Month: January 2025

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Meet the Mazamas

Eric is a first-generation Peruvian American who is an American Mountain Guides Association single pitch instructor, aiming to become a rock guide in a few years. He loves spending every moment he can outdoors, but he recently opened up a machine shop, and that does take up a fair bit of his time lately. But not so much time that he hasn’t added a new hobby to his ever-expanding list – circus activities, like the flying trapeze, as a way to help him strength train for climbing. 

Eric Meza

Pronouns:  He, Him, His

Year Joined Mazamas: 2022

Present-day outdoor activities: Climbing, scuba diving, ski mountaineering,

mountain biking, surfing, trail running and learning the intricacies of nonprofit peanut farming 

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Ooof. I was maybe 2 or 3; I remember my parents used to bring a little kid portable toilet that held a wag bag for long road trips. I clearly remember visiting Yosemite one snowy winter day and having my portable setup right in front of El Cap in the icy meadow. I think that’s when my obsession first started with the big stone. There’s a picture of me pooping while in awe of El Capitan somewhere in an album buried in storage.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I first heard of the Mazamas from some friends in PDX Climbers of Color. Joining was a catalyst for becoming a safer, more knowledgeable climber. My goal is to keep learning so that I can someday pass on the knowledge I’ve accumulated from classes and adventures to the next generation of BIPOC climbers.

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Sometimes conditions or situations get dangerous, and retreating seems like giving up on your goal or a failure; it’s not. Getting home alive should be the end goal and everything in-between is the good stuff you can tell stories about. You can always try again another day. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? U.S. competitive eater Joey Chestnut’s world record from a few months ago inspires me everyday. 

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one. Hmmm @creamycanoli on Instagram is my latest inspiration. They really capture the plethora of facial expressions during difficult climbing moments. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list? A few big walls this year and then a trip to Chile/Patagonia next winter. 

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Meet the Mazamas

Name: Colleen Rawson

Pronouns: she/her

Year Joined Mazamas: 2023

Present-day outdoor activities: Climbing, walking/hiking, biking, backpacking, learning to ski  

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Jumping into a river when I was around 4 years old, learning the doggie paddle. I grew up in Florida, so most of the outdoor rec was water-related. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I overheard two fellow students in my indoor lead climbing class in 2022 talking about the Mazamas. I had just summited Mount St. Helen’s that summer and was curious to learn more, so they recommended the Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP). The rest was history — I applied to BCEP in 2023, went on to do Intermediate Climbing School (ICS) in 2023-2024, became a hike leader and committee member. The Mazamas programs have given me the skills I need to make informed decisions outside, teach others more effectively, challenge myself, and be in community with people who love being outside. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Be prepared and do some research beforehand. Go with friends, family, or community groups (like Mazama hikes!). Know your limits. Remember it’s supposed to be fun.   

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? I am inspired most by people who have experienced great pain, grief, and uncertainty in their lives but who remain open, gentle, and lighthearted. 

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one. My favorite nonfiction book that I read last year was “4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” by Oliver Burkeman. The title references the fact that humans only have, on average, about 4,000 total weeks in their lives. (Hint: It is not a time management or productivity book!) 

What’s on your adventure bucket list? I don’t know if I believe in bucket lists. There is a nearly infinite amount of adventures to be had. In mountaineering, it’s easy to be fixated on “what is next.” I have some goals year to year — I’d love to do Mt. Shuksan’s Fisher Chimneys, Glacier Peak, Acker Rock, and Prusik Peak — but my real goal is to savor the process. 

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Snowshoeing: A Winter Window into Oregon’s Wilderness

Adventurous Young Mazamas snowshoeing near Mt. Hood, 2024

by Jacob Lippincott, Adventurous Young Mazamas

Oregon is typically not a state for fair weather hikers. In the summer expect to contend with heat, long dry spells, and skies filled with wild-fire smoke. In the winter, you’ll find cold temperatures, copious amounts of rain at lower elevations or many feet of snow at higher elevations. When the few nice weeks of fall give way to winter, people who want to continue enjoying one of our local trails often turn to snowshoes.

It is thought that snowshoes were first used around 4000 BC in Central Asia. People in snowy environments used them not for recreation at first, but for travelling and hunting. Snowshoes at this time did not look much like the ones we see today but were made from teardrop shaped planks of wood with a binding to attach to the foot. It wasn’t until they were brought to North America, by people crossing over the Bering Sea Land Bridge that they started to take on a more recognizable form. 

The Indigenous peoples of the Huron and Cree tribes are credited with modernizing snowshoes, replacing planks with webbing and a frame around the outside. As they were used more extensively, their form changed to meet the demands of conditions specific to that region. For example, snowshoes found in Alaska tended to be longer and skinnier, more suited for long trips in open country with deep snow. In contrast, the “bear paw” snowshoe, oval in shape with no tail, was great for navigating through dense woods and hilly areas. Today’s snowshoes resemble these older versions in shape and serve similar function, but are made with newer materials like aluminum and plastic, allowing them to be lighter and more durable.

For winter travel on trails and snowy plains, it is hard to beat snowshoes for their effectiveness and ease of use. While they may not provide the downhill speed of touring skis or the efficiency of cross-country skis, they require less training and less financial investment. If you can hike, you can snowshoe. That being said you will find that snowshoeing through deep snow is tiring, and usually slower than hiking.

Often, you find fewer people braving the elements so snowshoeing, even on a trail that is popular in the summer, can feel like you are deep in the backcountry. Just remember that snowshoeing or other forms of winter recreation come with their own set of challenges. Navigation can be harder, as even familiar trails can look vastly different under a few feet of snow and storms easily remove evidence of yesterday’s bootpack. Be prepared for cold temperatures in the morning and potential warming throughout the day, dress in layers. Finally, the sun goes down early in winter, start early and be back before dark. Now is not the season to stay overnight in the woods. 

I often say that I don’t like to snowshoe, that I would rather ski if I am spending time outside this time of year. But, writing this has made me reconsider that position. Yes, snowshoeing is often more tiring and slower than hiking and I want to get to the summit or back to the car to get warm. But when I remember to stop and marvel at the forest around me and soak in the quiet splendor, I am once again reminded how lucky I am to live in the Pacific Northwest. The dark green stands of evergreens, when covered with snow, are what comes to my mind when I think about the mountains here and trails become more beautiful during the winter. Moving through the woods in the cold, with tepid winter sun filtering through the trees and heavy snow-laden boughs gently swaying in the wind above provide for a wonderful, unique experience. Winter also provides a stillness to the outdoors that can be hard to find today. Honestly, I think about how lucky I am to live here almost every time I am outside in Oregon but it hits differently this time of year. And when on one of these magical winter hikes, thanks to snowshoes, I didn’t posthole every ten feet for the last five miles. 

If you would like to join the Mazamas for a snowshoe, keep an eye on the calendar this winter season. The Adventurous Young Mazamas is hosting our Winter Weekend the weekend of February 14–16. There will be snowshoeing events for everyone regardless of age or experience level, join us!

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The Mazamas Opposes PGE’s Power Line Construction in Forest Park

Letter sent by Rebekah Phillips, Mazama Executive Director on behalf of the Mazamas to Morgan Steele, City of Portland Environmental City Planner

Dear Ms. Steele,

Established in 1894 on the summit of Mt. Hood, the Mazamas is an Oregon-based 501(c)3 with a proud tradition of providing excellence in climbing education, leadership, and conservation in the Pacific Northwest. Our mission – to build a community that inspires everyone to love and protect the mountains – is carried out in partnership with more than 300 highly dedicated volunteers through education programs, climbs and hikes, stewardship activities, and scientific research. Current membership includes about 3,000 individuals.

Many Mazama members have been involved with Portland’s Forest Park from the beginnings of the park in 1946; in fact, many of the original committee of 50 that urged the city to make this area a city park were Mazama members, including the founder and chair of this committee, Ding Cannon. Our roots run deep with Forest Park, and we continue today to host many of our local outdoor activities in the park.

We are deeply concerned with PGE’s revised land-use application in the north end of the park, which proposes to clear cut 4.7 acres of 150+ year old Douglas fir and bigleaf maple trees and proposes to remove five white oak trees estimated to be 170-500 years old. In total, the proposal includes the removal of 376 living trees and 21 dead trees. It will permanently fill at least two wetlands and disrupt two streams that support multiple species of aquatic wildlife.

According to PGE, Phase 5 of this project may impact another 15 acres of Forest Park to the northwest and west potentially disrupting the Miller Creek watershed which contains salmon habitat. Should Phase 3 be approved, it will pave the way to Phase 5 as the “least expensive” alternative.

This area of land lies within the City’s Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection overlay zones, and also within the City’s Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan (FPNRMP). Legally, PGE must comply with this plan unless they can prove that there is no alternative to meet their obligation to provide reliable power. We are not convinced that PGE has investigated alternatives, nor have they been forthcoming with convincing information that they have tried to do so. Such information was requested as far back as 2022, and although a report on this was delivered to PGE by a private consultant at that time, it was not made available until a few weeks ago. Now PGE has released the report after withholding this information from the public for two years, and is requesting urgency on this matter to be decided.

As documented in the City of Portland’s 2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report, the northern area of Forest Park is home to over 200 species of interest, either listed, candidate, sensitive, or of concern at the State and Federal level. It is rich in wildlife structural diversity including larger trees, standing snags, and native understory. One of the streams that would be denuded is habitat for the northern red-legged frog, an at-risk species as noted in the Special Status and At-Risk Species List prepared by the City of Portland in 2022.

Ecological impact on the protected area of Forest Park would not be restricted to the area targeted for clear-cut. The edges of this pristine coniferous forest would be susceptible to plant invasions (ivy, blackberry, garlic mustard and others) that degrade forest health and limit diversity of species supported by the Park, tree blow-down from storms, land-slides, temperature increases which can weaken the forest making trees susceptible to insect and disease invasions. The slopes in this area of the Park are extremely steep, as documented in the Toth report, making this landscape prone to landslides when vegetation is removed.

Mitigation is not a solution for the environmental impact caused by power lines. Once a corridor is widened or opened, it is continually maintained in a manner that does not resemble the original natural state of the land. Proposing that this can somehow be compensated by improving other areas is ludicrous.

There are two more phases that PGE wants to follow up with. If this proposal is approved, against the overlay zones and long-ago approved FPNRMP, it will become a slippery slope – there would be an expectation that the following two phases could also be approved, incrementally increasing total impact to the north end of the park.

On behalf of the Mazama Board of Directors, Conservation Committee, and membership, I urge the City of Portland to reject this proposal.

Sincerely,
Rebekah Phillips
Executive Director

Learn more

Correction: The title of this post has been changed for clarity.

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Meet the Mazamas

A native Minnesotan, Chris moved to Portland in the mid-1990s and quickly fell in love with the region’s mountains, forests, deserts and coastlines. Despite a fear of heights, discovering the Mazamas 20 years later sparked a passion for climbing that took him from student and participant to instructor, climb leader and member of the Mazama board of directors. When not recreating outdoors, he leads marketing and business development efforts for technology companies of all sizes.

Name:  Chris Kruell

Pronouns:  He/him

Year Joined Mazamas: 2007

Present-day outdoor activities:  Climbing (alpine and rock), hiking, gravel biking and skate skiing. I used to be a competitive distance runner, and I just recently took up running again.

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? I remember being a little boy in Minneapolis. I was playing on the beach at the Minneapolis lake now named Bde Maka Ska, and I didn’t know how to swim yet. The family was heading back to the car, and my dad told me to go in the lake and rinse off. I remember thinking that made no sense because I was going to have to walk back through the sand again. I also have fond memories of when I first got cross country skis, and I would head out my back door and ski through the fields with my dog, Thor. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? Somebody I knew was telling me about Mazamas, and she had taken BCEP (Basic Climbing Education Program) awhile ago and was going to take it again. She described climbing Mt. Adams and camping out on the Lunch Counter, and I just thought that was the craziest thing. But then I decided to sign up for BCEP, and once class started, I was all in. I just absolutely loved it. You’re engaging physical and mental strength and endurance, decision making under duress, sense of accomplishment, learning about “next time”—all facets. I took BCEP, then ICS (Intermediate Climbing School) and AR (Advanced Rock) and headed down the leadership path. In addition to climbs, I led a BCEP team for several years. I also ran the BCEP program and assisted for ICS and AR. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? I think there are three fundamental areas people should think about. Number one, they should seek out sound advice or education from reputable people and organizations so you know what you’re getting into. And second, is proper gear selection. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to outfit yourself with the latest gear. But you shouldn’t just be out climbing peaks in jeans and running shoes (ask me how I know). And lastly, find experienced people. Find your people. The fun factor goes way up. The safety risks go way down. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Since I took up skate skiing, I just marvel at Jessie Diggins, the Olympian from Minnesota. She has a gear that most of us don’t and lays it out on the line every single time. The other people would be my high school and college cross country and track coaches who had a huge influence on my life. More recently in the outdoor recreation world, I’ve been thinking about the Mazamas. I went to the Steps Together fundraising dinner, and I looked around, and thought, “these are my people.” The Mazama community is incredibly inspiring, and I just love to be a part of it.

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one. My favorite book of all time is “A River Runs Through It.” I loved the movie too, but the book was just phenomenal.  

What’s on your adventure bucket list? I am so looking forward to taking my almost 11-month-old granddaughter camping this summer! I’d also like to go live in Europe or the UK for a couple months and just experience day-to-day life there. I’ve done a lot of business travel in my lifetime, but it’s much different staying in a five-star hotel for work compared to experiencing life as a local.