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The Mountaineers is an
alpine club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of which ...
in the US state of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Founded in 1906, it is organized as an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit organisation, and is based in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington. The club hosts a wide range of outdoor activities, primarily alpine mountain climbing and hikes. The club also hosts classes, training courses, and social events. The club runs a publishing business, Mountaineers Books, which has several imprints. Publications include '' Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills''.


Organization and activities

The Mountaineers has 7 branches in Western Washington, 3 mountain lodges, and 2 program centers, one in
Magnuson Park Magnuson Park is a park in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. At it is the second-largest park in Seattle, after Discovery Park in Magnolia (which covers ). Magnuson Park is located at the site of the former Na ...
in Seattle, and one in Tacoma. All classes and trips are organized.


History

Originally a Seattle-based part of the
Mazamas The Mazamas () is a mountaineering organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1894. Promotion of mountaineering The Mazamas has been an important part of the climbing community in the Pacific Northwest of the United States ...
, a
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
based group founded in 1894, The Mountaineers formed their own branch shortly after the 1906 Mazamas
Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...
expedition and dubbed themselves "The Mountaineers" with 110 charter members. The club constitution was officially adopted in 1907 by a membership of 151. Among these original members were Henry Landes (
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
geology dean and later
acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
), Edmond S. Meany (the father of the University of Washington Forestry school), the photographer
Asahel Curtis Asahel Curtis (1874–1941) was a photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who ...
, and Seattle photographer and North Cascades guide
Lawrence Denny Lindsley Lawrence Denny Lindsley (March 18, 1878 – January 3, 1975) was an American scenic photographer and also worked as a miner, hunter, and guide. Lindsley was a grandson of Seattle pioneer David Thomas Denny (1832–1903). Personal life He was born ...
. The activities initially were local walks with the first trip being a hike through
Fort Lawton Fort Lawton was a United States Army post located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington overlooking Puget Sound. In 1973 a large majority of the property, 534 acres of Fort Lawton, was given to the city of Seattle and dedicated as ...
to the
West Point Lighthouse The West Point Light, also known as the Discovery Park Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation on Seattle, Washington (state), Washington's West Point (Seattle), West Point, which juts into Puget Sound and marks the northern extent of Elliott B ...
(now part of Discovery Park). The first mountain climbing trip was
Mount Si Mount Si (pronounced ), known as q'əlpc' to the Snoqualmie people, is a mountain in the northwest United States, east of Seattle, Washington. It lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range just above the coastal plains around Puget Soun ...
. In 1907, 65 members made a group climb of
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
and exploration of the
Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...
. The next year a summit of
Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...
was organized, followed by
Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...
in 1909. In 1915, a club outing became the first sizable group to hike around Mount Rainier and established the route that would later become known as the
Wonderland Trail The Wonderland Trail is an approximately hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. The trail goes over many ridges of Mount Rainier for a cumulative of elevation gain. The trail ...
. From 1907 to 1995, new climbs in the Cascades were reported in the Mountaineers Annual. Since 2004, the
Northwest Mountaineering Journal The ''Northwest Mountaineering Journal'' was a now defunct online magazine started in 2004 by Lowell Skoog to serve as a record of new climbs and ski descents, as well as to provide articles and stories pertinent to mountaineering in the Pacific N ...
br>(NWMJ)
hosted by the Mountaineers, has recorded this information.


21st century

In the first 100 years since the club's founding it expanded to over 10,000 active members and expanded its offerings from a single annual
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...
climb to a range of activities.. Classes are offered beyond climbing skills including
nature photography Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis o ...
. navigation and first aid. A thirty-hour
wilderness first aid A wilderness medical emergency is a medical emergency that takes place in a wilderness or remote setting affinitive care (hospital, clinic, etc.). Such an emergency can require specialized skills, treatment techniques, and knowledge in order to m ...
course called ''Mountaineering Oriented First Aid'' (MOFA) was produced by the organization. The organization is home to The Mountaineers Players which perform in the organization's Forest Theatre on the Kitsap Peninsula.


Magnuson Park facilities

In 2008, the Mountaineers moved from Lower Queen Anne to an old naval building in
Magnuson Park Magnuson Park is a park in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. At it is the second-largest park in Seattle, after Discovery Park in Magnolia (which covers ). Magnuson Park is located at the site of the former Na ...
, now leased from the City of Seattle.


Lodges

The Mountaineers operates three lodges in the mountains of Washington State. They are primarily used as base-camps. *
Meany Lodge Meany Lodge is a ski area located in Martin, Washington near Stampede Pass, Washington, United States. It was built in 1928, making it the oldest ski area in Washington and among the oldest in the U.S. Meany Lodge is maintained and operated ...
is ski area located near Stampede Pass with 3 rope tows and nordic, down hill, and backcountry terrain. * Baker Lodge is located adjacent to the
Mt. Baker Ski Area Mt. Baker Ski Area is a ski resort in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Whatcom County, Washington, at the end of Washington State Route 542, State Route 542. The base elevation is at , while the peak of the resort is at ...
* Stevens Lodge is located adjacent to the Stevens Pass Ski Area


Library

The Mountaineers Library was founded in 1915. As of 2011 it contained 6,000 books and subscribes to 40 periodicals. It specializes in studies on climbing, environmental studies, biographies of mountaineers, the history of exploratory mountaineering and natural history.


Mountaineers Books

Mountaineers Books, based in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, is the publishing division of The Mountaineers. It was informally started in 1955 when a volunteer committee was formed to create a mountaineering training text from the materials that the Club was using for its classes. Mountaineers Books has produced more than 1,000 titles since its foundation in 1960. It also publishes conservation advocacy titles under the
Braided River A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''. Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment l ...
imprint.


Notes


References

* * *


External links

* *
Magnificent Views and Vistas
– Information, photos and history of early climbing in the Pacific Northwest

Photographic albums and text documenting the Mountaineers official annual outings undertaken by club members from 1907 to 1951, primarily on the Olympic Peninsula, in Mount Rainier National Park and on Glacier Peak.

Online museum exhibit includes images of camps, maps, and excerpts from the 1913 essay ''Melodious Days'' by Hugh Elmer Brown. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountaineers Hiking organizations in the United States Culture of Seattle Climbing organizations 501(c)(3) organizations 1906 establishments in Washington (state) Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Libraries in Seattle Mountaineering in the United States Organizations established in 1906