Mazamas

Educational programs:mazamas conducts education in mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, backcountry skiing, nordic skiing, wilderness first aid, and other mountain-related outdoor activities. The courses include techniques, safety, and environmental awareness, and conservation ethics. Non-members may participate in classes offered through mazamas. More than 600 students participate in our educational programs annually.

Development projects: initiatives in 2024 supported member and volunteer outreach, engagement, and education, specifically through the publication of a bimonthly membership magazine and newsletters, volunteer service awards, and other volunteer recognition strategies.

Activities & events:mazamas offers activities including hiking, climbing, backpacking, and local street rambles led by volunteer leaders. Participation is open to the public and subject to the physical fitness required for each activity. Participants are not charged a fee for activities, except for climbs in the mt. Hood national forest. In a typical year, approximately 1,500 climbers participate in our climbing program, 2,000 hikers participate in our hiking and street rambles program, and a few hundred participate in special events. Mazama outings are activities that are five days or longer. Outings vary in scope and number from year to year, depending on volunteer leadership. Most outings involve hiking, climbing, backpacking, trekking, or skiing, but some may include in-town excursions. Although most outings take place in the western united states, some travel to foreign destinations. Like other activities, they are open to the public; participants pay for their own travel and accommodations. Mazamas also awards grants that help fund climbing expeditions into high or remote mountain regions of the world. Mazamas offers informative and entertaining programs that are held at the mazama mountaineering center for the community throughout the year. The outdoor-oriented programs are free with a suggested donation, and range in nature from film screenings to research and advocacy updates to presentations by mission-aligned partner organizations.

Stewardship:in addition to recreation activities and education programs, conservation is central to the mazama mission. From the beginning, mazamas has played a significant role in preserving existing wilderness areas, having been involved in the establishing both crater lake and mt. Rainier national parks, cascade forest reserve, the three sisters wilderness area, and portlands forest park. Mazamas continues this tradition by organizing trail- and crag-tending activities, as well as funding conservation and research grants to qualified non-profits and students each year.