Jeremy grew up on a lake in Minnesota, fishing and camping with his family. He spent three years in Bozeman, MT in college before permanently moving to the West Coast. He met a great group of friends through the Mazamas and our Basic Climbing Education Program, and now he spends most of his free time rock climbing or mountaineering with them.
Name: Jeremy Luedtke
Year Joined Mazamas: 2020
Present-day outdoor activities: Alpine and sport climbing. I recently summited Mount Shasta with Gary Bishop and have multiple ascents planned for the remainder of the summer. I have also been doing more outdoor rock climbing with a great group of people I have met through The Mazamas.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory: I grew up in Minneapolis & my mom was from the north woods closer to Canada. Her family still lived in northern Minnesota and almost every weekend in the summer we would go camping near her hometown and hang out with her family. My earliest outdoor memories were learning how to fish from my grandpa during these trips. He was a cranky old Norwegian fellow who was happiest outdoors and loved to fly fish. While he was always gruff (even around his grandson), he showed his affection by always taking the time to take me on adventures in the woods and teach me about it.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? After I moved to Portland, I ended up working with a Mazamas member who was on the Lodge Committee. We would chat at work about getting outside and into the mountains. He told me about the Mazamas, and said I would enjoy it.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Take advantage of the educational opportunities that Mazamas offers, such as the “gym-to-crag” class or the Sunday Skill-Builders, or volunteer to help with BCEP. Most of my friends, and all of my climbing partners are Mazamas that I met through these opportunities.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Honestly, it is the instructors and volunteer assistants at Mazamas classes that I take. Personally, I believe that climbing fun & climbing safely go hand-in-hand. The instructors at Mazamas classes have so much passion about sharing both technical skills and safety best practices, that it inspires me to get outside even more.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Alpine Savvy, @alpinesavvy. It is both a website and an Instagram account. It is an encyclopedia of climbing knowledge. Definitely a resource that all climbers should subscribe to.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Easter Island. I know it sounds funny because I don’t think you can do any climbing there, you just walk around and look at stuff. The fact that the island is so remote (the nearest inhabited land to it is 1,200 miles away), and filled with over 1000 giant stone heads is fascinating. Of course, it is also off the coast of Chile, and I heard there is some halfway decent climbing in Patagonia I could do on my way there…