Archives West Finding Aid

The Mazamas club is a social mountain climbing organization based in Portland, Oregon. The Mazamas club was founded July 19th, 1894 on Mt. Hood when one hundred ninety-three men and women climbed to the summit. One hundred and five of the men and women climbers became charter members that day. Mazama founders thought that the strongest climber in the mountains (the goat) was an appropriate symbol for their organization. The Mazamas’ slogan, “Nesika Klatawa Sahale” is Chinook Indian jargon, freely translated as “We Climb High.” The club was named after Mt. Mazama located in southern Oregon which collapsed in prehistoric times to create Crater Lakes. Their first official outing to Crater Lake was 1896 and first outing to Mount Rainier was 1897. In 1907 the Seattle contingent split, forming the Mountaineers.

A small group of the founders, both men and women, became the first officers for the organization in 1895. A rotating executive council currently governs the organization, however the volunteer committees conduct the events, activities, programs, and classes for this member based organization. The Mazamas msision states, "The Mazamas promotes mountaineering through education, climbing, hiking, fellowship, safety and the protection of mountain environments" and they are actively focused on hiking and skiing trips, trail tending, conservation, youth outreach, and the annual outings. The annual outings are five day to three weeks in duration duration.