| Formation | 1906; 120 years ago (1906) |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Website | www |
The Mountaineers is analpine club in the US state ofWashington. Founded in 1906, it is organized as an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and is based inSeattle, Washington. The club hosts a wide range of outdoor activities, primarilyalpine mountain climbing andhikes. The club also hosts classes, training courses, and social events.
The club runs a publishing business,Mountaineers Books, which has several imprints. Publications includeMountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.
The Mountaineers has 7 branches in Western Washington, 3 mountain lodges, and 2 program centers: one inMagnuson Park in Seattle, and one inTacoma. All classes and trips are organized.
Originally a Seattle-based part of theMazamas, aPortland based group founded in 1894, The Mountaineers formed their own branch shortly after the 1906 MazamasMount Baker 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 geology dean and lateracting president),Edmond S. Meany (the father of the University of Washington Forestry school), the photographerAsahel Curtis, and Seattle photographer and North Cascades guideLawrence Denny Lindsley.
The activities initially were local walks with the first trip being a hike throughFort Lawton to theWest Point Lighthouse (now part ofDiscovery Park). The first mountain climbing trip wasMount Si. In 1907, 65 members made a group climb ofMount Olympus and exploration of theOlympic Mountains. The next year a summit ofMount Baker was organized, followed byMount Rainier 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 theWonderland Trail.
From 1907 to 1995, new climbs in theCascades were reported in the Mountaineers Annual. Since 2004, theNorthwest Mountaineering Journal(NWMJ), hosted by the Mountaineers, has recorded this information.
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 annualalpine climb to a range of activities.. Classes are offered beyond climbing skills includingnature photography. navigation and first aid. A thirty-hourwilderness first aid course calledMountaineering 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.
In 2008, the Mountaineers moved from Lower Queen Anne to an old naval building inMagnuson Park, now leased from the City of Seattle.[1]
The Mountaineers operates three lodges in the mountains of Washington State. They are primarily used as base-camps.
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.[2]
Mountaineers Books, based inSeattle, 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 theBraided River imprint.
Award-winning and notable titles include:
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