking toward the waterfront at Magnuson Park, the volunteer counselor pointed out, “Look! There’s Mount Rainier!” To which one camper replied, “Hey that’s like us! We’re the Junior MountRainiers!” It was a cute play on words and a great metaphor for the awe the mountain inspires and the way our volunteers can use it to encourage kids to dream of big goals. Read more…

It was around 9pm on a Wednesday night, June 8, when I received word that The Mountaineers was a recipient of an Explore Fund grant from The North Face. This grant provides us the financial support to take Mountain Workshop youth to North Cascades National Park as part of their 2016/2017 program. This grant was one of the first grants I applied for since joining The Mountaineers staff earlier in the year, making the win all the more special. Read more…

The first ever Northwest Youth Leadership Summit was held Saturday, October 22, 2016 at our Seattle Program Center. Working with more than 30 partner organizations, we brought together 120 youth from around the PNW for a day of leadership and learning, plus we enjoyed a surprise visit from Sally Jewell! Read more…

As Mountaineers, we see the outdoors as the ultimate community center. It's a venue for young and old, new and seasoned, professional and novice to convene around a common interest. The renovated program center in Tacoma is an indoor space that proves the outdoors is not the only place Mountaineers come together.  Read more…

Calling all students ages 14-22 involved in youth stewardship, outdoor leadership, or environmental education programs in the PNW. You're invited to a FREE, fun, and inspiring event: The Northwest Youth Leadership Summit! Read more…

“You guys got me, right?” A student shouts down to her classmates, who are belaying her 50 feet into the air at Camp Long’s high ropes course. Her English is heavily accented, marking her Somalian roots, and the reply she gets from the ground comes from a native Spanish speaker, "Go, climb! You can make it!" Read more…

 Meet Tatiana. She is a 13-year old at Brettler Family Place, a Mountain Workshops partner since 2012. Read more…

Meet Our Park's Adventurer Lace Thornberg, who, with one last weekend of this challenge left to go, is ready to overnight it in Olympic National Park.  Read more…

On their second summit traverse of Mt. Rainier as part of the history-making Rainier Infinity Loop, Adventurers Gavin Woody and Ras Vaughan met Hakim and his two daughters on the Muir snowfield. Eight year-old Aisha and 5 year-old Anisah were joining their dad on their first hike to Camp Muir after years of hiking around the base of the mountain. Raised at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Hakim grew up hiking and climbing. He loves the mountains and wants his daughters to love them too.  Read more…

Meet Our Parks | Your Adventure's Mary Hsue. She plans to hike to a peak in each of Washington's 3 National Parks to inspire others to donate to support the next generation of adventurers and stewards of our public lands.  Read more…

My brother Colin and I had been planning to climb the Grand Teton in the "light and fast" style with the goal of completing the 12-pitch, 15-mile hike as fast as we could with light gear. No camping gear, no emergency bivy - just some food, enough gear, and a good idea of where we were supposed to go. My bag had all of the gear and food that I needed to climb, so this was not an ideal situation. Read more…

Meet Our Parks | Your Adventure's Caitlin O'Brien. Together with her brother Colin O'Brien, she will climb the Grand in Grand Teton National Park in under 24 hours, all in support of The Mountaineers Youth Programs.  Read more…

Meet Our Parks | Your Adventure's newest Adventurer, Emily Guyer. A Mountaineers member since 2014 and hike leader extraordinaire, Emily has big challenge goals ahead to raise funds for The Mountaineers Youth Programs.  Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we've believe venturing into the outdoors is an essential piece of the human experience. We go outside to wander and explore the adventurous spirit within ourselves. It's important to implement low-impact recreation skills to keep our wild places as sanctuaries for the human spirit; so our grandchildren can experience the sensation of discovering an untouched place. Read more…

We are thrilled to announce The Mountaineers is a recipient of a 2016 Explore Fund grant from The North Face. The North Face selected a total of 45 nonprofits - out of hundreds of applications - that engage their participants in opportunities to inspire a lifelong love of the outdoors. Read more…

Today, the U.S. Forest Service announced new guidance that will change the operation of the agency’s outfitter-guide permitting system. This new guidance will streamline the process for issuing permits to outdoor leaders and recreation businesses that take people outdoors. These improvements will provide more access to federal lands and waters for a wide range of facilitated use.  Read more…

In celebration of the National Parks Centennial, we’re launching Our Parks | Your Adventure, a fundraising opportunity we hope will inspire you  to choose a challenge in our National Parks. We hope to raise $40,000 between July 1 and September 5, 2016!  Read more…

I arrived early on my first day at Junior Mountaineers Summer Camp, excited to meet all the kids and ready to learn how this camp worked and what to do. After meeting the other counselors, my co-counselor Christoph and I read through the forms for each of our campers. Read more…

A group of dedicated Mountaineers had an alpine start this morning. Not for a climb, but for our inaugural fundraising breakfast, hosted at the downtown Seattle Sheraton hotel. We’re grateful for the donors, members, volunteers, staff and friends of The Mountaineers who began their day with us. Through the generous support of nearly 300 attendees and corporate sponsors, we raised over $110,000!  Read more…

Youth programs at The Mountaineers are constantly evolving and growing (sometimes it’s hard to keep up!), and a huge part of that evolution comes from our commitment to partnering with other youth serving organizations to get more kids into the outdoors.   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. Read more…

When I joined the Mountaineers, my daughter was two. Since she was born, I’ve been tailoring my adventures to accommodate a baby carrier.  Read more…

 We took a sharp turn onto Alaska Place and parked at a dead end in front of a house with a green awning covering the front porch. “Green Seattle Partnership” lined the edge of the tent, shovels were laid out in a perfect pattern, and a huge -pile of mulch sat next to the front door. Read more…

With five years of youth programs under our belts, The Mountaineers has had an opportunity to experience what works and what doesn't, and the time has come to take a new look at our Youth & Family Policies. Read more…