When I first heard about SheJumps, I was at an all-women’s introductory clinic on avalanche and snow safety at Stevens Pass in 2013. The class is put on annually by Elyse Saugstad, Ingrid Backstrom, Michelle Parker, Jackie Paaso and Lel Tone – professional female skiers at the top of their game. The clinic, called S.A.F.E. […]
SheJumps: Connecting Like-minded Ladies with a Love of the Outdoors Read More »
In his essay “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson writes “Nature never wears a mean appearance.” Nowhere is this truer than in Yellowstone National Park, which is why it attracts more than 3 million visitors annually. Those who visit in the fall will find September crowds roughly half those of July, with October crowds one-eighth of July’s
Fall Brings Wild Times without the Crowds in Yellowstone Read More »
1986 was another big year for the Spokane Mountaineers and Rich Landers and Ida Rowe Dolphin. The “100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest” guidebook was completed by Landers and Dolphin, with help from Spokane Mountaineers members, and printed by the Seattle Mountaineers. The Mountaineers also played a pivotal role in the protection of Minnehaha Rocks.
Looking Back at the Spokane Mountaineers (1986 to 1992) Read More »
We summited Prusik Peak on the most perfect day in The Enchantments this season, with temperatures in the mid-60s, light breezes, cobalt skies and only a few threads of clouds. The official start of summer still lingered three weeks away, but this low snowpack year had offered us an unusually early season of rock climbing.
Climbing with Anna Read More »
John Muir said “Going to the mountains is going home.” If you can relate, there is no shortage of places in the greater Inland Northwest that should feel like home. This is OTM’s second annual “Backcountry” issue, so a cover story highlighting a few wild, mountainous places that you can drive through, with drool-inducing views
The Mountains Are Calling Read More »
The Northwest has hundreds of lakes ranging from tiny alpine tarns to giant pools that sprawl for miles through the mountains. The region’s many diverse lakes each have their own unique feel and personality. While public land and access is limited at some, others like Priest Lake, nestled in the Selkirk Mountains, are a near
The Best of Priest Lake: Hikes, Resorts, Paddling, Fishing, and More Read More »
A well-known local hiker and trail maintenance project leader, Lynn Smith, ends his emails to other trail maintenance volunteers with these words: “Days spent on a trail are not deducted from one’s lifetime.” Another Spokane Mountaineers member and volunteer coordinator for Washington Trails Association, Holly Weiler, is famous among many U.S. Forest Service and state
Pitching in for Trails — Our Local Trails Need You Read More »
If you haven’t already heard, there’s been a new buzz in the air in the mountain biking scene that has to do with backcountry adventuring on your bike called bikepacking. The concept isn’t new. Cyclists have been touring and camping off of road bikes for almost a century. The only difference here is that bikepacking
Backpacking with Your Bike Read More »
“Are you drunk?” I asked my 8-year-old. She had requested me to hike with her up to Scotchman Peak. “Can you get drunk on coconut milk?” she asked, looking suspiciously at her glass. Since the day my daughter was born, I have systematically attempted to brainwash her into thinking The Great Outdoors are where it’s
Passing on a Sense of Adventure Read More »
I’m never far from our river, in whatever form it takes. This fall as I was waxed my skis, I dreamed of turns in deep Copper Basin, Bitterroot Mountain powder. Layers and layers of clean Idaho snow; our river in its most primordial form. But as the winter drug on and the mountains were buffeted
Record Low Flows Mean It’s Time to Adapt Read More »
