Zoom Info Night
March 20, 2025
6:30–9 p.m.
Expert-led canyoneering course. From basics to waterfalls in 7 sessions.
Course Info:
Runs: May–June
Info Night: March 20, 2025
Applications open: March 24
Applications close: April 21
Tuition: $738 member / $850 nonmember
Learn more at mazamas.org/canyoning
From Hiker to Alpine Climber 4 sessions. Essential skills. Real peaks. Start your mountain journey.
Team: Lupkin
Runs: April 30–June 22, 2025
Applications: March 12–April 9
Notification: April 16
Team: Preston
Runs: May 7–July 13, 2025
Applications: March 19–April 16
Notification: April 23
Tuition: $550 member / $620 nonmember
Learn more at mazamas.org/IAC
Mt. Whitney: High Altitude, a Disoriented Climber, and a Tent from Craigslist, p. 14
Learning to Fall: A Climber’s 25Year Journey with Fear, p. 17
Mental Health and the Mazama Community, p. 19
Leaves of Three…, p. 22
It Isn’t All Downhill—Climbing as a Metaphor for Aging and Life, p. 25
An Altitude Room Success Story, p. 28
Being Healthy on the Trail: The 10 Essentials and More, p. 30
Building Fitness from the Inside Out, p. 33
Executive Director’s Message, p. 4
President’s Message, p. 5
Letter from the Editors, p. 7
Upcoming Courses, Activities & Events, p. 9
Conservation-Themed Base Camp Programs, p. 10
New Members, p. 11
Mazama Supporters, p. 12
Mazama Library, p. 24
Wilderness First Responder, p. 36
The Mission of the Mazama CISM Team, p. 37
Board of Directors Minutes, p. 38
Saying Goodbye, p. 39
I believe it is one where volunteers feel valued, supported, and motivated to contribute their time and skills in meaningful ways,” p. 5
Is he okay?” we wondered. We asked him if he needed any water and the response was mumbled. His words were slurred.” p. 14
From then on, I realized that strength and power were not the answer to managing fear.” p. 17
The Mazama community offers a healing salve for the ways that our mental well-being is strained by modern-day life and past difficult experiences.” p. 19
Volume 107
Number 2
March/April 2025
by Rebekah Phillips, Mazama Executive Director
Welcome to spring!
Or should I say, “Welcome, Spring,” as this season of awakening and renewal offers opportune insight. In the last issue, I wrote about the changing financial landscape, constraints the staff and board are working with, and the organizational response it will require to secure a more stable foundation. (The CliffsNotes version, for those that didn’t read it, goes like this: rising costs have outpaced revenues, and we’ve got serious work to do.) This conversation continues to develop in real-time, representing a dynamic scenario which calls for clear communication, strong coordination, and decisive action.
Ominous as that may sound, trees and shrubs are beginning to bud, song sparrows serenade us earlier each day, and the sun is gradually warming our hemisphere, apt reminders that regeneration is part of life. Aligning with both the season and the theme of this Bulletin, my own innate belief in the power of potential has me feeling deeply inspired by a vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together.
But what does it look like to cultivate vitality? What does it take to persevere and grow?
The Mazamas is a nonprofit, and nonprofits are full of purpose. Whether they deliver social, economic, or environmental impact, nonprofits solve real problems and offer meaningful, fulfilling work for both those carrying it out and those benefiting from their services.
At the Mazamas, we’re in the business of building community through activities
rooted in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. We take our cues from nature: interdependent systems, mentorship between the established and the new, and resource-sharing, to name a few. Fitting as these concepts may be, let’s not discount how fundamental to the mission they are, nor how rare they are to find in a business setting. As strategies, they lead to resilience. As tactics, they develop personal and collective trust, camaraderie, engagement, and accountability. Is the Mazamas curing cancer? Maybe not, but we sure as hell are giving people tools to build a life worth fighting for.
Despite being anchored in a shared purpose, when we look under the organization’s hood we find a business model that’s unsustainable by many measures: budgeted deficits rather than calculated growth; income streams that don’t cover their operating costs; and under-supported resources spread thin across a tangled web of objectives. The 2025-2027 Strategic Plan addresses all of this by prioritizing responsible financial planning, recalibrating our revenue model, and identifying ways to better future-proof operations.
But this doesn’t live with the board and staff alone. This is a call to all members to come together in support of our mission and community. To ask, “How can I help?” To refer a friend, or make a donation.
To be an engaged ambassador of the organization. Zooming out to examine the big picture, we’re experiencing the kind of watershed moment that inspires evolution. It’s not the first time in our 131-year history, and it won’t be the last.
In nature, spring has a way of making things look easy. That’s because once balance is in place, rebirth unfolds seemingly like clockwork. In truth, it took millions of years of trial and error for Earth’s ecosystems to harmonize.
Volunteers, leaders, and staff are working tirelessly to support and uplift the Mazamas—every one of us experiences
“Aligning with both the season and the theme of this Bulletin, my own innate belief in the power of potential has me feeling deeply inspired by a vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together.”
moments of exhaustion, disappointment, and fear of failure. To support vitality, it’s especially important that we hold space to acknowledge all that’s going right:
Our people: Nothing short of extraordinary are the staunch corps of volunteers upholding the Mazamas’ reputation for excellence, the board of directors rising to the occasion, and the capable staff that’s ready to make a difference. Combined, the nearly 3,000 members that make up the Mazamas move our mission forward each day, building community at a time when many among us need it more than ever.
Responsivity: Leadership has immersed itself in research and analysis, as we aim to articulate our core competencies and identify a tangible and optimal business model. We’ve confirmed that our services have been wildly undervalued, leading to a new program pricing policy; this brings needed consistency internally and ties pricing directly to the cost of production,
continued on page 6
by Debbie Dwelle, Mazama President
As I contemplated the theme for this Bulletin, Health and Fitness, I felt drawn to something I hold dear, which is creating and sustaining a healthy culture within the Mazamas. As I wrote about last month, the Board and Rebekah have been diligently working through the strategic planning process. Throughout this work, I keep mentally returning to the saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” by Peter Drucker. The idea is that if we don’t have a healthy culture, we significantly decrease our chances of being successful in our strategic objectives.
With that in mind, the board has been discussing what a healthy board culture looks like and working to embody these elements as we move through our work together. First and foremost, our board culture is driven by our mission and values. From there, we are focused on the following areas:
■ Collaborative: respect, trust, hospitable
■ Diverse: backgrounds, opinions, ways of thinking
■ Accountable: to the organization, to each other
■ Inquisitive: engaged, curious, questioning
■ Disciplined: focused, prepared, consistent
■ Ambassador: reputation, good will, public relations
■ Data driven: assessing ourselves and the organization
■ Decisive: having focused agendas, measurable results, and being outcomeoriented
As I broaden that to consider a healthy volunteer culture, I believe it is one where volunteers feel valued, supported, and motivated to contribute their time and
skills in meaningful ways. It promotes a positive environment that nurtures both the individual volunteer and the organization they support. Here are some key characteristics of a healthy volunteer culture:
■ Clear Purpose and Goals: Volunteers understand the mission of the organization and how their work contributes to its overall goals. They feel that their efforts make a real impact.
■ Inclusivity: A healthy volunteer culture is inclusive, welcoming individuals from diverse backgrounds and ensuring that everyone feels they have a place to contribute.
■ Respect and Recognition: Volunteers are treated with respect and appreciation. Acknowledging their contributions through thankyous, celebrations, or small gestures of appreciation helps foster a sense of belonging.
■ Effective Communication: Open and honest communication ensures that volunteers are well-informed and have the opportunity to ask questions or provide feedback. They also know who to turn to for support.
■ Training and Development: Volunteers are given the training and resources they need to succeed. Continuous learning opportunities allow them to grow in their roles and take on new challenges.
■ Supportive Leadership: Leaders provide guidance, mentorship, and encouragement. They are approachable, empathetic, and actively engage with volunteers, creating an environment where everyone feels supported.
■ Flexibility: Volunteers are able to engage with flexible schedules and roles that suit their availability and interests. This makes the volunteer experience more sustainable and enjoyable.
■ Collaboration: Volunteers work together as a team, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. Team-building activities or group/ committee projects can strengthen relationships.
■ Feedback and Growth: Volunteers receive constructive feedback on their
“Overall, it’s about creating a positive, supportive environment where volunteers feel motivated, appreciated, and empowered to contribute in ways that align with both their personal values and the organization’s mission.”
performance, as well as opportunities to share their own suggestions for improvement. This promotes a continuous cycle of growth and positive change.
■ Wellness and Balance: A healthy volunteer culture recognizes the importance of balance, ensuring volunteers do not experience burnout by setting clear boundaries and encouraging them to take care of themselves.
Overall, it’s about creating a positive, supportive environment where volunteers feel motivated, appreciated, and empowered to contribute in ways that align with both their personal values and the organization’s mission.
One of our strategic priority areas is focused on member and volunteer engagement. Working together to foster a healthy culture will absolutely support our success in this domain. Given you all are critical to creating and sustaining a healthy culture in the Mazamas, I invite you to
continued on page 6
Director, continued from page 4.
encouraging awareness of the impact programs have on resources. We’ve also identified that (like any non-profit) fees for service can only cover a portion of our costs and must be subsidized by charitable contributions; among other strategies, we’ve widened our donor base, have normalized applying for foundation support after a multi-year hiatus, and are implementing a formal planned giving program.
Transparency and accountability: Since I joined the staff in 2023, we’ve fully caught up on four years of independently reviewed financial statements, and we’re about to publish our first impact report since 2016. Importantly, we’re also working to address a significant omission in our financial statements by quantifying the astonishing in-kind value that volunteer leaders contribute each year—this alone is worth celebrating for many reasons, not the least of which is that it will help us more meaningfully recognize you, our members and volunteers, who carry out our mission.
Friends, on behalf of everyone at the Mazamas, thank you for your enduring partnership and support. The future is not a thing merely to be experienced; it’s a great and wonderful opportunity to be created together. Let’s lean into the lessons of spring.
President, continued from page 5.
contemplate what a healthy culture looks like to you. Here are a few questions for consideration:
■ What do you value in the community and culture of the Mazamas?
■ If you are a leader, what are you modeling for others? If you are not a leader, what do you see being modeled by leaders?
■ What areas are we doing well with regard to creating a positive community and culture?
■ What areas could our sense of community and culture could be improved?
■ What role can you see yourself playing in supporting a healthy culture? As the board continues to move through the strategic planning process, we believe having a healthy culture is interwoven with all of our values: Inclusion, Safety, Education, Service, and Sustainability. We are incorporating all of these elements as we continue diligently working on defining and refining our goals, tactics, metrics, and key performance indicators for the next 3 years. I loved Rebekah’s vision of vitality—an active, connected, and strong Mazamas creating our future together. Let’s all work together to create and sustain a culture that realizes this vision!
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Mazama Mountaineering Center 527 SE 43rd Ave., Portland, OR, 97215
Phone: 503-227-2345
Email: help@mazamas.org
Hours: Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Mazama Lodge
30500 West Leg Rd., Government Camp, OR 97028
Hours: Closed
Editor: Mathew Brock, Bulletin Editor (mazama.bulletin@mazamas.org)
Members: Darrin Gunkel, chair; Patti Beardsley, Peter Boag, David Bumpers, Theo Cantalupo, Aimee Frazier, Ali Gray, Brian Hague, Owen Lazur, Ryan Reed, Michele Scherer Barnett, Jen Travers. (publications@mazamas.org)
MATHEW BROCK
Director of Special Collections and Media Mazama Bulletin Editor mathew@mazamas.org
RICK CRAYCRAFT Building Manager facilities@mazamas.org
REBEKAH PHILLIPS
Executive Director rebekahphillips@mazamas.org
BRENDAN SCANLAN
Operations & IT Manager brendanscanlan@mazamas.org
LENA TONEY Development Director lenatoney@mazamas.org
CATHY WILDE Finance & Administration Manager cathywilde@mazamas.org
For additional contact information, including committees and board email addresses, go to mazamas.org/contactinformation.
MAZAMA (USPS 334-780):
Advertising: mazama.bulletin@mazamas.org. Subscription: $15 per year. Bulletin material must be emailed to mazama.bulletin@mazamas.org.
The Mazama Bulletin is currently published bi-monthly by the Mazamas—527 SE 43rd Ave., Portland, OR 97215. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MAZAMAS, 527 SE 43rd Ave., Portland, OR 97215. The Mazamas is a 501(c)(3) Oregon nonprofit corporation organized on the summit of Mt. Hood in 1894. The Mazamas is an equal opportunity provider.
by Mathew Brock, Mazama Bulletin Editor, and Patti Beardsley, Content Editor
As we approach the prime climbing and hiking season, we can feel our anticipation and excitement build. But are we ready? Welcome to the health and fitness issue of the Mazama Bulletin, filled with suggestions and recommendations as well as stories of caution, all combined into a series of experienced perspectives on attaining readiness for your Spring adventures.
But first, check out the messages from our Executive Director Rebekah Phillips and Mazama President Debbie Dwelle, as well as see the great upcoming Base Camp
Programs, courses, activities, events, and an abundant list of new members (on pages 3–11). Welcome!
Then, dive into powerful tales of adventure beginning with three friends sharing an unexpected role they took on helping a disoriented climber on Mt. Whitney. Juan Rodriguez then reflects on the contributions of community and climbing in overcoming decades of fear, and Aimee Frazier provides an in-depth look at the value of being active in nature and especially within a community like the Mazamas. Perspective takes center stage in Peter Boag’s piece, It isn’t all Downhill, a very thoughtful piece of reflections from Classic Mazamas, reflections that will resonate with us all.
Health and knowledge (and perhaps a sense of humor) are key to our readiness for adventure, and the next few articles (pages 22–35) focus on those pieces of our preparation. Publications Committee
Chair Darrin Gunkel brings a smile to the topic that we all cringe about—poison oak! Longtime Mazama Rick Craycraft tells a “never give up, there’s always a way” story of success in returning to summiting 14ers. Fellow Classic, Patti Beardsley expands on general readiness for all of us with a few “lessons learned” interspersed, and Mazama Paul Collins describes real things we can do to build strength and flexibility. Last, but not least, two Mazama programs available to all members, CISM and WFR, are described and you can learn what those acronyms mean on pages 36–37.
Thanks to the leadership of the experienced Publications Committee members and their mentorship of the new committee members, this issue is full of helpful and intriguing reads. If you have ideas for future or want to get involved, please send your thoughts to the mazama.bulletin@mazamas.org
Learn more about how you can integrate charitable giving to support the Mazamas.
Whether you’re considering a bequest in your will, setting up a charitable remainder trust, or exploring other options, by including a planned gift in your legacy, you’ll secure our continued success while ensuring that your passion endures for generations to come.
If you’ve already decided to include the Mazamas in your estate plans, we invite you to let us know. You’ll want to be sure that you’ve recorded the Mazamas with the Tax ID (EIN) 93-0408077.
Even ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference.
Development Director 971-420-2505 | lenatoney@mazamas.org
Dates: April 17–26, 2025
Cost: $735 members
Registration closes: March 15
Join us for 8 days of hiking and exploring southeast Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument and Arches National Park. Discover red rock, juniper forests, and ancient artifacts, including the Valley of the Gods and cliff dwellings. Stay in shared lodgings and take day trips from Moab, Bluff, and Blanding. Hikes range from easy to moderate. Airfare, food, and rental car expenses are not included. More details and registration at tinyurl.com/MazBearsEars
Dates: May 22–June 29, 2025
Info Night: March 20
Registration opens: March 24
Registration closes: April 21
Notification: April 25
The 2025 Canyoneering class is just around the corner! Please join us March 20 from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. for our Info Night.
The Mazama Canyoneering class takes place over approximately six weeks from late May through June. The class includes five lectures held at the Mazama Mountaineering Center (MMC), two field sessions, and an optional July camping weekend outing following the class.
Dates: July 28–August 4, 2025
Cost: $950 member / $1,100 nonmember
Registration closes: April 15
Join us for a week of “B” and “C” level hikes in the spectacular mountains of Canada’s national parks in the province of British Columbia. We will fly into Kelowna International Airport and drive to our destination of Revelstoke, where we will stay for 7 nights in a house from which we will hike in both Mt. Revelstoke National Park and adjacent Glacier National Park (Canada). More details at tinyurl.com/MazOutingBC
Dates: August 29–September 1, 2025
Registration dates: Coming soon! Mark your calendars! Round the Mountain (RTM) is back this Labor Day, August 29–September 1, 2025. Join us as we set out from the Mazama Lodge each day for a 13 to 14-mile adventure. We carry only day packs, because each night we return to the lodge for great food, hot showers, a cozy bunk, and stories from your day on the trail. Your adventure includes all meals and dorm lodging. Shuttle vans will transport you from our meeting place in Portland to the Mazama Lodge, as well as to/from the trailhead each day.
Dates: August 5–20, with field sessions August 16–17 and August 23–24, 2025
Info night: mid-May 2025 (watch weekly eNews for date/time)
Registration dates: June 1–21
Notification of acceptance: July 4
Are you interested in climbs like Mt. Hood’s Reid Headwall, the Adams Glacier, and the Kautz route on Mt. Rainier? The Steep Snow & Ice skill-builder is designed for early intermediate alpine climbers who want to start building the skills necessary to tackle routes like these. SSI occurs every August with several evening sessions at the Mazama Mountaineering Center to discuss the unique risks and hazards of winter climbing and to practice ice screws and vertical ice movement. This is followed by a weekend field session putting our new techniques into practice on steep snow and icy seracs on Mt. Hood’s Elliott Glacier. Students will multi-pitch climb ice slopes, practice building anchors and rappelling, and mock lead on the steeper stuff.
Prerequisites are graduating from ICS or having similar climbing experience, as well as having done some post-ICS climbing on snow and ice.
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Time: 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Location: Mazama Mountaineering Center
Cost: Free Fire expert, storyteller and Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire Ralph Bloemers will share the lessons he has learned about wildfires from nature and the nation’s foremost experts. He will share recent wildlife from the burn, reflect on two years on the road with Elemental—and he will unpack and confront the dominant cultural beliefs around fire, the unreasonable expectations the public has about firefighters’ abilities in fast-moving fires, and how we might bring humor and action, not fear and futility, to enable people to deal with wildfires. Currently Ralph is working on a PBS special on the LA fire storm, a job documentary series called Fire Safe People and a film for Hulu on wildland firefighting, as well as several screenplays.
All Base Camp events are from 6:30–8:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. Registration is required. Visit www.mazamas.org/basecamp to sign up.
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
Time: 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Location: Mazama Mountaineering Center
Cost: Free
Join Jared Kennedy and Stephen Hatfield from the Greater Hells Canyon Council (GHCC) for a presentation on the Blue Mountains Trail. Completed in 2021, this 530-mile trail takes you through northeast Oregon’s diverse mountains, forests, and rivers from Joseph to John Day. Learn about the region’s unique ecology, why it deserves permanent protection, and why it’s recognized as one of Oregon’s Signature Trail experiences. The presentation will cover options from day hikes to the full route, while highlighting how the trail connects with rural communities and supports GHCC’s conservation efforts in the Greater Hells Canyon Region.
Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
Time: 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Location: Mazama Mountaineering Center
Cost: Free
Environmental activist Rand Schenck will discuss his book Forest Under Siege: The Story of Old Growth After Gifford Pinchot. He will examine 100 years of Pacific Northwest forestry, through the lens of forestry practices in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This volume offers his visceral perspective on decades of stewardship, relentless harvest, and the move toward the rebirth of old growth. Rand has worked for the Sierra Club and the Oregon Natural Resources Defense Council (now Oregon Wild), and helped found 350PDX and Mobilizing Climate Action Together (MCAT), which works to implement climate-smart forestry. Copies of his book will be available at the presentation.
If you enjoy learning about wildfire science, the Blue Mountains Trail, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and the Forest Service, you can help us in directing Mazama conservation efforts—join the Mazama Conservation Committee! Conservation is a vital, critical part of the organization’s vision and mission, and our committee is extremely concerned about climate change. For more information, see the Mazama Climate Strategy and
Commitment at www.mazamas.org/ mazamacommitments. The Conservation Committee also supports other Northwest conservation organizations through grants, monitors and advocates for Northwest conservation issues, and sponsors local tree planting and other restoration projects. And, of course, we help set up these sponsored Base Camp events!
Between December 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025, the Mazamas welcomed 204 new members. Please join us in welcoming them to our community!
Jesse Banks
Justin Barkley
Mallory Bartow
Terri Basch
Marie Benkley
Roshan Bhattarai
Steve Bigham
Adam Binderup
Brian Bizub
Mandy Boltax
Justin Bourne
Richard Bradeen
Monica Bradley
Andrew Breibart
Sinar Brenes
Don Brookhyser
Erin Brown
Daniel Bryan
Pete Buckley
David Burdick
Carol Campbell
Paul Cardon
Sonia Carnell
Danny Christen
Cara Christofferson
Andrew Christopher
Jacy Clare
Dan Cleveland
Sarah Connor
Bradley Cope
Sheri Cope
Emily Culbert
Lindsey Cullins
Jake Curtis
Zack Daar
Charlene de la Paz
Matthew Delgado
Connor Delp
Katelyn
Dharmadasa
Shey Dunlop
Brian Dunnaville
Alyssa Dusterhoff
Michael England
Connor Fackrell
Benjamin Fahy
Peg Falconer
Megan Fale
Audrey Ferrara
Lilie Fine
Mary Foley
Edana French
Pamela Gamby
Garima Gautam
Suzie Gotis
Dan Grabski
Wilmon Grant
Deb Gray
Chase Green
Devon Groh
Charlie Guidarini
Christina Gunther
Antonio Guzman
Matthew Haglund
Brian Hakala
Josh Halley
Liz Hamilton
Ryan Hardinge
Andy Hargis
Jack Heinrich
Taylor Helfand
Wendy Hobbs
Laurell Hoffman
Hannah Hohendorf
Zachary Homen
Mark Hoxmeier
Winston Hudson
Kelsey Iredale
Elena Ivanova
Burton Jaursch
Rebecca Jenkins
Austin Jones
Dayaram Joshi
Kerry Katz
Zachary Kemper
Kirby Kern
Hailey Kessler
Kaitlyn Klein
Joanna Klitzke
Dave Kotlarek
Emily Kramer
Trevor Lancaster
Valkyrie Landrum
Abigale Lane
Krista Larke
Seth Leonard
Sam Levinson
Sam Lim
Kyle Linker
Jonathan Llindgren
Tyler Lob
Reese Lord
Bob Lucas
Cindy Luxhoj
Moinul Mahdi
BJ Marraccini
Clifford Martin
Scott McClure
Kara McCrossen
Sabrina McDonald
Grant McElroy
Robert McIntosh
Alex MechlerHickson
Jonas Mielke
Leo Moneymaker
Victoria Moneymaker
Alex Montemayor
Hunter Huxel
Mooney
Daniel Mroz
Prantik Nag
Scott Nasello
Brad Nelson
Chloe Nicolet
Caitlin Norman
Chris O’Neill
Thorsten
Oelschlaeger
Andrea Olson
Gary Ordway
Kirsten Otterlei
Florencia Pacchioni
Benjamin Parker
Ruslan Pavlenko
Briana Pavlich
Oxana Perian
Matthew Pittman
Evan Qualtrough
Nisha Rama
Krishnan
Daniel Rasor
Cyrus Ray
Julie Reed
David Reinhardt
Patrick Rennaker
Kathryn Reynolds
Lindsey Rice
Bill Richter
Gerson Robboy
Anna Rogers
Andrew Romanowski
Hannah Rosenau
Willy Rosenblatt
Natalie Rowell
Jesse Russell
Cecily Ryan
Ashutosh Sagar
Kayla Sanford
Ellen Satra
Michelle Sayer
Alli Sayre
Christian Schuster
Dean Seibert
Justin Seibert
Ryan Shafer
Kristen Sinclair
Lynn Skinner
Neil Snyder
Tim Spengler
Jeffrey Spiegler
Edward Stan
Raquel Stanzione
Anne Stine
Niko Strickler
Evan Strohman
Alan Stuart
Krista Swan
Gus Swanson
Amy Swift
Alexandra Talucci
Free Ter
Doug Thompson
Lauren Touey
Dave Trevino
Emilie Uemura
Carola Loor
Sathya Viswanathan
Syringa Volk
Jessica Walsh
Hannah Warburton
Patrick Watters
Ellen Wax
Kim Webster
Kylie Wells
Jen West
Jasmin Wheeler
Rick White
McKinley White
Tyrone WhitmoreWilson
Jason Whitney
Kelly Winter
Dylan Wood
Janet Wrege
Daniel Wright
Derek Xava
Emma Zeller
Richard Zheng
We envision a vibrant, inclusive community united by a shared love for the mountains, advocating passionately for their exploration and preservation.
We value every member of our community and foster an open, respectful, and welcoming environment where camaraderie and fun thrive.
We prioritize physical and psychological safety through training, risk management, and sound judgment in all activities.
We promote learning, skillbuilding, and knowledgesharing to deepen understanding and enjoyment of mountain environments.
We celebrate teamwork and volunteerism, working together to serve our community with expertise and generosity.
We champion advocacy and stewardship to protect the mountains and preserve our organization’s legacy.
Building a community that inspires everyone to love and protect the mountains.
We gratefully acknowledge contributions received from the following generous friends between March 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025. If we have inadvertently omitted your name or listed it incorrectly, please notify Lena Toney, Development Director, at 971-420-2505.
Anonymous (20)
David W Aaroe & Heidi A Berkman
Stacy Allison
Wanda M Amodeo
Jerry O Andersen
Dennis H Anderson
Edward L Anderson
Peggy B Anderson
Justin Andrews
Carol M Armatis
Jerry Arnold
Kamilla Aslami
Chuck Aude
Gary R Ballou
Tom Bard
Dave Barlow
Jerry E Barnes
Michele Scherer Barnett
Don E Batten
John E Bauer
Scott R Bauska
Tyler V Bax
Larry Beck
Daven Glenn Berg
Erwin Bergman
Bonnie L Berneck
Bert Berney
Rachel Bieber
Ken Biehler
Nancy Biehler
James F Bily
Pam J. Bishop
Gary Bishop
Peter Boag
Thomas G. Bode
Andrew Bodien
Jack Bohl
Barbara Bond
Jeffrey F Boskind
Brookes Boswell
Steve Boyer
Bob Breivogel
Lacey Breton
Rex L Breunsbach
Scott P. Britell
Alice V Brocoum
Elizabeth Bronder
John P Bronder
Richard F Bronder
Amy Brose
Angie Brown
Jann O Brown
Barry Buchanan
Carson Bull
Eric Burbano
Joel Burslem
Neil Cadsawan
Paul Caltagirone
Keith Campbell
Patty F Campbell
Ann marie Caplan
Jeanette E. Caples
Sophia Cardwell
Kenneth S Carlson
Emily Carpenter
John D Carr
Ken Carraro
Marc Carver
Andrew Case
Susan K Cassidy
Rita Charlesworth
Debbie S Chung
Nancy Church
Catherine Ciarlo
Anton Clifford
William F Cloran
Kathleen Cochran
Jeff Coffin
Elizabeth L. Cole
Justin (JC) Colquhoun
Charles Combs
Kristy J Comstock
Toby Contreras
Elisabeth Cooper
Patti Core Beardsley
Doug Couch
Lori Coyner
Darrel M Craft
Adam Cramer
Rick Craycraft
Mark Creevey
Cynthia Cristofani
Tom F Crowder
Liz A. Crowe
George Edward Cummings
Jon M Daby
Julie Dalrymple
Ellen Damaschino
Gail Dana-Sheckley
Betty L Davenport
Larry R. Davidson
Tom E Davidson
Lee Davis
Howie Davis
Minah De Ainza
Chris Dearth
Edward Decker
Alexander Dedman
Tyler Deke
Richard G Denman
D. Keith Dickson
Seth Dietz
Sue b Dimin
Sarah Diver
Terry Donahe
MaLi Dong
Mark Downing
Keith S Dubanevich
Debbie G. Dwelle & Kirk
Newguard
Michael G Earp
Richard R Eaton
Heather Eberhardt
Kim Edger
John Egan
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by Melanie Means, Bea Robinson, and Jen Travers
We had wanted to climb Mt. Whitney for a while and were pumped to get some last-minute overnight permits for our trio: Melanie, Jen, and Bea. Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the continental U.S. at 14,505 feet, and attracts thousands of applicants each year. The permits are popular and difficult to secure. Some folks who are unable to get the overnight permits choose to do all 21 miles
and 6,700 feet of elevation gain in a single day. We were happy to be able to acclimate by doing it in three days.
Our permits were for late September, so we kept our fingers crossed that early winter weather would hold off. We planned on one night of car camping at the Whitney Portal Campground, 8,400 feet elevation, then hiking up to Outpost Camp at 10,400 feet for the second night. We’d then get an early start for the summit. The forecast looked promising. We expected clear fall weather the first two days, with possible precipitation late on the third day.
For the approach to Outpost Camp, we made our leisurely way through the stunning Sierra scenery, set up tents, relaxed, and went to bed early. On summit
day, our pre-dawn start went well, with headlamps on and no wind. We watched the sunrise, saw only a few people, and made it to Trail Camp at 12,200 feet in good time. Next was the notorious “99 switchbacks.” As we gained elevation, our progress slowed but remained steady. At the top of the switchbacks, we joined the John Muir Trail and entered Sequoia National Park. A magnificent series of granite peaks and canyons fanned out in every direction. We were feeling lightheaded and queasy at 14,000 feet, so we took it easy, sipped water, snacked, and took lots of photo breaks. The summit was a dream, sunny and no wind. We enjoyed the splendid scenery for an hour before
Above: Approaching Outpost Camp.
heading back down towards our camp and our victory celebration.
Not long into our descent, about 800 feet down, we noticed something off. A solo male hiker in heavy black clothing was shuffling down the trail carrying his backpack over one shoulder. He would take a few steps, then slump against some rocks. He was carrying an empty plastic water bottle and had a large camera strapped to his chest. Let’s call him Roger.
“Is he okay?” we wondered. We asked him if he needed any water and the response was mumbled. His words were slurred. English was not his first language, so it was hard to tell if it was a language barrier, if he was having difficulty talking, or if he was confused. We again offered him water and trail mix, but he refused. The alarm bells were ringing. Roger was in trouble and the nursing instincts kicked in. We had a strong suspicion that he had an altitude illness.
stumbling, fumbling, mumbling, and grumbling. He also complained of a headache and nausea.
Roger tried to get rid of us. He gestured for us to go away then sat down on the next rock. There weren’t many people on the trail at this point, the long shadows of afternoon were starting to appear and we
His English improved and his speech was becoming clearer as we got lower. We managed to piece together some of his situation. He’d been up since 3 a.m. to summit from Trail Camp, had not slept much, had not eaten since the day before, and didn’t have much water—two small plastic water bottles that were crumbled and empty.
Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is a result of insufficient oxygen in the blood due to decreased atmospheric pressure at high altitude. The most common symptoms are nausea, headache, and severe fatigue. Some people are more prone to experiencing AMS, and certain health conditions such as anemia, pulmonary disease, diabetes, and heart conditions can increase these side effects. However, there are many ways to help prevent or minimize risk, including hydration, minimizing alcohol use prior to climbing, and acclimatizing slowly. The risk of ignoring the symptoms of altitude illness is the progression to the more severe conditions: High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), or High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). In this case, Roger was showing signs of HACE: AMS with ataxia, confusion, and a loss of muscle coordination (which can affect balance, speech, and movement). He was displaying the classic “umbles”:
didn’t want to leave him as he was in no shape to descend without help. We started the steep and rocky descent with him to find his tent. He stumbled and slipped and we took turns holding onto him. As we worked our way down the 99 switchbacks, we continued asking him questions about his journey. We learned that he had fallen and hurt his shoulder which was why he wasn’t wearing his pack properly. He had a scrape over his right eye and a bit of a limp.
HACE is a serious condition that when untreated can progress quickly to coma and death within 24 hours. We knew we needed to act fast and we had a short window of time in which Roger was still able to hike. We helped him with his backpack by guiding his injured shoulder through the strap first. The abrasion above his eye was of little concern at this point; our main focus was descending as quickly as we possibly could.
During one of many rest stops, we were finally able to get Roger to drink some water and eat some electrolyte gummies.
Because of our very slow pace, many people passed us going down. We learned that some of the thru-hikers from the John Muir Trail were advised by a ranger to exit the trail as there was a big snowstorm approaching. We felt an increased sense of urgency but were not able to move much faster.
We finally got to Trail Camp after dozens of rest stops and started looking for his tent. He said it was a red Kmart tent that he’d purchased on Craigslist. He then became convinced he had camped on an adjacent ridgeline and started wandering off in that direction. We tried to dissuade him. He became argumentative, insisting on traveling off-trail to the next ridge. He had no map or navigational devices. We were at an impasse. We were not going to abandon him, but how could we prevent him from going off into rugged territory in his weakened and confused state? We talked to a few other campers in the area and they reported seeing a red tent blowing around during the day not far ahead. Fortunately, this did convince him that the tent was along the trail, and we were able to resume the hike out.
Dealing with HACE can definitely be challenging. In addition to confusion, people can become irritated and combative (the grumbles). In this case, severe dehydration was also an issue, and likely increased his irritability. Our patience was being tested. Roger refused to drink and tried to convince us to just leave him alone continued on next page.
several times. We took turns distracting him with conversation and allowed some distance between us as we descended.
Fortunately, we encountered two UCLA grad students who spoke Roger’s language and were able to find out more details of his situation as they accompanied us for part of the journey. They were aghast at his lack of awareness and preparation, and told us that he had very little understanding of the magnitude of this hike. We were able to locate the tent, missing essential parts like a rain fly and stakes. We disassembled it and divided his belongings among the five of us to carry down.
It was dark and much colder by the time we got to our tents at Outpost Camp at 10,400 feet. The grad students left us, but helped us to convince Roger to stay at our camp and rest. Selfishly, it was a bit of a mental struggle to not be frustrated with this unprepared guy. This wasn’t the celebratory evening we’d imagined—relaxing with the sunset, enjoying a warm meal, toasting our summit. Instead, we spent our final bit of energy setting up his tent, getting him to eat hot food, and settled for the night. He went to sleep immediately. We were exhausted by the whole ordeal, so we crawled into our tents soon after.
We had no desire to get out of our sleeping bags and argue further with him. There was no more fight in us. We gave him our cell phone numbers and asked him to text us to let us know that he safely made it to his car.
At 6.30 a.m. we awoke to a deep orange sunrise and a muffled quietness. We emerged from our tents to find several inches of snow on the ground, and more coming down. Near our bear canister, we found someone curled up sleeping next to a rock wearing jeans and a sweatshirt— with no tent or bivy! We asked the young
time. There was no sign of Roger on the way down or at the trailhead. We did indeed enjoy pancakes the size of platters and mounds of eggs.
By mid-morning, the storm was picking up and we watched it roll in from the Visitor Center in Lone Pine as hail pelted the windows. Roger texted us the next day, confirming he’d made it home, calling us his Trail Angels.
Now that Roger had our cell phone numbers, we looked forward to a message from him just about every Saturday for months thanking us for helping him. He even sent us a picture of himself on Mt. Whitney with crampons on…
Throughout the night, we heard other climbers walking through our camp, heading upward—into the storm. About 1 a.m. in the morning we heard our names called. It was Roger, saying that he was feeling better, and was heading down to his car four miles away! It was dark and cold and we tried to insist that he stay until daylight, but he had already packed everything up and was adamant to leave.
man how he was doing and he said he was on his way up to the summit and was just resting for a few hours. He was unaware of the forecast and unperturbed by the snow accumulating around him. We told him about the big storm coming in and that rangers were advising hikers to leave the high country. We stated firmly that he needed to turn around as he did not have the gear, and HE WOULD DIE. He seemed unconcerned. We gave him a large black garbage bag to help keep him drier, alerted some of the other campers nearby about his situation, and gave up.
We wanted to beat the storm and get back to our cars and the gigantic breakfast we were dreaming about at the Whitney Portal Café, so we packed up in record
We have spent many hours reflecting on this trip. Planning and preparing for a climb is essential. What we witnessed that day on Mt. Whitney could have been prevented. We feel we did the best we could given the circumstances. It took all three of us to recognize Roger's condition. Realizing he wasn’t in a condition to make sound decisions, we stuck with him despite his refusals. If he were to become combative and create an unsafe environment for us we could have called for mountain rescue. Thankfully we didn’t have to and relied on each other’s skill sets to help him down safely. We used distraction techniques and allowed Roger as much autonomy that felt safe while we ferried him down to lower elevation. We feel that if we hadn’t intervened and assisted him, his condition would have deteriorated rapidly, and the outcome could have been tragic.
by Juan Rodriguez
Climbing has given me so many adventures, deep friendships, life lessons, and strong connections with my community. Among the most important is the ability to manage fear and anxiety, a lesson that continues to serve me well beyond the climbing world.
As an instructor and private coach, I spend a great deal of time with climbers, observing how fear inhibits their performance and helping them to understand their responses so they can calibrate their minds better to cope. Everyone is different, and while there are some fundamentals that we can all use to improve the way we cope with fear and anxiety, we are each unique in our experience, and therefore require a patient, if not custom, approach to the training.
I was a very shy teenager when I first started climbing. I was nervous to make friends and didn’t trust easily, so it took a bit of time before I was ready to ask questions and receive help. My early days in climbing consisted of trying things on my own until my fingertips were raw and my arms refused to pull. Then I would sit back and watch. I would watch others try boulders and routes I’d been working on and commit their movement to memory so I could try them again later. Copying movement wasn’t always easy, but with persistence and consistency, I eventually racked up enough skills to really get going. However, there was no way to copy mental fortitude. I just assumed that the stronger you got, the less scared you were.
For about 10 years, nearly half of my climbing career, I kept focusing on getting stronger and perfecting my technique. I saw my grades continue to climb, sending route after route at home and abroad, but the fear persisted. I would complete hard routes all white knuckled, shaking, and gasping: absolutely terrified. I approached
runouts with so much anxiety that I was sometimes near tears. I often wished I could just get to the next draw to clip and feel safe, only to have to move past it and get scared all over again.
At that time, my ego was deeply tied to those harder climbs. I was misguided by the thought that strength and power would reach a point that would turn the tide, but it never did. It left me wondering how other climbers dealt with these issues so calmly. I would see my local heroes, and the pros, of course, just float up these insanely difficult routes with the calmness of a Buddhist monk, and I couldn’t figure out the secret. Naturally, I was too insecure to ask.
I remember circa 2013–2014, I was working on a project at Smith Rock. I’d put all the pieces together, but there was a sequence near the top of the first half that had me gripped. I was barely strong enough to pull the moves, and the exposure, the slight diagonal trajectory of the line, and the space between bolts were giving me the worst anxiety. I had trouble committing to the moves for fear of a cheese-grating, pendulum fall if I didn’t make it. The rest of it still wasn’t easy, and there were a couple of other nauseating sections, but for me, that sequence was the greatest of all the evils.
Around that time a new book called The Rock Warrior’s Way by Arno Ilgner hit the shelves, and the author was doing workshops across the country. I signed up for the workshop in Vancouver, and that was the start of my journey to master my fears and anxiety related to climbing. The week after the workshop, I drove to Smith, walked right up to the route–no warmup–and sent it. Not completely fear-free, but I was a new climber. From then on, I realized that strength and power were not the answer to managing fear. I needed dedicated, strategic practice that addressed the things that scared me. If I was scared of pendulums, I would take falls just offcenter from the bolt line to be comfortable with swings. If I was scared of a runout, I continued on next page.
Fall, continued from previous page.
would practice falls that got progressively longer until I was satisfied that I could deal with a long fall if it happened. If the moves on a crux were between bolts and I was nervous to commit, I would try to recreate the positioning and take a similar fall to get used to the reaction. Once I came to the realization that I could practice anything that made me nervous until I was more comfortable, my climbing career became a collection of adventures filled with a deep appreciation that can only be experienced when you have clear emotional control despite being pushed to your mental and physical limits.
Above: Juan speaking during ICS’s Movement
Photo: Amber Mira
Falls are probably the number one cause of fear and anxiety in most climbers I work with. Here are my top three tips for managing these feelings better:
1. Practicing falls will help you feel more comfortable over time. Being scared to fall is natural. It’s your brain’s way of trying to protect you. If you don’t give it positive scenarios to draw information from, its default will be to conjure up anything it can to keep you from continuing, because it assumes the worst.
2. Have a consistent partner. Trust is huge when it comes to climbing at your limit. Having a consistent climbing partner,
experienced in catching falls, can help you stay focused on the climbing and not worry about whether or not you’re safe on the other end of the rope.
3. Be nice to yourself. Unless you’re in a hurry to become a professional, you’ve got time on your side. Be patient in your practice when it comes to managing fear. Climb with people who are going to be patient with you. The “sink or swim” approach is not for everyone, so don’t rush to go out there and start taking huge whippers in an effort to quickly manage your fears. It takes as long as it takes.
by Aimee Frazier
Many of us know intrinsically that we feel better after a hike or climb (although our legs may beg to differ). But why is that? Why do outdoor experiences have a lasting impact on our mental health?
In this article, I explore how the outdoors, mental health, and the Mazama community all intersect. I draw from my experiences in the Mazamas, the stories of others, an interview with our most recent past president, Greg Scott, and my work as an ecotherapist. What I have found, and perhaps you have experienced as well, is that the Mazama community offers a healing salve for the ways that our mental well-being is strained by modern-day life and past difficult experiences.
One of the most foundational and important needs we have is a sense of belonging and community. The loneliness epidemic, fueled by technology and modern culture, leaves many feeling socially disconnected; friends move, and work hours are long, making it challenging to build social connections. But the Mazamas brings people together through experiences in the outdoors. “What makes the Mazamas so meaningful to people is the community that we build. We provide a really easy place for adults to make friends, through the shared interest of getting out in nature,” says Greg. Many find connection through affinity groups that align with important parts of their identities, while others are weekly downtown Ramblers or regulars on the full-moon snowshoe treks. Many Mazamas find themselves in pockets of smaller communities within the whole.
Nothing brings people together quite like time on the trail. The shared experience and the ease of connecting while walking in nature removes a barrier between the self and others. Our defenses
Above: Mazama climbing team on route to climb Stone Peak, Olympics, Sept. 2024
lower—sometimes not by choice, but by circumstance—as vulnerable challenges leave us with no alternative but to show up fully unguarded. Take, for example, the time my crampon fell off hundreds of feet up a steep and precarious no-fall zone on the side of Mt. Hood. I white knuckled my ice axe as my teammate worked frantically to reconnect my crampon to my boot before my quaking biceps gave out. Was it comfortable to be that vulnerable? No. But were my defenses removed as I became dependent upon my teammate? Yes. If we show up to the trailhead with any amount of relational inhibition, the shared experience is sure to reduce it and create opportunities to bond.
The Mazamas serves as a gateway for adventurers to take their outdoor activities to the next level.
“For those that want to get outside, but feel like it’s dangerous to go on their own, they can join the Mazamas—it’s a
continued on next page.
place where people can feel that there is competency and safety, so it really removes a barrier that many people face in getting outdoors,” says Greg. For those new to mountaineering, the Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) experience provides climbing skill development within the context of community. If it weren’t for the Mazamas, the Portland area wouldn’t have nearly as many skilled outdoor adventurers connecting with nature.
Why is there value in connecting people to nature? The field of ecopsychology believes that having a relationship with nature is essential to our well-being and mental health. It posits that we, as humans, exist within delicate ecosystems, which modern-day culture inevitably interferes with—disconnecting us from nature in ways that strain our mental well-being. We spend more time interacting with screens than with people; more time indoors than out; more time sitting than moving. In many ways, this works against our biological hard-wiring.
Our culture promotes a lifestyle that leaves us chronically stressed and overstimulated through fast-paced careers and technology. Our society tends to exploit people’s insecurities as a means of marketing to them, leaving us feeling that we are “not enough,” shaking our sense of confidence and making us question our belonging. At times, this can be a contributing factor to mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression.
The cure for these toxic elements, from the ecopsychology perspective, is reconnecting with nature, including our community, the environment, and the land, and reciprocating care for the earth—aligning with many values of Indigenous cultures. Time in nature grows our confidence, offering a respite from the daily grind, as well as a sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves. The entire nervous system may respond profoundly to time in nature—when given the opportunity to slow down and breathe deeper, we may notice muscle tension dissipating as stress and cortisol levels drop.
Western science is beginning to catch up with this innate knowledge. Research has shown correlations between spending
time in nature and a significant decrease in stress, symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD. When exercise is added to the equation, the results are even greater.
Think back to your last Mazama excursion: How did you feel? Did the silhouette of the mountain that you were setting off to climb fill you with awe? Fear? Did the Milky Way above the night’s route stir a sense of wonder as your crampons crunched through the snow? Did your weary spirit celebrate when you unclipped your 25-pound pack for the day? Did the ancient mountains remind you that you are a part of a larger story of nature? Time in nature offers us perspective. It sparks creativity and reconnects us to the larger world.
Time on the trail offers an escape from the demands and roles of everyday life. As a mom of two young kids and an owner of a private practice, I find that joining the Mazamas on a climb is an opportunity to step away from the high level of responsibility that comes with everyday life. On the trail, I reconnect with a sense of inner-aliveness that often lays dormant underneath laundry piles and emails. I return from climbs physically tired but mentally energized, refreshed, and fulfilled. Can you relate?
Think back to a climb or hike where you faced a significant challenge—a long nofall zone, a crevassed glacier crossing that required meticulous attention, or a bear blocking the trail ahead. What barriers did you overcome in order to reach your destination? Not only did these challenges make for a great story (and please send them to the Publications Committee so we can publish them!), but they also made reaching the destination all the more rewarding.
“There’s beauty and awe in what you see while climbing, but also in the acknowledgment of what you’ve accomplished to get there—the places we go are never easy to get to,” says Greg. In day-to-day life, we are usually able to avoid discomfort; however, that comes at the cost of being stagnant. Conversely, discomfort requires something from us: problem solving, flexibility, putting a new skill to the test, or a whole lot of courage.
Frazier on the summit of Mt. Ellinor, Olympics, May 2024.
And it rewards us with growth. When we overcome challenges, our comfort zone and self-concept expand to include a new narrative about ourselves.
For some, the outdoors is a place of profound personal healing—a refuge in times of trouble that acts as a buffer from difficult life circumstances. At the Mazama Gala last fall, speakers shared their personal stories of healing in nature and through experiences within the Mazamas. The themes revolved around connecting with community when feeling isolated, growing the capacity to trust others after experiencing abuse, recovering from addiction by setting personal goals outdoors, and finding meaning and connection to something larger than oneself on the trail.
Research shows that time outdoors nurtures the nervous system, offering grounding in the present moment through calming sensory stimulation— hearing the wind in the trees, feeling the crunch of rocks underfoot, witnessing
a bright sunrise, smelling pine needles, tasting freshly filtered alpine lake water. Community and nature do a lot for the mind.
Many of us, myself included, arrive at adult life with some wounds from life experiences that can make it difficult to fully trust others. One thing I see frequently in my work as a therapist is the pattern of people building up relational walls as a means of self-preservation. These walls have a positive intent—to protect against the many relational vulnerabilities we have as humans. However, over time, this guardedness often grows to the point of becoming more restrictive than protective, resulting in feeling disconnected from others or lacking authenticity.
Climbing provides opportunities for growth in this area. Many of the skills that we develop as climbers transfer back to our daily lives in ways that enhance our relationships: assertive communication, transparent feedback, self-disclosure, directly asking for what we need, attuning
to our internal state to identify our needs, the ability to set boundaries, a willingness to try new things. When these skills are tested in the context of climbing, we grow more comfortable trying them in our relationships on the ground. The ability to trust others, and the underlying life skills that make that possible, are critical in climbing, and can translate to everyday life.
“Everything we do in climbing requires you to trust the people that you’re with,” says Greg. “Trust is validated by seeing that people have the capacity to care for each other at a higher level than we commonly experience or witness in our society.” Tying into a rope team or being on belay are both vulnerable and healing experiences—an expansion in trusting others.
Time outdoors doesn’t always improve mental health. Sometimes experiences end in trauma or grief, taking a toll on the mind. On the trail there is always a risk: pushing too far past a skill level, unpredictable acts of nature, exposure to the elements. To
continued on page 23
by Darrin Gunkel
Pacific, or western, poison oak, known in the science world as Toxidendron diversilobum, (“diverseleaved toxic tree” in rough translation), is almost as much fun as that other hiker’s menace, the tick. While ticks seem to favor the Gorge, a run-in with poison oak can happen just about anywhere your hikes and climbs take you. Like many a “nuisance,” the plant is perhaps misunderstood. To remedy that, here are some gathered facts and advice, much of which you may not need to know, but which may take your mind off the itching for a few minutes.
The cause of the itching and rash is poison oak’s load of urushiol oil. "Almost everyone is allergic to it," says the website clevelandclinic.org. So, you're in good company, or bad company. It's your glass. Just as long as it's not half full or empty with urushiol oil. The site goes on to explain that if you are unlucky enough to find yourself downwind from burning
poison oak, “You may develop a rash on your face…or on the lining of your nasal passages, mouth, and throat from inhaling the smoke. Oil in the air also affects your lungs and can cause serious breathing problems.” As usual, consulting the web does not bring peace of mind.
However, urushiol oil is not all evil: For millennia, it has been the source of the shiny lacquer used in Asia to finish fine arts and crafts. The urushiol oil in lacquer comes from Toxidendron vernicifluum, aka the lacquer tree, appropriately. Or unfortunately, if you’re the type of arty hipster who likes brewing and concocting substances at home, it’s not likely you could extract enough of the substance from our local source, even as plentiful as poison oak is.
It’s a beautiful plant: glossy, pleasingly oak-leaf-shaped foliage that, over the course of a growing season can change from bronze to bright green, to red or pink. Poison oak can sprout from seeds or rhizomes, the fibrous bulbs in plant roots. Rhizomes are one of the reasons you may see it in big ground-covering mats, usually ankle- to knee-deep and too wide to jump across safely or step out of easily once you’ve wandered deep into danger. Take heart, the plant is a nitrogen fixer, transferring that nutrient element from the atmosphere to the soil, where poison oak
Above: Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)
Photo: jkirkhart35 (licensed under CC BY 2.0) and other plants can make use of it. It’s a(n ecological) team player!
It’s like a travel buddy: poison oak can be found from British Columbia to the Baja. Almost as ubiquitous as fast food or Walmart, but less dangerous to your health or the world’s well-being.
Impress your pals on a hike. Tell them, “poison oak is a dicot angiosperm in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae.” If someone asks you to explain those science-y words, change the subject by exclaiming, “Look! There’s a least Bell’s vireo! Those are endangered! They nest in poison oak.” But be careful. If you have a birder along, they may embarrass you by pointing out that you’re a thousand miles from that bird’s range. Change the subject again by asking if the birder has added one to their life list. (The ensuing disquisition will likely also speed up a lagging hiking group.)
Poison oak’s tiny spring flowers mature into fruit of a type known as drupes. You’re familiar with drupes: plums and apricots are members of the class, too.
Quit complaining. Even though it would perhaps be satisfying were such an irritating plant an invasive, and so justifiably targeted for eradication, it’s actually part of a healthy native ecosystem.
So we have to live with it. Birds and beasts, immune to urushiol, do more than live with it. As many as 50 species of bird dine on the berries, among them robins, towhees, and woodpeckers. Ungulates like deer browse the leaves, which are a source of calcium and phosphorus.
In some traditional Native American medicine, poison oak is used to remove warts.
And another reason to not gripe: you probably brushed up the plant wandering off trail, into habitat (i.e. the home of plants and animals) you’re better off staying out of anyway.
Granted, there are those times bushwhacking is justified, so, here’s some information you may find actually useful:
■ Don’t panic: poison oak is not really poisonous, in the sense that it’s likely to kill you. The rash you develop from contact with the leaves or stems is, as naturecollective.org vividly puts it: “nothing more than the immune system gone haywire, fighting some harmless substance, like Don Quixote charging at windmills.”
■ The rash can take between eight hours and two weeks to appear! So don’t jump to the conclusion that you’re one of the lucky few not allergic to urushiol if itching fails to fire up immediately after contact. It can occasionally take the form of black spots or streaks, rather than the usual red bumps.
■ If you somehow land in poison oak, rinse the exposed area ASAP with soapy water. Then wash your clothes, your pack, and your dog (since of course, he or she was on a leash, and so wound up in the weeds with you).
■ Bust out the Benadryl, or other antihistamines, to quell the reaction, and hydrocortisone to soothe the itch (or go with old-school calamine). A cold compress may provide some relief, or a short bath with a half cup of baking soda or oatmeal-based bath balm.
Author Bio: In ten years on the Publications Committee, Darrin Gunkel has had the honor of working with many stellar Mazamas. He is sure at least one of them will appreciate the less-than-reverent tone of the above and hopes the rest find it entertaining.
Mental Health, continued from page 21
enjoy time in the mountains often requires some acceptance of risk.
I am reminded of risk often: a loose rock whizzing by just above my helmet; fumbling my belay device into a steaming fumarole hundreds of feet below me; my left crampon being irresistibly attracted to my right crampon’s strap. My brain conceptualizes this concept of risk by visualizing a teeter-totter. On one side is risk. On the other side is meaning: what the experiences in the mountains mean to me, and why I choose to climb. I need a balance between these two realms in order to enjoy the experience and to want to continue. For me, the meaning I find in my experiences is an inner-aliveness that I don’t find elsewhere; a way of reconnecting with myself, the awe of nature, and community. I leave trips feeling empowered, recharged, and having experienced valuable personal growth. When my experience is unbalanced, and the risk outweighs the meaning, I find myself anxious on a route—a cue to recalibrate my limits.
of traumas or losses that happen in the mountains.
Seeing the value in outdoor experiences in people’s mental wellbeing, the Mazamas began partnerships with Peak Recovery, and now Recovery Outsiders, founded by Mazama member
“There is nothing more exhilarating than sitting on the top of a mountain you’ve just climbed. It’s more than the view, and more than the accomplishment, and much more than resting one’s weary bones and muscles—it’s indescribable. Only a mountain is suitable for launching a climber’s spirit into a flight of ecstasy.”
– David Demarkey, 1981 Mazama Annual.
The Mazamas has evolved a lot since 1894. As with the wider mountaineering community, the general attitude toward experiences of grief and trauma was to keep “a stiff upper lip.” The expansion of education regarding mental health, along with climbers’ personal stories, has normalized this once-hushed topic. Beginning in the early 1990s, the Mazamas adopted an intentional support system to address climbers’ needs for processing incidents that took place on trips. The Critical Incident and Stress Management (CISM) committee began offering debriefs to individual climbers and climbing teams with the aim of supporting the processing
Ali Koch, in 2023. The program launched a BCEP cohort specifically for people recovering from substance use or seeking support for their mental health. “Adventure activities and outdoor pursuits have been demonstrated to develop important coping skills to support folks who are in recovery from substance use. Outdoor adventure activities can provide a healthier form of sensation seeking that promotes physical and psychological wellness,” says outdoor therapy researcher Daniel Cavanaugh. The Mazamas continues to offer training to leaders about supporting participants' mental health, and some leaders are trained in psychological first aid.
The Mazamas offer more than just a trail to the summit—the journey provides community, connection to nature, and personal growth that leave a lasting impact on our mental well-being.
The next time you're out on a climb or hike, take a moment to pause and reflect on the mental health benefits you might be receiving—often in ways we don’t realize until after the mud on our boots has dried.
Established in 1915, the Mazama Library is nationally recognized as holding one of the top mountaineering collections in the country. Located on the ground floor of the Mazama Mountaineering Center, the library is a fantastic resource for members and the general public to find information on hiking, climbing, camping, and exploring the rich history of regional and global mountaineering culture.
Steve House, 2019
This book adapts the training principles from Training for the New Alpinism specifically for mountain runners and ski mountaineers. The book provides a science-based approach to endurance training, emphasizing the development of aerobic capacity through carefully structured training plans. It details how to build a proper aerobic base, incorporate strength training, and periodize workouts throughout the year while avoiding common training pitfalls. Drawing on Jornet’s unprecedented success in mountain sports and the authors’ coaching experience, the manual includes specific training plans for different ability levels and goals, along with detailed guidance on nutrition, recovery, and technique specific to uphill athletes. Like its predecessor, the book stands out for its rigorous application of exercise science to mountain sports, while making these principles accessible to amateur athletes.
Mazama Library 796.52 H81ua
Steve House, 2014
This book revolutionizes alpine climbing training by applying sports science and structured athletic principles to mountaineering. The book argues that modern alpinists should train like professional athletes, with periodized plans that prioritize aerobic endurance as the foundation before building sportspecific strength and skills. Drawing on exercise physiology research and the authors’ extensive experience, it provides detailed guidance on training zones, annual planning, strength work, recovery, nutrition, and mental preparation. While aimed at serious alpine climbers, the book’s systematic approach to mountain athletics has influenced training methods across various outdoor disciplines.
Mazama Library 796.52 H81t
Nicole Tsong, 2016.
This book presents a targeted approach to yoga practice specifically designed to benefit hikers and backpackers. The book outlines how yoga can help prevent common hiking injuries, increase stability on challenging terrain, and improve overall hiking endurance through focused stretching and strengthening. Tsong breaks down essential poses that address key hiking muscle groups - particularly the legs, core, and shoulders - while offering modifications for different fitness levels and providing specific sequences for pre-hike preparation and post-hike recovery. The guide emphasizes practical applications, connecting each pose and sequence directly to hiking movements and challenges, such as ascending steep terrain, maintaining balance with a heavy pack, and recovering from long days on the trail. Beyond just physical postures, the book also incorporates breathing techniques and mindfulness practices that can enhance hiking performance and overall outdoor experience.
Mazama Library 613.7 T79h
by Peter Boag
Over the 131 years of the organization’s existence, official members of the Mazamas have ranged in age from as young as four to over 100. If we are fortunate, we get to grow older. But growing older brings changes in fortune to our bodies and attitudes, to our priorities and interests, to our friendships and relationships, and to our cache of experiences. Each of these affects our ability to climb and our desire to climb on.
I took the Mazama Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) at age 59 when I was almost twice the average age of my fellow teammates. Having come to mountaineering later in life I quite enjoy talking with more experienced climbers about their relationship to the sport. Recently, I reached out to a few such climbers (personally or in writing) to learn a bit more about what has led them to slow
down or to stop leading and even climbing altogether.
Seven people responded to my call: Lis Cooper, Ray Sheldon, Marty Scott, Keith Mischke, Lee Stevenson, Shirley Welch, and Heather Campbell. All of them are or have been Mazama climb leaders and some no longer climb at all. At the time of my interviews, the youngest was 54, the oldest 92; four were in their 70s and one was in his 80s. They have all been deeply involved in the Mazamas, with four having served as past presidents. They joined the Mazamas sometime between 1960 and 1999. The youngest was 23 at the time of joining and the oldest 39. While several became climb leaders rather quickly—within three years of joining—others took somewhat longer, up to ten years after becoming a member.
Among their responses to why they slowed down or stopped climbing and leading were naturally the physically related sorts of answers that I had anticipated and that had motivated me, as an older mountaineer, to research and write this piece. For example, some complained of losing agility with age, making it more difficult to get in and out of a tent or put on climbing boots in the snow,
Above: Sunset on Mt. Jefferson, 2022
Photo: Sergey Kiselev
to simply stay comfortable in extreme weather, or perhaps to be able to outrun a storm. Others spoke of the increased time, energy, and pain that is now involved in both recovering from a difficult climb and trying to stay in shape in the first place. There were also those who have had more serious injuries. One now has rods in his back (a result of a non-mountaineering injury), which makes wearing a heavy pack particularly unpleasant. Another has had multiple joint replacements, the first when about 60. And about such replacements, another humorously related that a group of friends used to joke that the Mazamas needed to create an affinity group for climbers with artificial joints.
I found, however, that the reasons why people slowed down or stopped leading and mountaineering were much more varied and complex than I had originally imagined. More than half spoke in one way or another about the effects that climate change is having on our mountains that make climbing more problematic.
continued on next page.
Metaphor, continued from previous page.
“What always stuck with me was told to me by an old timer, Don Onthank: ‘The days spent climbing will not be deducted from the rest of your life.’ I sort of changed this to my own version: ‘All the days that you go climbing will be added to the rest of your life.’”
- Ray Sheldon
“Mentoring newer climbers is a great gift, which will always be much appreciated!”
- Lee Stevenson
Marty, for example, specifically discussed the increased frequency with which access roads have been washing out and remaining blocked, and how the disappearance of glaciers and snowfields has made it much more difficult to approach some of the ideal alpine rock routes.
As far as other “practical” considerations, Keith explained that when he moved from Portland to Sisters in 2004, logistics made it more difficult for him to keep up on his leadership badges, which needed to be done in Portland. A couple of my interviewees also specifically mentioned how the increasing annoyance of bureaucracy, fees, and climb permits have added additional burdens to planning a climb. About this, Ray quipped that he has long thought that the Mountaineers should change the title of their climbing “bible” to There is No More Freedom of the Hills.
Lee introduced me to another practical matter—what he and his outdoor friends call the “domestic tranquility index.” That is the need to invest more time in your relationship with your husband, wife, or partner (especially when they do not engage in climbing) in order to enjoy marital bliss. In fact, the most frequently mentioned reason people gave for altering or ending their climbing and leading had to do with personal relationships. Shirley, Heather, and Lee each mentioned how, over
“Don’t get too hung up on the 16 peaks. I constantly hear that it is hard for BCEP grads to get on climbs. So, consider lesser-known peaks, they are wonderful, too!”
- Marty Scott
time, the communities that they had built of close climbing companions fragmented, with their friends moving away, developing new ambitions and activities in life, and perhaps having families. The loss of those they truly jelled with early in their careers had an impact on their dwindling desire to climb on. On another, though related level, Lee explained that one of the many factors that went into his decision to reassess his relationship with mountaineering was the tragic climbing accidents that claimed the lives of beloved Mazama mentors, friends, and climb leaders he looked up to.
For others, it was about another sort of loss—that of desire. Heather, having stopped climbing at an age much younger than others in this non-scientific survey, was especially contemplative about this issue. “It was not because I couldn’t physically continue,” she explained, “but because I lost the passion for it. But it was slowly over a three-to-four-year period where I thought, ‘I am not sure I want to do this.’ Then I started finding myself doing it because there was the expectation that I should do this since it is what I did for years.” That is when Heather knew it was time to stop. Similarly, Lis wrote that she stopped climbing and leading because, “I did not feel that I still had the dedication and attentiveness to be an effective leader or climb participant, [or to exude] the vibe that new climbers need/want in order to have their own excitement about climbing.”
Ray related an especially poetic story about how getting older affected his decision to stop leading and stop climbing altogether. He led his first climb, the challenging Three Fingered Jack, on July 14, 1963, when he was 30 years old. His last lead, which was also his very last climb, came when he was 85. That was on September 5, 2018, when he led the rather non-technical Plummer Peak in the Tatoosh Range. Before Plummer, which became his most favored climb as his body slowed down, Ray explained that there certainly were other issues in the background, but he had not really thought about retiring from mountaineering. That changed, however, during the Plummer climb. “It wasn’t like a light switch came on,” Ray avowed, “but every step it was like ‘well that is a hard rock to get over.’ And then on the summit it was like, ‘oh my balance is a bit wobbly.’ It was a whole bunch of little things but when I got to the top it was so beautiful there and I felt so good to be there looking out at the gorgeous view. I just knew it was my last climb.”
When I asked Ray if he had any second thoughts on the way down, he said “No and I have had no regrets at all.” That is a response not unlike what others had provided me and it sort of took me aback; I thought climbing might become such an ingrained part of one’s identity that a sense of sadness would inevitably be involved
“Find people you can learn from in climbing. That is important!”
- Keith Mischke
“Follow your passion. With global warming changing the nature of our mountains, I recommend that newer climbers enjoy what they can and remember that their experiences will still be a wonderful.”
- Lis Cooper
in letting go. In fact, both Lis and Heather expressed that their decisions to stop climbing did carry some emotional weight. “Every year for ten years of ice-climbing—I was really into that,” Heather told me, “And so the first winter when I did not go ice climbing, I did have severe FOMO [fear of missing out] and when friends posted about ice climbing it was like a dagger and so I thought, should I go on this trip? When I thought about it, I thought, no I really don’t want to. It is hard to go through those transitions—the time, the expectations, leading if you aren’t feeling it, you shouldn’t be doing it.”
Both Lis and Heather also related, however, that they had other interests with which they increasingly preferred to spend their time. The former took up marathon running and then ran one in every state. The latter got into power lifting and this spring is on her way to her fourth national competition. And so it was with just about every other climber I spoke to who stopped climbing or just slowed down—there have been other interests that either filled the void or that they just naturally started to pursue as climbing became less important, and thus letting go of the latter was not that difficult. Keith continued hiking and backpacking, and at 82 made it part-way up the Middle Sister. Lee took up sea kayaking and road biking, and continues hiking with local groups. He also started Project Ponderosa in Sunriver, which engages
“Do climb now because you may not get to in the future because the mountains are changing so much.”
- Shirley Welch
young students with Ponderosa restoration there.
And so, it was not really so much about a sense of loss for these climbers who have stopped climbing or really slowed down. They look back on their past rock and mountaineering experiences with pride and joy. And the mountains here are both a constant reminder of this as well as solace for them. “Every time I view Mt. Hood,” Lis wrote, “I remember my times on the mountain. I love being able to see her from Portland and remember, ‘I was there.’” Similarly, from his home in Sisters, Keith can see seven mountains. “I think, well, I have been to the top of each of those and I don’t need to do it again.”
Shirley, whom I interviewed last, helped me to see how one’s changing relationship to climbing, whatever their age, is about more than just something physical. She spoke about how the vicissitudes in life for a climber—at least in the better of circumstances—are not merely about the body, but about interests, attitudes, relationships, and experiences. It often happens slowly over time, and so Shirley was not surprised when I explained that others to whom I had spoken were well prepared to hang up the ice axe or put away the rock-climbing shoes for the last time with little remorse. In that moment, it dawned on me that climbing is very much like aging generally in one’s life, with a beginning, middle, and an end.
And in the end, I learned that growing older in the mountains is far from being all downhill. But this is something that I have really known for some time and that I share in this story from personal experience. One lovely afternoon during my BCEP adventure—it was snow weekend at Mt. Hood and the weather was gorgeous—my team sat on a ridge above the Salmon River parking lot at Timberline. While enjoying our lunches after a busy morning of skill learning and practice, we gazed above at Mt. Hood and southward to Mt. Jefferson and the Sisters and dreamed of climbing them all one day. We also laughed a lot in our casual and fun conversations. At one point, and as a much older person than any of the others assembled there, I joked about one of the benefits of being an aged mountaineer. I pointed out (as if I knew) that in climbing—whether on glaciers or on rock—one is occasionally placed in a potentially dangerous situation where one’s life might flash before one’s eyes. I then explained that in my case it takes so long for my life to flash before my eyes that in the intervening interval I have plenty of time wherein I can adjust to a safer stance or grab onto a more secure hold whereas, on the other hand, “you young things, swoop, off you go.”
by Rick Craycraft
My first encounter with the Altitude Room at Evolution Healthcare and Fitness was several years ago when I was training for the annual American Heart Association’s stair run in Big Pink. I’ve never been very enamored with running or been a gym guy, choosing instead to get my jollies and conditioning on the plethora of trails and slopes in our beautiful Pacific Northwest. The stair run, however, was a competition, and I knew I needed traditional training. So I hired one of Evolution’s fine personal trainers, designed a workout plan, and stuck to it for a number of months. The training included a lot of time working out in that special room at Evolution where the oxygen level is manipulated to mimic high elevations—depending on the day, anywhere from 9,000 to 17,000 feet. By the time the stair run had come and gone, it was climbing season.
What brought me back to the Altitude Room was the notion of altitude training as an end in itself. And my own wondering if I could still climb a Colorado 14er at the age of 75. My altitude ambitions had been dropping for years, and I told people that “I don’t get much over 10,000 feet anymore.” Oh yeah? I hadn’t climbed a 14er since 2018, when I was a spry 69. Post-Covid I had to go back and see what I could still do. I started a training regimen of my own design in early December of 2023 and came to the gym diligently for nine months, with an eye on climbing in September. The only time I wasn’t there was when I was pursuing my own regular climbing goals during the season, which were all over the map in terms of difficulty and elevation.
My trip to the Southwest started in Albuquerque. From there, the most convenient 14ers are in the San Juan Mountains in the southwest corner of Colorado. I had visited but never climbed there. Like a lot of people, I had started in the Front Range (convenient to Denver) and swept westward over the years. During the trip in 2018, I completed the Sawatch Range in central Colorado, 22 peaks in all. Including my previous climbs, that brought me to a total of 28 14ers, just over half of the “official” list of 54 Colorado 14ers. An okay place to stop, I figured, given the distance from Oregon and the substantial competition Northwest mountains present.
With all due respect to Mount Rainier, having a number of 14ers to play around with, all in the same area, was just too big a temptation. I zeroed in on the San Juan Mountains and picked out a few peaks rated easy, plus one intermediate climb to meet my challenge. I’ll admit right here that the overwhelming majority of Colorado 14ers are walk-ups, requiring only tolerance for altitude itself and rigorous conditioning.
Two days into the trip I was at the 10,400-foot trailhead for Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks. While I was at it, why not get two on the same climb? It was hard. I had to remember that the Altitude Room replicates altitude. Being at altitude is a whole different game. Fortunately, I remembered from previous trips to employ my “14er” pace, which at times can feel like you’re hardly moving. One step at a time, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Put yourself on cruise control and look at the scenery. This first climb was 12 miles round-trip, with around 3,800 feet of elevation gain. In Colorado, these trails are so popular they are wellworn and easy to follow, aided up high by plentiful and sometimes large cairns. In through the nose and out through the mouth.
When I got to the summit of Redcloud, I looked out at Sunshine Peak, a mile distant on a dropping then rising ridge. No resistance. Went out and tagged
Sunshine and turned around. The descent was not that easy or pleasant. Because of the aforementioned traffic, the trail back through the talus fields was scrubbed down to hardpan. Slow going with plenty of pumping the brakes. Back at the trailhead, I was spent. I’d done it, but was not up to speed with the altitude just yet.
For the next two weeks, I ran around the national parks of Utah, keeping my exercise to trails on sandstone, being at moderate altitude on the Colorado Plateau throughout.
On the way back through Colorado, I upped the challenge somewhat by tackling Mt. Sneffels, north and west of where I had been in the San Juans. It is rated intermediate. I buddied up at the trailhead with a guy from Indiana, who had never climbed anything. I was doing fine when we got to the sign that said “Summit 1 mile, 1,762 feet.” I never gave that a second thought. By the time we were 350 feet from the summit, I was worthless. A combination of exertion, altitude, and a touch of calorie debt. I knew I was beat and turned around.
Two days later, it all came together. Across the road from the trailhead for Redcloud and Sunshine was the trail to Handies Peak, 8 miles and 3,700 feet of gain. The first step I took on that trail was the same pace I was going when I took the last step onto the summit. It was a beautiful day in the Colorado Rockies: tinges of Fall color around the edges that had not been there two weeks prior; an easy-tofollow trail with long, lazy switchbacks up high; not nearly the climber traffic as on Redcloud, just relaxed, serene climbing; met people on top from two routes coming up the other side. When I got back down to my bivy spot, I packed up and drove away.
That was it for the 14ers. I returned to Albuquerque, picked up my climbing partner at the airport, and we went to climb South Truchas Peak, at 13,101 feet the second-highest peak in New Mexico and the southernmost 13,000-foot peak in the contiguous United States. Over three days we covered 24 miles, climbed 5,100 feet, and bivied two nights at 11,800 feet. Just lovely.
Two weeks later I was back in the Altitude Room.
by Patti Beardsley
We’ve all heard of the 10 essentials list to take on our wilderness outings, and, hopefully, we all carry a version of those supplies that makes sense for our outing. Curiously, there is no one list of the 10 essentials. A quick review of the Boy Scouts, National Park Service, USFS, and others shows slight variations of them.
Even if we have a workable set of 10 essentials on an outing, we can minimize the need to take them out of safe-keeping in our packs if we follow the“10 Essentials of Preparation.”
Perhaps we can think of preparation from a few perspectives—gear, knowledge, emergency plans, and strength and fitness. Gear, of course, includes shoes, poles, weather protection, technology, “in case of emergency” (ICE) supplies, and more. Knowledge includes our route, abilities, nutritional needs, and the strengths and weaknesses of ourselves and our trail partners. Emergency plans include an assortment of “just in case” puzzle pieces depending on the outing, including emergency contacts, identified turn-back times, communication, awareness of conditions, and gear. Strength and fitness are, of course, key and there are endless recommendations about how and when to build ourselves to a point of readiness for whatever level of outing we are embarking upon.
■ Shoes: Which shoe/sock combination provides the best support for your intended hike, and are they broken in adequately? An Outside Magazine article about thru-hiking suggests testing out second- and third-choice shoes as well in case your primary pair wears out and your next available place to get new shoes doesn’t carry your favorites. Additionally, if you have scheduled resupply stops, it makes sense to include a broken-in
replacement pair along the way. Tip: Take a set of extra laces that can serve any number of needs.
■ Poles: Do your poles have the best tips for your intended outing, are they sized for you, and are they in good shape?
Tip: Wrap several rounds of duct tape on the poles in case it’s needed to fix other equipment.
■ Weather protection: What weather is forecast for your intended outing, and do you have appropriate equipment
Above: Graphic by Sketchplanations
for the sun (lotion, hat, clothing), rain (jacket, pants, hat or hood, pack cover), and cold (extra layers, face wind protection, hand or foot warmers)?
■ Technology: We have become dependent on technology that may or may not work as expected when we are in the wilderness, so backup plans (printed and laminated maps, defined return times, good, old-fashioned
mirrors) contribute peace of mind to us and ours. And remember that, although music and podcasts are popular, other hikers may not want their nature time drowned out by our speakers. Plus, without earbuds, we can be more aware of other hikers, bikers, critters, and the soul-energizing sounds of nature.
■ ICE supplies: Carry extra food, have a space blanket, and ensure that emergency contacts are readily available and that co-hikers are informed about our potential need for emergency medicines.
■ Nutrition and energy: How much food should we take for any given outing? Remember that the balance between weight and calories is essential. Here’s a calculator to help figure out your calorie requirements to maintain energy on an outing: www. omnicalculator.com/sports/hiking.
■ Learn the lay of the land: Is there water along the way, what is the glacier, avalanche, or rockfall danger, do you know what the different types of clouds indicate about incoming weather, and what exit routes exist in case of emergency?
Pre-outing Preparation: Fitness and Health
■ Build strength and endurance: Fullbody readiness for hiking includes not only strength but flexibility in stretching and contracting in all directions. There are endless resources available online for this multi-month preparation process.
■ Uphill and downhill travel: It’s helpful to understand the physics of hiking uphill and downhill and how to be efficient and safe in both directions. Although hiking uphill may feel harder, downhill can be harder on your joints and thighs, and you may be more prone to falling. “Stepping Techniques” in Hiking for Life has some of the easiest-to-understand explanations and descriptions for both uphill and downhill hiking. This useful book compares the biomechanics of uphill travel with small steps or large steps, as well as the benefits of small steps. Downhill travel with forefoot landing is also explained to be easier on ligaments and joints, and safer for sure footing. And…don’t forget the rest step,
which can be a lifesaver, especially in high altitudes.
■ Breathing techniques: Breathing does us no good if we don’t give our lungs time to move the oxygen to our blood. The why and the how of deep breathing through the nose is well documented, with two of those sources being, again, Hiking for Life as well as the summitstrength.com articles listed below.
■ Health checks: Be aware of the feeling of your personal target and maximum pulse rate. Although standard calculations are 220 minus your age for your maximum and 50 percent of that for your target heart rate, where and how you feel those pulse rates is critical to know. Whether you depend on technology or your fingertips to measure your pulse, it’s important to track and build a sense of where else you feel your pulse—e.g. do you “hear” your pulse in your ears or head once it reaches a certain rate? What other health conditions or potential conditions might we need to prepare for and let our hiking partners be aware of?
Well, I guess that’s 11 essentials, but perhaps more is better in this situation! What if we’re not quite prepared? Three epic stories from our past.
Some time ago, we set out on a wonderful trip to the Olympics intending to hike the Bailey Ridge Traverse, then summit Mt. Olympus and exit via the Blue Glacier. Unbeknownst to all, one hiker started with a “small blister” and remained very stoic about the pain as the blister grew, until her foot became so swollen she couldn’t walk. By then, we were on the far side of Mt. Olympus, so the decision was made to abandon the summit and have most of the team (leaving two to care for the patient) hike out in one long day to the emergency phone where we would call for help. The next day, the Coast Guard flew in to rescue the patient, but could not take the two caretakers as we’d assumed they would (and, to save weight on the helicopter, we’d hiked out with a lot of the gear they would have needed for their three day hike out). That “small blister” decision became very expensive for the hiker due to the fact that a private helicopter needed to
be hired to rescue the caretakers ... at the hiker’s expense.
We were an experienced group hiking down a moderate glacier when one of us “fell” into a hidden crevasse. Thankfully, their backpack straddled the width of the crevasse so the “faller” was fine, but the leader shouted loudly to the team to “stay off the white snow.” The “faller” was embarrassed by not having recognized it and another member of the crew froze in fear because the whole glacier looked “white” to him. The moral of the story: Know the visual difference between solid glacier ice and the “snow” covering a crevasse.
This story about health and teammates was truly frightening in the moment and remarkable in retrospect. On a rafting trip, one raft wrapped around a train trestle pier, tossing all four of the rafters into the river. Two of the rafters needed a rescue effort. After everyone was safely on shore, we discovered that one rafter still carried fear from a near-childhood drowning and the other was six weeks post-op from heart surgery. We can only imagine how we might have altered the trip if their health challenges had been revealed in advance.
There are endless resources to help us build our readiness for adventure and we all have numerous epic stories resulting from not quite being ready. Our job going forward is to not provide additional stories to the repertoire, but if we do, your Mazama membership of rescue insurance may soften the financial blow.
■ Injury Prevention: 10 Tips for Thru-Hikers: www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/ hiking-and-backpacking/thru-hiking-injuryprevention
■ 13 Rookie Hiking Mistakes to Avoid: www. kathmanduoutdoor.com/blog/hikingmistakes-to-avoid
■ Practicing abdominal breathing: www. summitstrength.com.au/blog/trekking-ataltitude-abdominal-breathing and Hiking For Life by Dru White (nacra.square.site)
Altitude Training
• 10% off for all Mazamas members
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Benefits of Altitude Training:
• Improved sea level or at altitude performance
• Improved aerobic fitness
• Increased strength
• Pre-acclimation to high altitude locations
• Accelerated recovery and return from injuries
• Maintenance of fitness while injured
• Increased fat metabolism
• Increased mitochondria production
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TREADMILLS
by Paul Collins
You know the routine— each spring after the lazy fall and winter holidays, you start working hard on conditioning for the climbing season. You follow the same routine that you have followed season after season only to find that, like season after season, you have invited injuries and, well, you haven’t reached the condition you imagined when you got off the sofa in January, or February, or whenever.
In my work, I help people think about their bodies and train them differently than they have in the past. I focus on a method known as the Internal Strength Model (ISM). Its principles shift the focus from external performance (how much, how fast) to internal capacity. It’s really about building your body from the inside out, strengthening the scaffolding so your performance can soar higher than ever before. It’s not about asking “How much can I lift?” but about asking “How well do I control what’s happening inside?” This all means becoming more intentional, pivoting to the quality of your body’s movements, tissues, and joints. This allows you to unlock your ability to perform at higher levels without breaking down.
In the following, I provide a synopsis— four points or building blocks, really—that are ISM and, in my view, a way for much more effective conditioning.
While you have trained hard, lifted more, run faster, and climbed higher, if you’re honest, there’s a nagging frustration—your body isn’t keeping up. The gains are harder to come by, injuries are starting to creep in, and despite all the effort, you feel stuck. The problem isn’t
continued on next page.
your effort. It’s the outdated, “chase-thenumbers” approach to training that most athletes are unknowingly trapped in. This mindset treats strength, speed, and grades as the ultimate goals, but it overlooks one critical piece of the puzzle: the health and resilience of your joints and tissues.
The fact is that the body adapts to stress in ways that bypass its weakest links, leaving joints and tendons to pick up the slack. When you repeat the same movement over and over again, tissues stop adapting, and weak points remain weak. The harder you push, the more wear and tear you invite, which leads to stagnation, injury, and burnout. This “muscle-through” mindset is a villain in disguise—setting you up for breakdowns instead of breakthroughs.
True athletic development requires mastering the internal mechanics before focusing attention on the external load. The Internal Strength Model (ISM) helps you build a stronger foundation so you can move with more efficiency and less wasted energy, reduce injuries, and build a body that can handle more, and break through plateaus.
Joint health is more than being painfree. Since joint health is the silent force behind everything you do with your body, such as lifting, running, and climbing stairs. Joint health is about creating "workspace"—room for movement to happen effortlessly. Think of your joints as hinges. When they’re healthy, they allow you to move with effortless precision. But neglect them, and every movement becomes a fight against your own body just as a creaking door can resist opening and closing.
In your training program, you likely focus on building your muscle and strength but may neglect joint function. You would not put a powerful engine into a car with misaligned wheels. Sure, you might have a contraption that has a lot of power, but it’s wasted and inefficient because what it tries to operate is, well, inoperable. ISM directly addresses joint health. Something we call CARS (Controlled Articular Rotation) identifies restrictions before they become problems and helps expand your range of motion and neurological control. PAILs/ RAILs (Progressive/Regressive Angular Isometric Loading), on the other hand,
strengthen joints at their end ranges, build control where you need it most, and create lasting improvements in mobility.
A gymnast who holds an iron cross from rings as if gravity has been switched off, a martial artist kicking above their head with effortless precision, and a climber gliding up impossible routes as if their body and the rock are in perfect conversation— each of these athletes has built strength where most of us don’t even realize we’re weak: at the edges of movement, in the places where things usually fall apart.
In your more traditional training, you might be doing everything right as you aspire to be like the aforementioned athletes, but somehow you don’t end up where they are. That is due to a lack of attention to what’s happening inside your joints, the critical foundations of your ability to move. The “inside-out” method that is ISM, which starts with CARS, asks you to make smooth, controlled circles with your joints that in the end expand their usable space. Then, tension is added to this till you reach the limit of your range. This builds resilience.
Once you’ve laid that groundwork, you can move on to more advanced techniques that target the deeper layers of joint health and strength. Each of the layers has a special name—positional isometrics, isometric ramping, eccentric neural grooving, and eccentric quasi-isometrics— but the goal here is to create space in your joints, build rotational strength, and layer on straight-line strength.
After you master the principles of internal training, expand your joint capacity, adapt your tissues, and develop resilience from the inside out, you should then move on to external training. But here’s the twist: You will need to focus on tissue adaptation. While your traditional training program might focus on executing movement patterns—deadlifts, squats, presses, you name it—your tissues aren’t engaged uniformly during any movement. You need to shift to adapting entire tissues, making them resilient enough to handle any variable thrown their way. Ankle weights, resistance bands, and clubs are tools to do this. They help strategically load your tissues in order to create varied
forces and oscillating challenges that adapt tissues in ways traditional weightlifting can’t touch. Focus also on rotational and anti-rotational training to challenge your tissues through complex planes of motion and train them to resist external forces. Through this combination, you will enhance your ability to produce force but also to fortify your body against injury.
One last thing: When you do external training, you should not be focused on trying to lift the heaviest weights in a controlled manner, but rather to push your tissue capacity to the limit with intent, and focus on precision. This means selecting loads that challenge your ability to maintain tension and control. By maximizing your internal effort, even with an external load that doesn’t look “maximal” on paper, you’re driving tissuespecific adaptation and building force production from the inside out.
The basic idea here is that you need to build strength that lasts. Start with internal training and progress to external methods with a tissue-focused twist. In doing so, you can create a system that’s adaptable,
resilient, and built to handle whatever life throws at you.
Remember, external strength starts internally. The principles of intent, control, and tissue-specific adaptation are your key to sustainable progress and injury prevention.
Scan the QR code below or visit tinyurl.com/MazPeakCond to see a collection of video demonstration of the techniques discussed in this article
Paul Collins, owner and founder of Peak Condition, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) with a Bachelor of Exercise Science. He provided this synopsis as a general guide for getting people to think differently about training. Specific tools utilized in support of the four areas of focus above include a Joint Health Assessment Guide, Joint Capacity Training Guide, and Complete Guide to Internal and External Training
If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can transfer up to $105,000 annually from your IRA accounts directly to a qualified nonprofit, such as the Mazamas. Make your contribution by December 31 to count as a 2025 Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).
Benefits:
■ QCDs are tax-free and don’t require itemized deductions to receive the tax benefit.
■ Counts towards your required minimum distribution for the year.
■ Supports building a community that inspires everyone to love and protect the mountains through outdoor education, responsible recreation, and conservation.
If you have questions about donating to the Mazamas, please contact Lena Toney, Development Director, at 971-420-2505 or lenatoney@mazamas.org .
by Kevin Mehlbrech, Mazama First Aid Committee
For years now, the Mazamas has offered highquality wilderness safety education to both its members and the local community through courses like Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Mountaineering First Aid (MFA), CPR, Stop the Bleed, and more. Building on the success of these courses, we launched our inaugural Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course in July 2024. This course was very well received and we are excited to continue by offering a unique WFR certification program this coming October. This comprehensive hybrid course combines the convenience of online learning with hands-on wilderness training on Mt. Hood.
Wilderness First Responder is an intensive medical training program designed for remote and wilderness environments where advanced medical care is hours or days away. It is widely considered the standard of medical training for outdoor professionals but is also a fantastic set of skills for the avid backcountry recreationalist. The 75-hour certification dives deep into patient assessment, physical injuries, medical emergencies, extended care, and evacuation protocols.
WFR training and scenarios go beyond basic first aid, featuring complex, extended-duration simulations that mirror real backcountry emergencies. Students manage challenging medical situations both individually and in groups while considering environmental factors, evacuation decisions, and resource limitations. The training and practice are significantly more in-depth than courses like WFA or MFA. If you’ve ever taken MFA you can think of this course as MFA on steroids.
The Mazama approach to first aid is anchored in a few key principles:
1. Nationally recognized standards: To ensure we’re providing the best possible training, we teach to peer-reviewed curriculum standards whenever possible. To facilitate this, we partner with Base Medical to license their material for our WFA and WFR courses, and our CPR instruction comes from the American Heart Association (AHA).
2. Highly qualified instructors: Our instructor pool includes EMTs, guides, doctors, nurses, and search and rescue
volunteers. All of our instructors go through a training and evaluation process to get certified by third-party organizations (Base Medical, AHA).
3. Tailored scenarios: We construct our first aid scenarios to mirror real-life Mazama activities as much as possible to ensure we practice like we play.
4. Continuous improvement: We take feedback (both positive and constructive) for our courses very seriously and review all comments in detail in order to continuously tweak our teaching approach. Additionally, we work with Base Medical to ensure our curriculum evolves and stays up
to date with the wilderness medicine community more broadly.
Most WFR courses (even hybrid ones) typically require you to dedicate five or more consecutive days in order to attend, and you often need to travel and make lodging arrangements in addition to the cost of the course. We recognize this isn’t possible for everyone, so we wanted to offer a WFR course that meets people where they’re at as much as possible while taking advantage of the great facilities the Mazamas and our surrounding landscape have to offer.
Mark your calendars today if you’re interested in furthering your wilderness medicine training!
Dates: October 3, 2025
Cost: $995 members / $1,350 nonmembers
Registration closes: Late July
The WFR course features:
■ 30 hours of online learning over five weeks prior to the in-person course.
■ 45 hours of hands-on practical training spread across two separate weekends.
■ Weekend #1 (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) will be in town based at the Mazama Mountaineering Center (MMC).
■ Weekend #2 (Saturday and Sunday) will be up on Mt. Hood based out of the Mazama Lodge. The overnight stay at the Mazama Lodge, with meals provided, is included in the price.
■ The course includes CPR training and certification.
Watch the weekly eNews and the Mazama calendar for upcoming registration dates and more information.
Editors note: This is the second of two articles from the CISM Committee. The first, laying out the origins of the committee, can be found on page 10 of the November/December 2024 Mazama Bulletin
by CISM Committee
The Mazama Critical Incident Stress
Management (CISM) team provides confidential debriefings following critical incidents to any group or individual requesting assistance. A critical incident is defined as any event that overwhelms the capacities of a person to psychologically cope with the incident—a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
The focus of this service is to minimize the harmful effects of stress, particularly from crisis or emergency situations. The highest priorities of the team are to maintain confidentiality and to respect the feelings of the individuals involved. It is not the function of a team to replace ongoing professional counseling, but to provide immediate crisis intervention. Through the CISM process, a team provides emergency personnel with tools to potentially alleviate stress-related symptoms. The CISM team also provides education regarding managing critical incident stress.
The Mazama CISM team was established in 1992 following a traumatic accident on Mt. Shuksan, with the mission to provide a form of crisis intervention specifically designed to help climb teams and individuals cope with the psychological stresses inherent in their activity. The Mazama CISM team provides crisis intervention for particularly stressful events, such as traumatic incidents involving mountain climbing, hiking, or canyoneering accidents that result in accidents, injury, or death.
Responses to stress may be immediate and incident-specific, be delayed for a period of time after an incident, or be cumulative, building up over a long period of time, possibly including multiple incidents. Multiple factors affect an individual’s response to stress, including the person’s personal qualities, past experiences, and resources available to them.
Debriefings do not critique the incident. The team has no evaluation function of tactical procedures. The debriefing process provides a format in which only people involved in the event can discuss their feelings and reactions, thus reducing the stress resulting from exposure to critical incidents. The goal of CISM is to encourage the ventilation of emotions, to help rebalance the individual and the group, and to educate group members regarding normal stress reactions. Debriefings are voluntary.
CISM is a service to Mazama members and is included in your Mazama membership at no additional cost. All CISM team members are trained in critical incident stress management for individuals or groups with the International Critical Stress Management Foundation (ICISF). Commissioned by the United Nations, ICISF is the largest organization in the world providing critical incident stress management, education, and training to many types of organizations including law enforcement, EMS, fire departments, schools, hospitals, ski patrols, search and rescue teams, and churches. The Mazamas was the first outdoor organization to join the ICISF, as well as the first to support training and provide CISM to its members.
If you or your group have experienced a stressful event please reach out by emailing cism@mazamas.org. We also welcome anyone interested in becoming involved with the CISM Committee to get in touch.
Attending: Greg Scott, President; David Urbaniak, Vice President; Liz Crowe, Treasurer; Marty Hanson, Chris Jaworski. Staff: Rebekah Phillips, Executive Director. Guests: Pushkar Dixit. Absent: Matthew Sundling, Secretary; Charles Barker, Claire Tenscher Debbie Dwelle.
■ The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. by President Greg Scott.
■ A quorum was present.
■ Meeting Minutes Approval
□ Approval of the previous meeting minutes required a vote.
□ The Board reviewed and voted on the approval of prior meeting minutes: November 2024 Minutes: Motion to approve by Charles B., seconded by Liz C. Approved unanimously.
■ Insurance and Budget Updates
□ The Executive Director provided an update on the ongoing budget discussions, including efforts to address insurance-related challenges. The organization is actively exploring options to ensure coverage remains comprehensive and cost-effective, with a focus on outdoor recreation policies. While discussions have highlighted potential areas to streamline costs, no final decisions have been made, and all options are being carefully considered. Leadership is committed to continuing these conversations to identify the best path forward for the organization’s insurance needs.
□ Budget-related discussions with committees regarding 2025 pricing have been largely positive, with committees bringing thoughtful concerns and questions to the table, eliciting both support and challenges. Additionally, the end-of-year giving campaign is underway.
■ Budget Review and Adjustments
□ The budget remains largely consistent with projections from the previous month. Program revenue, however, is still uncertain, with Matt S. and Rebekah P. working to refine
these estimates. Rebekah P. identified $71,000 in potential savings through deferred maintenance and the removal of wishlist items. Significant adjustments include a reduction in the lodge budget to a bare-bones version, which excludes $3,000 per month allocated for a managerial position, replacing it with a minimal, hourly coordinator role. Advertising and maintenance costs have also been reduced, with some repairs deferred by one to two years. The insurance situation, while still in flux, offers potential for cost savings.
■ After careful consideration, the Mazamas has decided not to renew our Outdoor Alliance membership at this time, prioritizing internal efforts as we develop a new strategic plan, though we value their work and may revisit the partnership in the future. . Rebekah P. requested Board approval for grant spending due to an increase in requests from committees. A revised budget draft will be shared the week of December 16th for Board review and email approval.
■ Revenue Goals and Membership
□ Growth Projections for 2025 anticipate a membership of approximately 3,000, based on prior renewal rates and acquisition efforts. Membership drives typically peak in January and April, with plans for a spring survey to better understand member values. There was also some emphasis on the need to enhance the organization’s social media presence, linking visibility to potential membership and engagement growth.
■ Development Plan Progress
□ The development plan remains a work in progress, with efforts focusing on infrastructure improvements and Board contributions as part of the fundraising strategy. Individual Board member discussions are planned. Lena Toney (Development Director) has been addressing data entry and reconciliation for contributions, while corporate sponsorship opportunities are being explored, including lodge
sponsorships. Enhancements to grant tracking systems are under consideration, although our current iteration of SalesForce has not met workflow needs thus far. Historical data analysis indicates a projected increase in donors from 434 to 534, though restricted gifts complicate budget planning. Rebekah P. highlighted the importance of mobilizing members around tangible goals, such as past lodge roof drives.
■ No treasurer’s report, our review of October and November financial documents was delayed until a later date.
■ The Board discussed the upcoming grant cycles for research, conservation, and expeditions, reorganized for consistency. Funding approvals include:
□ $5,000 for research (operating funds)
□ Up to $10,000 for conservation (restricted funds)
□ Up to $25,000 for expeditions (restricted funds, contingent on investment income)
□ These approvals were motioned by Greg S., seconded by Liz C., and passed unanimously.
■ The Board also suggested reinstating security camera funding for the MMC, with Rebekah P. having already obtained a cost estimate.
■ The meeting reviewed the mission, vision, values, and five priority areas developed during the strategic planning session. Updates were made based on input from consultant Deborah Wilds (M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust), with a focus on rewording priorities so they reflect what success looks like:
□ Governance improvements
□ Creating a pipeline for new Board members
□ Building relationships with outside organizations
■ Plans include integrating these priorities into the impact report for a more publicfacing presentation. The January Board retreat, tentatively set for January 26, will further refine the strategic plan and orient new Board members.
■ Greg S. moved to approve Debbie Dwelle as President for 2025, with Chris J. seconding. The motion passed unanimously, with Matt S. and Charles B. absent.
■ Additional officer positions will be determined at the January Board meeting.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
■ Session started at 7:34 pm. Topic pertaining to member donation.
ADJOURNMENT
■ The meeting was adjourned by President Greg Scott at 7:38 p.m.
FEBRUARY 24, 1954 –DECEMBER 23, 2024
A Mazama member since 1993 and husband of long-time Mazama climb leader Jill Kellogg, Rick was a man of many passions and talents. He lived a life full of adventure, curiosity, and love. His adventurous spirit led him to summit Denali (with Jill) in 1993. He rowed many of the rivers of western America, including three stunning trips through the Grand Canyon. He traveled the globe to experience new places and cultures. For 6 years he proudly served as a National ski patroller at Mt. Bachelor. He was on both his high school swim and football teams, and was a life-long fan of the Seattle Mariners. He lived in the Portland area, Corvallis, and Seattle before retiring in south Deschutes County in 2014. Rick had a keen love for the Pacific Northwest. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
SEPTEMBER 1, 1938 –FEBRUARY 14, 2024
A Mazama member since 1975, Ron Schroeder hit the slopes running, as it were. Just the next year he had procured the Guardian Peaks award. Only one year later he had the Oregon Peaks award under his belt. By 1978 he was a full-fledged climb leader. Between then and 1991 he led 22 climbs for the Mazamas, more often that not in the company of Dick Montag. In a remarkable display of balance, Ron was also an Assistant Leader on Mazama climbs 22 times. He also made time to lead 4 Trail Trips in the late 1970s. Off the slopes, he served on the Climbing Committee from 1978-81 and coordinated the Intermediate Climbing School in 1979. He was a climb leader until 1991 and was still an assistant leader a few years after that.
An insurance man by trade, Ron lent his professional skills, both with the Trust Committee for 5 years and the Mazama Property-Liability Insurance Program during the 1980s.
APRIL 20, 1930 – NOVEMBER 3, 2024
