The Tacoma Branch one-day leadership seminar, held at the Masonic Lodge (2530 Grandview Dr. W, Tacoma), is for both current and prospective leaders of Mountaineers trips and activities. We'll spend the day problem solving with scenarios based on actual trips - the good, the bad, and the ugly... The discussion is always thought-provoking with the mix of everyone's own experiences, the scenarios, and the outstanding text. This event is not activity specific - kayakers, hikers, climbers, sailors, scramblers, dancers, bikers are all encouraged to participate.
The $55 fee includes a copy of the text, "Outdoor Leadership" by John Graham, breakfast, lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Register online for this event starting 1/21/12 and ending 3/10/12. Please note that March 10 is a FIRM deadline for registering.
Questions? Check out the online listing for this event and/or contact Julie Myer, juliem135@comcast.net, 360-870-1553. Please note that there is a cancellation fee of $40 to cover administrative costs and cost of the text. No refunds will be given for cancellations after the March 10th registration deadline.
Tacoma Branch Open House with Special Guest Speaker Craig Romano
Friday Jan 20, 2012, 7-9 PM
7 pm - Come see our great orientation show of the programs and courses offered by the Tacoma Mountaineers. We welcome new members, prospects and friends; bring the family to see what we do including hiking, climbing and scrambling,
sea kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, first aid, navigation, avalanche training, and social and family activities. This will be a chance to visit with committee people in activities of interest to you.
8pm - Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge, Craig Romano
Come hike the Columbia River Gorge with award winning Washington state guidebook author, Craig Romano. Drawing from his new release, Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge, Craig will be sharing tales from the trails from Ridgefield, WA to Boardman, OR.
Spotlighting 100 hikes, this book treats both states equally, and like Craig's other titles includes not only well-loved trails, but overlooked gems as well. Learn about Clark County's wonderful trails; the Silver Star Scenic Area, the Trapper Creek Wilderness, Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge, and Clackamas’s Mount Talbert. With its mild weather ,the Gorge makes for a perfect winter and spring hiking destination.
Make note of this location; we will NOT be at our usual Carr St. location due to building renovations.
Tacoma Speaker Series with Fred Beckey a Huge Success
The Tacoma Mountaineers hosted a very successful event on Friday, November 18 with iconic Northwest Alpinist Fred Beckey in the Kilworth Memorial Chapel on the beautiful campus of University of Puget Sound. Co-sponsored by UPS and Edgeworks Climbing Gym, Beckey spoke to a sold-out audience of 325 about his decades of climbing in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, supported by a trove of awe-inspiring slides from his photographic library of countless outings and expeditions. Photographs from this event can be viewed online.
The Tacoma Mountaineers host monthly Open House/Speaker Series events throughout most of the year, typically on the third Friday of each month. Keep your eyes open for future events listed on this website.
Tacoma Mountaineers' 100th Birthday: March 19, 2012!
The Tacoma Branch of The Mountaineers' first meeting was a joint gathering with the Tacoma Camera Club March 19, 1912 in the Tacoma YMCA Auditorium. The meeting featured "lantern slides... of woodland scenes and scenes in the Colorado mountains".
The Tacoma Branch has come a long way over the past 100 years. We hope you'll join us to celebrate the outdoors, and our club's 100th birthday, as we wind through 2012.
Follow our branch history and activity planning leading up to our 100th Birthday Celebration here
Help Make the Tacoma/South Sound Program Center a Reality
The Mountaineers are building a new Program Center in Tacoma to support outdoor wilderness training and conservation activities throughout the South Puget Sound region.
A long-time Tacoma Branch member donated her entire estate in 2007 to the Mountaineers Foundation. It was her wish that her gift benefit the Tacoma Branch and Pierce County. A revitalized and modernized Program Center in Tacoma will honor her wishes and create a lasting legacy for her gift.
Private support from individuals and corporations are needed to fund the vision for a fully operational program center that will serve the needs of its members and expand to enhance membership service, develop youth and family outdoor education programs, and serve as a major hub of outdoor recreation activities in the South Sound region.
Help make the Tacoma/South Sound Program Center a reality with your tax deductible donation.
Contact one of our Fundraising Committee volunteers if you have more questions
Tacoma Mountaineers Clubhouse Closes For Reconstruction Mid-October
After 55 years of service the Tacoma Mountaineers Clubhouse - built in the early 1950s on donated land, with mostly donated materials and donated Mountaineer labor - closes Mid-October for a substantial reconstruction You can read more about the project here.
The current clubhouse will be "deconstructed" down to its cement floor slab and block walls; rebuilt as a two story building with three separate meeting rooms, an office/bookstore, larger kitchen and bathroom facilities, more storage and other improvements.
The rebuilt Tacoma Program Center is scheduled to reopen sometime before Tacoma Branch's March 19, 2012 100th anniversary - a timely boost as we enter our second century. In the interim Tacoma Branch Mountaineer meetings and classes will take place at various locations throughout Tacoma; each Activity will be setting up its own temporary meeting space. Contact Activity Chairs for information on when and where they'll meet.
We look forward to seeing you at the "Reopening Ceremony" (to be scheduled) for our 21st century Program Center!
Front Elevation of Proposed Tacoma Program Center
Camera Committee Meets Every Month
By Don Thompson
Tacoma Mountaineers travel to some of the world's most beautiful places - and our own beautiful backyards - and bring back the photos to prove it. The Camera Committee meets at Tacoma Mountaineer Clubhouse 7:00pm on September 13. If you'd like to take better photos, meet other photographers, show your work - come on down!
For more information, and to confirm these meeting dates, please contact Photo Chair Joe Becker, 253-970-3100, josephebecker@comcast.net.
Mountaineers' New 501(c)(3) Status Promises Changes
The Mountaineers recently changed their business-operations format to qualify as a 501(c)(3) organization. This means, among other things, that dues and expenses for many club activities (such as instructional trips) are largely tax deductible.
The Mountaineers now also offer their members substantial discounts from numerous retail vendors: 40% off for Eddie Bauer and First Ascent, 10-15% off purchase from Outdoor Research and Mountain Hardware in Seattle; many more.
The Mountaineers was established in 1906 and over the years has grown into the largest outdoor-recreation organization in the Northwest, including branches in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Everett, Bellingham, Wenatchee, and Kitsap County.
The Tacoma Branch was founded in 1912. As our membership grew, our activities increased to include a wide array of muscle-powered outdoor endeavors. However, some things about The Mountaineers never change. Our philosophy and purpose are the same as when the organization was formed almost 100 hundred years ago.
