Mountaineers Society records, 1906-2010

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Mountaineers (Society)
Title
Mountaineers Society records
Dates
1906-2010 (inclusive)
Quantity
66.21 cubic feet plus 10 microfilm reels
Collection Number
1294, 1946, 1984
Summary
Reports, rosters, minutes, writings, financial records, correspondence, and other records of the Mountaineers, an outdoor recreation and conservation club based in Seattle, Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users, but access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact Special Collections for details.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Mountaineers, an outdoor recreation, education, and conservation organization based in Seattle, Washington, was formed in 1906 to explore the wild areas and mountains surrounding the Puget Sound region. Its first president was Edmond S. Meany, and standing committees were appointed at the club's first meeting in order to take over the work and organization of its two main activities: local and annual outings. The number of standing committees grew with the increasing membership and interests of the club.

Early activities of the Mountaineers consisted of hiking, climbing, skiing, snowshoeing and stage productions by the Mountaineers Players. Today, the club offers even more in the way of activities including bicycling, photography, kayaking, sailing, international trips, and environmental education classes. The Mountaineers work to ensure that wilderness areas are preserved and protected through the actions of their Conservation, Recreation Resources, and Stewardship divisions. Volunteer members track issues, mobilize members, do trail maintenance, work with coalitions, and lobby local and national legislators. The club's mission is to enrich the community by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest.

From the founding of the club until 1980, the highlight of the year was the annual summer outing. These generally were for two or three weeks and involved climbs, both major and minor, as well as hikes. Summer outings were attended by as many as 100 Mountaineers in some years. On most trips, pack trains carried equipment while Mountaineers members traveled on foot; however, a few summer outings were conducted in motor vehicle caravans. Early outings were at various locations throughout the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. As time went on, the trips ranged further afield into the American and Canadian Rockies, Sierra Nevadas, and various national parks of the western United States. The summer outings were discontinued in 1981 when the damage to wilderness areas from large groups of campers was no longer considered sustainable.

In addition to lengthy Summer Outings, The Mountaineers also organized regular trail trips, or day hikes, for members in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, and coastal areas.

The Mountaineers Players grew out of "dramatic diversions" performed around the campfire at the club's Rhododendron Preserve on the Kitsap Peninsula. On June 17, 1923 the Mountaineers' first formal production, Robin of Sherwood, took place. Mabel Furry, an active Mountaineer member, persuaded the group to take acting classes with Lois Sandall, who served as the Mountaineers Players director from 1924 through 1936 and again from 1941 through 1950. The Mountaineers built an outdoor theater on a level spot on their property near Chico Creek, Washington. The Forest Theater opened on June 6, 1926 with a production of Rainald and the Red Wolf and has remained one of the oldest active outdoor theaters in the country.

Realizing the critical importance of mountain safety, the club created a climbing course in 1935, led by noted conservationist and outdoorsman Wolf Bauer. Bauer, born in the Bavarian Alps, introduced climbing techniques not generally known in the United States. Mountaineers instructors included Lloyd and Mary Anderson, Jack Hossack, and Philip and Agnes Dickert. The climbing structure Monitor Rock, now called Schurman Rock, was built by the Mountaineers at Seattle's Camp Long in 1939 as a way to help train the public in proper climbing techniques before heading off to the mountains. The club also produced the climbing textbook Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills in 1960, which is still considered the standard textbook of mountaineering. The Seattle Mountain Rescue and Safety Council, later renamed the Mountain Rescue Council, was founded by Mountaineers members Ome Daiber, Otto Trott, and Wolf Bauer. This voluntary group established search and rescue procedures and training classes that became the model for other such programs throughout the country. The group was involved with the production of several instructional films illustrating climbing, search and rescue, and safety techniques, some produced by Bob and Ira Spring, notably This is Self Arrest, narrated by climber Jim Whittaker.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Reports, rosters, minutes, writings, financial records, correspondence, and other records of the Mountaineers.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 17 accessions.

  • Accession No. 1294-001, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1926-1943
  • Accession No. 1946-001, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1956-1970
  • Accession No. 1984-001, Mountaineers (Society), 1970
  • Accession No. 1984-002, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1971
  • Accession No. 1984-003, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1906-1966
  • Accession No. 1984-006, Mountaineers (Society), 1911
  • Accession No. 1984-008, Mountaineers (Society) records, undated
  • Accession No. 1984-009, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1955-1962
  • Accession No. 1984-010, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1969-1970
  • Accession No. 1984-011, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1960-1990
  • Accession No. 1984-012, Mountaineers records, 1947-1992
  • Accession No. 1984-013, Mountaineers records, 1885-1988
  • Accession No. 1984-014, Mountaineers records, 1959-1982
  • Accession No. 1984-015, Mountaineers records, 1978-1995
  • Accession No. 1984-016, Mountaineers memorabilia, 1944-1947
  • Accession No. 1984-017, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1970
  • Accession No. 1984-018, Mountaineers (Society) records, 1931-1966

Related Materials

The Mountaineers website has been regularly captured by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine since 2016. The snapshots can be viewed here: https://wayback.archive-it.org/4224/*/https://www.mountaineers.org/

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 1294-001: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1926-1943Return to Top

1' linear.

Scope and Content: Snoqualmie Lodge Register, 1926-1943.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Laurence Byington and Ronald Todd. Seattle, 1969-12-01

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1946-001: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1956-1970Return to Top

5 items.

Scope and Content: Special reports done on behalf of the Mountaineers, 1956-1970.

Reports include: Halliday, William - Areas to be considered for inclusion in the proposed National Park in the Northern Cascade Mountains (undated)

Jacobs, Philip H. - Mass recreation and the ecosystem, 1969; and The mining law an antique in need of repeal, 1969.

Ittner, Ruth - Winter Recreational Parking, 1970.

Shields, Archie W. - History of Christmas in Many Lands, 1956.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Anita Nygard, Mountaineers Librarian, 1972-05-25

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-001: Mountaineers (Society), 1970Return to Top

1 microfilm reel positive; 1 microfilm reel negative.

Scope and Content: Microfilm of Environmental Statement, October, 1970.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Filmed from original in the Mountaineers' Library, 1972-06-01

Description
Mountaineers (Society)

Accession No. 1984-002: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1971Return to Top

½" linear.

Scope and Content: Roster, 1971.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers, 1978-01-12

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-003: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1906-1966Return to Top

5 microfilm reels; 1 negative, 1 positive.

Scope and Content: Minute books, 1906-1966.

Originals of Board of Directors meeting minutes, 1953, 1957-1958 added 11/79. Kept because some are un(?)corrected copies and not duplicates of the microfilm.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Literary rights of representatives of the records-creating organization transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Filmed from the originals loaned by the Mountaineers, 1966-05-01

General Notes:

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-006: Mountaineers (Society), 1911Return to Top

19 pages.

Scope and Content: Writing, "My Summer with the Mountaineers," by Anna W. Newman (ca. 1911).

Biographical/Historical Note: Anna W. Newman, of Evanston, Illinois, visited Seattle in the summer of 1911 and participated in the Mountaineers' Fifth Annual Outing (a walking tour along the Cascade Crest, and a steamboat ride down the Columbia to Vancouver.)

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Verna Ness, the Mountaineers, 1978-11-21

Description
Mountaineers (Society)

Accession No. 1984-008: Mountaineers (Society) photographs, undatedReturn to Top

4 items.

Scope and Content: Photographs (snapshots), undated.

Photos are of Dr. and Mrs. Clyde Ehinger at Hidden Ranch near Bremerton, adjacent to what is now the Rhododendron Preserve.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Forestry Library, 1979-05-01

Description
Mountaineers (Society) photographs

Accession No. 1984-009: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1955-1962Return to Top

1.5' linear.

Scope and Content: Financial records, 1955-1962.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Verna Ness, 1980-03-01

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-010: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1969-1970Return to Top

Circa 1" linear.

Scope and Content: Financial records, 1969-1970.

General Fund financial statements.

Restrictions on Access: Access restricted: For terms of access contact repository.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers, 1984-04-19

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-011: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1960-1990Return to Top

2.5 linear ft.

Scope and Content: Trustees election brochures, 1981-1989; ephemera, clippings, two photographs, 1960-1990.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers, ca. 1990, 1990-01-01

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-012: Mountaineers records, 1947-1992Return to Top

3.62 cu. ft. (6 boxes)

Scope and Content: Minutes, agenda, letters, writings, report, operations manual, and other records related to the organizations' programs, especially to its outdoor activities; 1947-1992.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users, but access to portions of the papers restricted. Contact repository for details.

Restrictions on Use: Literary rights of representatives of the records-creating organization transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Alison Huffman at Mountaineers, 1994-11-18

Description
Mountaineers records

Accession No. 1984-013: Mountaineers records, 1885-1988 (bulk 1906-1972)Return to Top

9.42 cu. ft. (12 boxes).

Scope and Content: Writings, memorabilia, clippings, financial records of activities, photographs and slides related to various outdoor activities and especially the club's annual outings. Also guest books, programs and other material relating to the productions of the Mountaineer Players in their outdoor theater as well as minutes, organizational features, correspondence, instructional materials, Mountaineer publications and publications of other outdoor clubs. These records are from various sources, including estates of former members, and appear to have been kept by a series of Historians of the club.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights retained. Contact repository for details.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers, 1997-07-18

Description
Mountaineers records

Accession No. 1984-014: Mountaineers records, 1959-1982Return to Top

.84 cu. ft. (2 boxes)

Scope and Content: Reports, mainly published, and other materials primarily supporting the campaign for a North Cascades national park; ca. 1959-1982.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers. Library., 1998-07-02

Description
Mountaineers records

Accession No. 1984-015: Mountaineers records, 1978-1995Return to Top

3.96 cu. ft. (6 boxes); 2 videocassettes (VHS)

Scope and Content: Correspondence, subject series, committee minutes, VHS videotapes, letters and related materials, and other records related to management of the club's properties and to its various programs; ca 1978-1995 (bulk 1988-ca 1994). Bulk of the records were created by staff at the Seattle Clubroom, but parts came from various volunteer leaders or members.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users, but access to portions of the papers restricted. Contact repository for details.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights retained. Contact repository for details.

Acquisition Info: The Mountaineers, 1998-07-02

Description
Mountaineers records

Accession No. 1984-016: Mountaineers memorabilia, 1944-1947Return to Top

3 items (2 greetings, 1 registration form)

Scope and Content: Round Robin (greeting) from 1944 and 1945 summer outings; Forest Service registration form for a climb of Mt. Shuksan, 1947; 1944-1947.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: May be used for research, instruction, exhibition, publication, broadcast, and similar purposes.

Acquisition Info: Mountaineers, 2001-10-22

Description
Mountaineers memorabilia

Accession No. 1984-017: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1970Return to Top

90 pages.

Scope and Content: The Original material from which the microfilm (Acc. #1984-001) was made. Environmental statement of the Proposed Leasing of Puget Sound Shorelands and Beds of Navigable Waters for Oil and Gas Exploration, Oct. 1970, and related letters from congressmen from Washington.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: [Information not available]

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Accession No. 1984-018: Mountaineers (Society) records, 1931-1966Return to Top

1 vertical file

Scope and Content: Map of Last Stand of Old Growth Timber near Seattle (1931) with a photograph of Carnation Road; letter dated 9/24/34 from Mabel Nash to Fred Ball, with an attached prose poem written by Fred Ball, dated 9/8/34; and a report (53 pages) of an expedition to Mount Logan, dated 1966, including a topographic map, sketch of route, geographical information, itinerary, account, community equipment, personal equipment, food and cooking, medical report, travel report, financial report, and correspondence.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Transfer from Mountaineers Library, 1989-10-25

Description
Mountaineers (Society) records

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Authors, American--Northwest, Pacific
  • Environmental protection--Washington (State)
  • Mountaineering--Societies, etc
  • Mountaineering--Washington (State)
  • Nature conservation--Societies, etc
  • Nature conservation--Washington (State)
  • Outdoor recreation--Washington (State)
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Beckey, Fred W., 1921-
  • Harris, Stephen L., 1937-
  • Manning, Harvey
  • Meany, Edmond S. (Edmond Stephen), 1862-1935
  • Prater, Gene
  • Sterling, E. M
  • Wilkerson, James A., 1934-

Corporate Names

  • Mountaineers (Society)--Archives
  • Mountaineers (Society). Conservation Division