Mazamas

Did you know that the Mazamas has one of the top mountaineering library collections in the country? It’s true. It’s amazing! And members can check out books, magazines, and other media for free.
And did you know that the Mazamas is one of the oldest climbing clubs in America, formed on the summit of Mt. Hood in 1894? It was! And Mt. Mazama – the mountain that ‘houses’ Crater Lake was named after the club, not vice versa. Same goes for the Mazama glacier on Mt. Adams.
But I digress. Ultimately this is a climbing club with over 3000 members, devoted fundamentally to education. Want to learn how to climb mountains? This is the place. Want to learn how to rock climb or ice climb or Nordic ski or backcountry ski? This is the place. What to go out on the weekend and do these sorts of activities with a bunch of like-​minded people? You can do that too! And by the way, you don’t have to be a member to take advantage of any of these activities. It’s open to the general public – as are all public presentations, lectures, and other and activities.
The Mazamas also has a lodge in Government Camp where you can stay – near Timberline Lodge – for cheap. Check it out!
Its run almost entirely by volunteers for whom the Mazamas is like family. I joined in 2007. Now my closest friends are Mazamas– and I would argue some of the finest human beings I’ve had the honor of knowing. I love this organization.

I am a descendent of William Gladstone Steel. Wish I were more of a climber, but so proud of what this man accomplished.

You know those cheesy country songs?
No, not the sad ones about exes wreckin’ trucks and takin’ yer dog.
The ones filled with sugary platitudes about a comfortable, innocent past that never existed.
Not sure what I’m talking about?
Drinkin’ yer first beer?
Kissin’ yer first girl?
Takin’ the backroads?
Arms out, windows down?
Puttin’ on yer Sunday best?
Family brunches after church?
Shootin’ rifles with grandpa?
THOSE kind.
Well, the Mazamas make me feel like that.
I am from a place with no mountains, no rocks, not really any trails. I didn’t see a «babbling brook» till I was in my 20’s.
When I moved to Portland I was barely what you would call a «hiker». I had only camped «in the woods», one time, and I was carrying my sleeping bag in my ARMS the entire hike in. But I loved the outdoors and I loved taking photos of the outdoors.
I’d see these magnificent, monolithic, white castles towering alone in the NW and think «I gotta get up there!»
But. I’d also think «I really, really don’t want to die.»
So what’s a lad with high dreams and low skills to do? I googled «Portland mountaineering» and stumbled upon the Mazamas. I took their Basic Education Climbing Program in 2010 and never looked back. I have since taken every climbing class they offer. Snow, Rock, Ice, I love ‘em all.
I’m so grateful to this organization that I now volunteer to help others that were in the very same position I was in some three years ago. And you know what: I LOVE IT. There are seriously few other ways I’d like to spend my time (ok, perhaps I’d rather be climbing something, maybe, sometimes) It’s incredibly inspiriting to help people achieve things they never thought were possible (I’m sorry if that sounds like a line from a religious cult).
Learning something new can be really intimidating. I know I was a bit scared and a bit timid when I first signed up for BCEP… but this is normal. Don’t be shy, if you want to get into climbing, check out the BCEP class.
Contrary to popular belief, this is not some exclusive club. You don’t have to be a member to do any of the activities the Mazamas offer. Stop by the mountaineering center (I kind of got off-​topic, but that’s what this review is supposed to be of) and ask the folks in there some questions, I’m sure you have many of them.
See you in «The Hills»!

There is a theory, probably right, that it’s a universal human need to get high.
After all, those pleasure receptors are there for a reason!
So for a long time, our species has been compelled to climb mountains. The thin clean air, the silence and unobstructed view are the reward for getting high on elevation. Maybe it’s also attractive by the very fact it’s out of reach of most flatlanders.
There is a good argument that the environmental legal landscape of today is the result of those same drives by Supreme Court justice William O Douglas. At age 6, Douglas settled in Yakima, Washington. In his writings, he proposed his hikes in the foothills of Mt Rainier were therapy to combat the effects of childhood polio, although this has been disputed. A lifelong outdoorsman, he went on to become a SEC commissioner and chairman, fighting for the 99%, under President Roosevelt, then, the youngest Supreme Court justice since 1812, at age 40. He was both a liberal and an activist judge, more of that please!
Douglas is also the longest serving Supreme Court justice in history. He was a mountaineer and author of the revolutionary dissent in Sierra Club (Mineral King) v. Morton, a landmark opinion on environmental law —
. Although Disney won the decision to allow them to build a ski resort there, the plan was abandoned and the land became part of a national park. He was also a contributor to the first ever dedicated environmental law journal, published by Lewis and Clark College Law School.
So individual outdoor experiences can have a huge impact on public policy and public policy can have a huge impact on the availability of outdoor experiences.
The mission of the Mazamas, as it was with William O Douglas, is to get high outdoors. They lead climbs of Mt Hood, other area high spots, and outdoor events including humble Portland city hikes of our Portland hills. They have overseas expeditions. They also have films, speakers and used equipment trades.
I was able to climb Hood with friends. If that is your standalone ambition, the Mazamas have been training climbers and leading ascents for over 100 years. If you don’t have personal mountaineer buds, and you want to get it up, the Mazamas is highly recommended!
They teach mountain survival, self arrest, rope work and traversing crevasses. You will need that to get by Mt Hood’s Bergschrund —
. The summit’s most common approach, the Pearly Gates, is a steep narrow chute which can be plagued by rockfalls in the warmer season or warmer parts of the day (helmets required). I was able to easily arrest a slip by a ropemate on our descent there. On the way up and down, you will pass poisonous volcanic gas vents. Yes, Mt Hood is a volcano. You can check the history, not too long ago it was quite active!
Mt Hood is not a joke:
. Don’t be a statistic! It is the job of the Mazamas to train you to safely summit it.
The Mazamas has continual activities for people interested in the outdoors. It is the outdoorsy crowd not the cocktail crowd. But I’ve not known the Mazamas to be teetotalers, their clubhouse is by a bottle shop, and they seem to have an endless supply of Sierra Nevada beer.
The Mazamas clubhouse is classic. They fully occupy an old church. The main room has a stage for speakers and bands where the altar would be. Flanking the «altar» to either side are indoor climbing walls, floor to ceiling. So these Mazamas aren’t worshiping any false gods!
They have a library, guide books for sale and old photographs from the organization climbing Hood in the snow in the 1800’s when they first formed. I have heard they have organized heritage climbs using old equipment and with the women climbers wearing dresses. No word if the men were required to have beards for the climb.
I heard a Mazamas talk by a world famous ice climber who specializes in horizontal ice climbing. What is horizontal climbing? That is where you are upside down climbing the underside of an overhang with ice tools and crampons.
. In his spare time he paraglides, climbs icebergs, stunt doubles, climbing as Jason Bourne in the Bourne Legacy, and climbs for Red Bull. He also was giving a Portland workshop on dry tooling, a new boutique technique of using ice tools on rock.
Mazamas are very similar to Seattle’s The Mountaineers or the Colorado Mountain Club, but older.
All and all it’s a great place to connect with fellow outdoor adventurers, indoors and outdoors!

A hiking conservancy group that leads groups on low cost outdoor adventures. They teach people hiking safety and how to climb properly. Mountaineering, if you will. Also trail tending and the like.
They were formed in 1894!
Mazamas offers over 350 climbs and 700 hikes annually, and sponsors conservation and research to protect and better understand the alpine environment. They rely heavily on volunteers. To become a member you have to conquer a glacial summit. I think that’s kind of a cool entry requirement.
Their website has a schedule of hikes and retreats along with lots of information and a FAQ: