Tag: BCEP

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Meet the Mazamas

Connor Carroll is an avid backpacker, mountaineer and climber from Austin, Texas. Connor is an Oregon State University alumnus and since her undergraduate degree, calls Oregon and the Pacific Northwest home. After moving back to Oregon in 2020, she rediscovered her love for the mountains and noticed the profound impact on her depression, anxiety and disorder, Trichotillomania. Connor previously worked as an environmental educator and is now the Training and Recruiting Manager with People and Culture for Next Adventure. She spends her free time adventuring in the mountains with her Jack Russell, Dan.

Name:  Connor Carroll

Pronouns:  She/Her/Hers

Year Joined Mazamas: 2022

Present-day outdoor activities:  Backpacking, mountaineering, alpine and backcountry skiing, rock climbing, swimming in remote alpine lakes, and Stand Up Paddle Boarding.

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Growing up with a father who was a Colorado native, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to backpacking at a young age. At just 5 years old, my family backpacked the Blue Lake Trail near Mt. Sneffels in the San Juans. We enjoyed simple snacks of Vienna sausages, frolicked in snow patches nestled on the mountainside, played on a log over a rushing creek, and my twin brother and I shared laughs in our sleeping bags on the forest floor. However, that adventure also marked my first encounter with altitude sickness. Struggling with the symptoms, my father had to carry me down the mountain. Since then, I’ve become overly cautious about altitude sickness, as it seems I’m particularly susceptible to it.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization?  Hold on…this is a long one!

Apart from a brief stint on the PCT in northern Washington after college, I hadn’t explored backpacking in the Pacific Northwest. Eager for an adventure summer of 2020, I settled on the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon for my first backpacking trip back in the PNW. The plan was to trek 9 miles to Ice Lake, unwind by the frozen lake, and summit Matterhorn, a peak standing at 9,826 ft. Being from Texas, I had little experience with snow, so I was surprised to find Ice Lake frozen, and Matterhorn covered in snow in early July. (Now – not so surprising HA)

The following day, we joined two seasoned hikers for a summit attempt on Matterhorn. As we ascended, there was a steep snow patch above Ice Lake that we had to cross. Due to my inadequate footwear, I slipped numerous times, almost risking falling into the ice-covered lake below. Thankfully, the quick reflexes of one of the men saved me each time I slipped. I’m forever grateful! Since I was unable to cross without slipping, we navigated through scree to bypass the snow patch. Despite the initial scare, we continued, scrambling over rocks and wading through deep snow until safety concerns prompted us to turn around. The views were unforgettable, and we descended by glissading down Matterhorn.

The rest was history; I was hooked. Eager to pursue mountain climbing safely (not slipping into an icy lake), I sought guidance. In March 2021, with the help of my friend Marisa Carrion, an experienced mountaineer, I conquered my first volcano, Mt. St. Helens. Marisa recommended Mazamas and encouraged me to enroll in a beginner course so I could join her on more technical climbs. At the time I was unsure due to time and financial constraints.

However, in the summer of 2021, I went backpacking solo in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Following what I thought was the “off-trail trail”, I boulder hopped and soon found myself on the left side of the ridge. According to my GPS I was supposed to be on the right side of the ridge. Looking for another way around, it became evident that another way was impossible. I made the call to return to the lower lake to camp. While hiking down, I lost my footing and fell 15 feet, hitting my head on a rock.

To this day, I remember the slow-motion experience of my fall. When I landed, blood covered my face and head. I looked like I walked out of a horror film. I quickly took my pack off to get my first aid kit.  I kept repeating, “you’re okay, you’re fine.” I wanted to believe the words I was saying, after all, my worst fear had finally happened; I was alone in the wilderness and injured. I quickly put pressure on the wound on my head to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, at the lower lake there was a team of climbers that quickly noticed my head bandage and frazzled demeanor. They greeted me, sat me down, thoroughly cleaned out my wound and continued to monitor my state. I learned that this group of climbers met through a Seattle alpine club called The Mountaineers. The bond this team had was supportive and special. Where could I find a group of people that would have my back in the mountains? Mazamas.

I decided to apply for the Basic Climbing Education Program with Mazamas to gain the proper education and build a community that could help me work through my new PTSD. I was fortunate to have been accepted and to join Pushkar Dixit’s team, where I met some truly remarkable individuals that I now call my dear friends. After BCEP, I continued with my education and applied for ICS in 2022. Between BCEP and ICS I’ve had the pleasure of climbing 11 peaks. I cannot wait to see what the summer of 2024 will hold!

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone; that’s how I have such a range of outdoor hobbies. It’s terrifying! But by taking chances, I now am part of an amazing climbing community and I have been able witness some of the most breathtaking places. While it’s inevitable that bad things can occur in the backcountry, like my fall, it hasn’t kept me from pursuing what I love. Instead, I view each experience as an opportunity to learn and grow as an outdoorswoman.

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? It’s truly inspiring to witness how individuals who have overcome adversity, whether it’s a physical disability, mental health challenges, or unfortunate life events, find solace and healing in nature and the wilderness. As someone who deals with mental health issues and has faced setbacks, I’m deeply moved when I see people triumph over their struggles and continue to embrace the beauty and imperfections of life!

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? “Fried Green Tomatoes” holds a special place in my heart. While my father is from Denver, my mother is from New Orleans. A lot of my childhood was in New Orleans, visiting multiple times a year. Growing up in the South and in an Italian family, cooking is deeply ingrained in our culture. This film is not just about cooking/fried green tomatoes; it’s about women, their strength, their love, and how they navigate life. It evokes a strong sense of home for me.

What’s on your adventure bucket list? I sadly lost my Uncle Andy at a young age, but my father has kept his adventurous spirit alive. Here’s an article about my Uncle Andy that our family finds hilarious:
https://www.westword.com/news/top-of-their-game-5054370?fbclid=IwAR0Xv5SYkQxwou9T32mSoLnwvdddj3YqFr0BGtHauTNT3VT9JUDtlNJ-rbM_aem_AQVCoN1NzpdjKst3pze6nN-f1xDjBfjHfC31U2Y1WZggnRq65KRsBQ_ekavMVME9F1WTAU7_TATDePUdP9r230IE

Since I was a kid, I’ve always associated my Uncle Andy with The Andes in South America. I have always wanted to visit and backpack in The Andes. Now that I have mountaineering and climbing experience, exploring this range in a more technical sense would feel like a meaningful tribute to my Uncle Andy and his deep love for the mountains.

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Meet the Mazamas

Ann Marie graduated from high school in Japan before settling in the Pacific Northwest and calling it home. She fell in love with the outdoors while in college,  where she was introduced to climbing in 1991. She climbed a lot in the early years before moving to the Midwest and starting a family. Upon returning to the Northwest in 2004, she got back into climbing and wanted to find a group to climb with. Finding the Mazamas opened a whole new world of adventuring. Ann Marie is a provisional leader in the Leadership Development (LD) program.

Name:  Ann Marie Caplan

Pronouns:  She/her

Year Joined Mazamas: 2018

Present-day outdoor activities:  Rock climbing, cycling, alpine in the summer

What’s your earliest outdoor memory?  I remember hiking with my family when we lived in Hawaii. On one hike, we had found an abandoned kitten that they let me take home and keep. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I learned about the Mazamas from a friend, Mark Milobinski.  He was a climb leader and was going to lead a couple climbs (Hood and Eldorado) and invited me to come along.  I joined so I could climb with him.  I then decided to take ICS (Intermediate Climbing School) to brush up on my skills and be more in line with “the Mazama way” of doing things. From that point on, I was all in with the organization. I was drawn in by the community of like-minded climbers who love to adventure like I do.  

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them?  Don’t worry about being the strongest or fastest. There are plenty of us who are here for the people and the journey.  

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? I am inspired by people who push themselves to do things they may feel they are not ready to do. My favorite thing about assisting on climbs is the pure joy people feel when they overcome mental or physical challenges they otherwise may not have done without the Mazamas.

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one.  This is a tough one, as I am not one to choose favorites.  I am a fan of Alpine Savvy because John Godino is cool. (@alpinesavvy on Instagram)

What’s on your adventure bucket list? I’ve always wanted to trek to Everest Base Camp.  I would love to see the Khumbu Ice fall in person.  

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Meet the Mazamas

Diane hails from the Midwestern prairie landscape now mostly converted to cornfields and pig farms, but found her way to Oregon where her love for outdoor recreation, especially snowboarding, intersects with her professional passion for environmental ethics. Having worked for a conservation non-profit, Diane went to law school to become a more effective environmental advocate. She now works as an environmental lawyer in the public sector, advising Oregon natural resources agencies, primarily the Department of Environmental Quality, on water quality issues.

After trying splitboarding a handful of times, she applied for the Backcountry Ski Touring (BCST) program as a student in 2018, looking to solidify her skills and meet like-minded people. Some of the folks from the class are still her best snowboarding buddies. And she thinks that BCST provides such a unique opportunity for people to learn important skills that are beneficial in reducing accidents, keeping access open, and getting people the experience they need to enjoy the sport. 

Diane is now chairing the BCST committee, responsible for the successful implementation of a complex curriculum that involves 7 lectures and 6 field sessions/on-snow tours. But she was initially hesitant to become a tour leader and assume increased responsibilities. At the time there was only one other woman tour leader. Diance thought about where her fear was coming from and decided to lean into it. After all, forcing yourself to teach something is the best way to really know it. 

Her motivations come from both the ownership she feels for the program, and the fact that so many of her backcountry friendships have been cultivated here. She wants others to have that opportunity too.

While Diane may think of herself as an unlikely BCST leader, moving from the volunteer coordinator role into the committee chair has felt surprisingly natural. She already has a vision for 2025 to ensure continuity and is experimenting with building out new volunteer roles and subcommittees to respond to the growing list of past students excited to pay it forward as volunteers.

Name: Diane Lloyd

Pronouns:  she/her

Year Joined Mazamas:  2014

Present-day outdoor activities:  I love splitboarding – it’s my main activity. Like many, I have an 8-5, Monday through Friday job and it’s just too expensive and crowded to enjoy the resort every weekend. I’m also a hiker, backpacker, rock climber, and a bit of a mountain biker – but all of these sports take a backseat to snowboarding!

What’s your earliest outdoor memory: Growing up in Iowa, a landscape redundant with monocrops, I went to summer camp as a kid. This was the first time I experienced hiking and campfire cookouts surrounded by tall grass and verdant trees that seemed so much bigger back then. This experience inspired my interest in the environment and excitement for outdoor recreation, so I continued to seek out “wild landscapes,” which were a formative cornerstone of my professional and personal journeys.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I remember exactly when I heard about Mazamas from a friend. Hearing about the Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) made me think that it would be a good way to meet new people, get outdoor experiences, and gain new skills in a fun and organized way.

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? I think the most important thing as outdoor recreation increases, is for people to get involved with the management of public lands. Exercising the “leave no trace” ethic is fundamental, and for public lands users there is a responsibility to understand the shared use (and competing interests) involved on public lands. As recreators, we’re also stewards, and it’s on us to balance sport and conservation efforts as active participants. Instead of getting siloed in your lifestyle sport, stay open to considering other uses or conservation efforts that are overlapping.

Here’s a few ways I’d recommend getting involved:

  • Depending on your recreation type, you can seek out info on social media and websites that describe the issues, advocacy efforts, and budgets for public lands. For example, state parks are often heavily used by mountain bikers, while national forests are used by backcountry skiers and snowboarders.
  • Provide comments during open public comment periods. A successful example of this recently was for Mount Hood’s backcountry permitting process. This type of engagement directly influences decision making. 
  • Advocate for sufficient funding for public lands and natural resource management agencies. 
  • Lastly, minimize your own impact on land, wildlife, and water quality by educating yourself and others in “leave no trace” principles. Being a good steward on a micro level means taking good care of your own sh*t, literally, at times. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Many of my ski partners are inspiring individuals with busy careers and other competing priorities, so time on the skin track together is really special. Splitboarding is a social activity and it allows for time to talk and share things that inspire each other. 

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why?  I’m following the podcast “Buddy Check” right now, which is about (romantic) relationships with climbing partners. It dives into traditional gender roles, heterosexual relationships, and climbing. Turns out, humans play out those traditional, heteronormative gender roles at the climbing gym, which speaks to dynamics I may have felt at times but never really deeply analyzed. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list? .So many things! I love volcano skiing in the spring, so this year I’m scoping out lines with conditions that are harder to time just right – Bailey, Diamond, Thielson and El Dorado are on my radar, but I’m also interested in some other objectives off the beaten track, like getting lines in the Steens or Strawberries. Even though international snowboarding trips are always exciting, there is so much to do around the Pacific Northwest!

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Love in the Great Outdoors

This Valentine’s Day, we point our compass to tales of love, connection and shared adventures. At the Mazamas, we believe the great outdoors not only supplies stunning landscapes and heart-thumping adventures but also serves as the backdrop for some of life’s beautiful love stories.

In celebration of this international day of love, we’re delighted to share stories of couples who’ve found love amidst the rugged allure of nature and strengthened their bond through the Mazamas.

Merche & Chelsea

They met online at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and married in a small ceremony at Crater Lake the following year. How did they get to know each other? They hiked. The first trail the pair walked together was Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain. At the top, they gazed at Mt. Hood, never dreaming they would soon stand at its summit together.

Chelsea, a high school Spanish teacher and initially the more outdoorsy of the pair, applied to the Mazama Basic Climbing Education Program in 2022. Hearing Chelsea and another friend talk nonstop about BCEP on a hike, Merche applied too. “I thought, ‘what am I going to do on all the weekends you’re with the Mazamas,’” Merche, who teaches fifth grade in Hillsboro, recalled. “I can’t miss out.”

They both were accepted to the BCEP LGBTQ+ team, which they credited with enhancing their overall experience. “Representation matters,” Chelsea said. “That was the first time either of us had been part of an affinity group, and it was very welcoming. There even were others who did not speak English as their first language (members of the all-Latino BCEP team) BCEP was such a great introduction to the organization.”

But the couple wanted more, so they climbed mountains together that summer – Mt. Hood, Unicorn Peak, Mt. Washington and South Sister, to boost their applications to the Mazama Intermediate Climbing School (ICS). There were a couple of climbs where they said they were feeling a bit unwell, and if they hadn’t been together, they might have bailed. 

“But we helped and inspired each other, and it was so amazing to be on top of Mt. Hood together,” Chelsea said. “It’s so wonderful to have a hobby like climbing that we share.”

Chelsea and Merche are in the midst of ICS and have signed up to assist with the LGBTQ+ BCEP team again this year.

Kirk & Debbie

Debbie and Kirk met on the ICS committee in 2018, but it would take a few out-of-character, post-committee group pub gatherings, texts and a spare ticket to a soccer game before they truly clicked. 

“Kirk is a major introvert,” said Debbie, who also noted she’s very shy. “I learned later he never went for beers after committee meetings.”

“Yeah, there was no way I was just going to ask her out,” Kirk said, recalling the group email he sent inquiring if anyone wanted to go to a Timbers game. He wasn’t looking for just anyone though, and lucky for him, Debbie was the only taker.

But even during the soccer match, Debbie didn’t think it was a real date. That didn’t happen until they had been texting a lot, they had a free weekend from ICS, and they went to the beach and went for a hike.

“The rest, as they say, is history,” they both joked. That summer, the pair began climbing a fair bit together, and they backpacked around Mt. Adams. Then Debbie had a bad fall.

“It was really bad,” Kirk said. “She fell like 30 feet.” She suffered a concussion, broke her heel. As a result, the couple spent a lot of time indoors, getting to know each other. 

“I couldn’t do anything, and I really appreciated how supportive he was,” Debbie said. “I just wasn’t myself, and he was just wicked patient through all that.”

Fast forward to July 2019. Kirk proposed on the day off, between climbing South Early Winter Spire and Liberty Bell in the North Cascades. Their first wedding date, in 2020, was delayed due to COVID. In 2021, they opted for a small backyard ceremony at Kirk’s parents’ house in West Linn. Both had been married before and have kids ranging in age from 24 to 33.

Kirk and Debbie assisted with BCEP, with Debbie in Leadership Development and Kirk a longtime climb leader. Together, they have run the LGBTQ+ BCEP team the past few years as allies, and have been so happy to meet the demand for that affinity space. 

Jeff & Freda

Jeff and Freda, who have run and continue to help with our Nordic and Backcountry Ski programs, met in November 1999. They both attended the Mazamas Annual Banquet at the Oregon Zoo. They met in the beverage line, and later, by coincidence, they wound up seated across from each other at dinner.

A few weeks later, Jefff got Freda’s number from a friend. They had dinner once, and  shortly thereafter, Jeff took on a huge work project, and over the next year, he put in 60- to 100-hour weeks and had no time for a social life.

But he emerged that following spring, when the project was over. He helped out with a BCEP class, and in another coincidence, Freda was assisting the same class. Late on the Ruckel Ridge conditioning hike, while descending from Benson Plateau, Freda and Jeff happened to be together in the back. They chatted, and Jeff asked if she would be interested in picking up where they left off 16 months prior.  

“Maybe” she said. “I have two questions…My dad was a school teacher, and in the summer he framed houses. Any man in my life needs to be handy. Do you know which end of a hammer to hold onto?”

Jeff replied: “Yeah. What’s your second question?”

Freda: “I intend to be married by the time I’m 50, and right now I’m 48. Are you still interested?”

Three-and-a-half years later they married at an outdoor wedding with a cloudburst rainstorm interruption between their vows. And they’re still going strong, living a life of adventure and volunteerism, with the Mazamas and beyond.

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Meet the Mazamas

Kristie grew up staring at Mt. Saint Helens from her living room window and has been living around the Northwest long enough to remember its eruption in May 1980. Since then, she has skied and climbed several of the Northwest volcanoes and loves to suffer by running ultramarathons around mountains. 

When Kristie is not outside, she can be found working as a Nurse Practitioner in a small clinic in Hood River, practicing the piano, or having fun in the bouldering gym. She recently became an empty nester after sending two kids off to college, and is enjoying having more time on her hands to pursue more wilderness medicine teaching and adventure, including, Intermediate Climbing School (ICS, which she is currently taking) and volunteering for the Mazama first aid committee and the Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP). 

Name:  Kristie Mitchell

Pronouns:  She/her

Year Joined Mazamas: 2018

Present-day outdoor activities:  I spend most of my spring/summers trail runni

ng, mountaineering or mountain biking.  My winters I spend Nordic and backcountry skiing with some downhill skiing thrown in. I hope to incorporate some rock climbing post-Intermediate Climbing School (ICS) once the weather improves!

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? I remember my first day skiing like it was yesterday. I was 6 years old and enrolled in Powder Hounds ski school at Timberline. It was cold, and I fell a lot.  I remember being very frustrated until after lunch and hot chocolate.  Then parts of it became more fun. It obviously stuck!

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I first heard of the Mazamas through a friend. I was looking to climb Mountain Hood again (initially I climbed it with Timberline Mountain Guides) and wanted to connect with more people to climb with.

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Enjoy the outdoors, but be prepared to be humbled. There is a lot that can go wrong, and being prepared (and in good fitness) is the key to enjoyment. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? I love long days on the trails or climbing routes, particularly when it involves mountains and views and multiple terrains. I especially love being in the present moment and in awe of nature. That to me is the most inspiring. I am inspired by people who are passionate about the outdoors and generous with sharing. 

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one.  It’s hard for me to pick just one. I guess I really like the Sharp End podcast because of the interviewing style, and I learn a lot. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list?  So many things. Definitely exploring Patagonia. There’s a race down there called the Patagonia Expedition Race where a team of four covers over 500 km by mountaineering, kayaking, trekking, trail running and mountain biking, all without electronic navigation on a course that is revealed 24 hours before the start time. That to me would be the ultimate adventure.  If anyone wants to form a team with me let me know 🙂 

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Meet the Mazamas

Lily grew up in Northeast Portland and enjoyed cross country skiing and playing sports as a kid. In her adult life, she has continued to engage in those activities as much as possible by coaching girls lacrosse.  

She  completed our Basic Climbing Education Program last year and has summited Mount Hood, Unicorn Peak and South Sister. She assisted with a BCEP team in 2023, intends to assist again in 2024 and also is serving on the BCEP committee, which is gearing up for its info night on Jan. 11.

Name:  Lily Cox-Skall

Pronouns:  she/ her

Year Joined Mazamas: 2022

Present-day outdoor activities:  Mountaineering, backpacking, hiking, running, cross country skiing

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Going cross country skiing with my parents as a kid – I used to hate it! Lol

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with theorganization? A few of my friends had taken BCEP and posted about it on social media, prompting my interest!

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Partaking in outdoor skill training can give you so much more confidence in the outdoors. Before I took BCEP, I felt like I had to rely on others to be knowledgeable about navigating outdoor scenarios. Since learning technical skills, I feel comfortable organizing and leading day trips and backpacking trips that I may not have in the past, and it’s given me the opportunity to get more of my friends and family outdoors with me!

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Since joining the Mazamas and BCEP in particular, I have been so fortunate to meet so many amazing and inspiring people. In particular, one of my BCEP team leads, Ann Marie, inspired me so much throughout the course and beyond. On top of a million other commitments, Ann Marie volunteers to help students learn new outdoor skills, and she is so patient that it made it a lot easier to get through the intimidation of doing new and scary things. When it comes to badass mountaineering women who inspire me, I definitely hold her on the top of my list :).

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? I recently finished the book Bravey by Alexi Pappas! It is a really inspiring memoir that inspires me when it comes to setting goals and accomplishing them.

What’s on your adventure bucket list? I want to go climb the Acatenango volcano in Guatemala!

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Meet the Mazamas

Teresa has mountaineering in her blood. Both her parents were active Mazamas who instilled in her a healthy respect for the outdoors. She was just 6 when she first summited Mt. Hood, motivated by the prospect of keeping the small ice axe her dad had rented.

School and life led her away from the Northwest for many years, returning in 2016. That year, she and her husband enrolled in our Basic Mountaineering Education Program to refresh their skills, reacquaint themselves with the splendor of the PNW and make climber friends.

She graduated from ICS in 2019, enrolled in the Mazama Leadership Development Program, began volunteering for Portland Mountain Rescue and led a BCEP team last year. When not climbing, and even when she is, Teresa loves to take photos and share her love for adventure with as many people as possible.

Name:    Teresa Dalsager

Pronouns:  She/Her 

Year Joined Mazamas:  I was lucky to get to check out some Mazamas activities as a kid with my Dad, but officially joined in 2016, when I moved back to Oregon. 

Present-day outdoor activities:  Mountain climbing, hiking, kayaking, biking, backpacking, rock climbing, skiing and swimming.

What’s your earliest outdoor memory: Creeping into the forest (it was actually the woods) with my siblings and cousins behind my grandparents house in Stevenson, Wash. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization?  As I’ve already mentioned, my Dad was a member when I was a kid in the 1970’s.  I moved away after high school and upon returning to Portland in 2016 my husband Fred and I joined almost immediately to meet people who climbed.  It was the best decision.  We joined BCEP, made a bunch of friends, started climbing regularly and got more involved by volunteering and taking courses.  My relationship with the Mazamas was a springboard for joining Portland Mountain Rescue. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them?  Learn mountaineering fundamentals and accident prevention through a trusted organization like the Mazamas.  Resist the temptation to learn these skills on the fly through a meet up group or anyone who can’t readily provide their experience and qualifications. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? People inspire me.  We all have different strengths and skillsets.  It’s fulfilling to witness people overcome obstacles and reach their personal goals through determination, commitment, and sometimes sheer grit.

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why?   Book: A Prayer for Owen Meany, written by John Irving.  The main message of the story is “not to judge a book by it’s cover.”  This is a metaphor for not judging people based on the way they look. Check out the book or see the movie based on the book called Simon Birch.  You’ll be inspired too.

What’s on your adventure bucket list? . Patagonia, Nepal (Spring 2024), Kilimanjaro, & Via Ferrata adventures in Europe. 

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Meet the Mazamas

Milton enrolled in our Intermediate Climbing School in 2016. He had previous mountaineering experiences climbing in Colombia and Peru, and some rock climbing in Georgia and North Carolina.

He is part of our Leadership Development team and has helped out with our Basic Climbing Education Program, ICS and crevasse rescue skill builders. When not outdoors, he works as a bilingual information systems specialist.

Name:  Milton Diaz

Pronouns:  He/ Him/ His 

Year Joined Mazamas: 2016

Present-day outdoor activities:  Mountaineering, climbing, splitboarding, snowboarding

What’s your earliest outdoor memory?  Climbing with my dad in Colombia when I was 12.  We climbed Nevado El Ruiz, which is 5,389 meters with his group of friends.  After that, I got hooked climbing snow peaks in the Sierrra Nevada El Cocuy.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I was looking for a mountaineering club when I moved to Portland in 2015.  I could not enroll in BCEP because I missed the registration date, but I signed up for ICS and then got hooked climbing the volcanoes in Washington and Oregon.  After ICS I took the Backcountry Ski class with the Mazamas and started doing more backcountry tours in the North Cascades, Mt. Saint Helens and Mt Hood. Last year I did  the Steep Snow and Ice class, and I’ve been climbing more technical routes,  also doing some ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon and started leading my own climbs like El Dorado.

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Take a mountaineering class like BCEP that teaches you the basics like self arrest, climbing techniques, rappelling, and knots, and then take ICS if you want to be on more challenging climbs and start leading your own climbs with friends.  

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? I got inspired when I read climbing reports on Facebook and the Mazama Bulletin.  I like to see people going outside and challenging themselves doing what they love.

 What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? My favorite book is Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. It is a true inspiration for all, what he did to survive after falling in a crevasse, even crawling on a glacier alone!  

 What’s on your adventure bucket list?  All the peaks in the North Cascades.  So far I have climbed Mt Shuksan, El Dorado, Ruth Mountain and some failed attempts to Sahale but there are some many beautiful mountains out there that I want to climb. I also want to climb the North Ridge of Mt Baker and the Kautz route in Mt Rainier.

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Meet the Mazamas

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…

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Meet the Mazamas

Emily is a self-described thrill-seeker who loves to explore the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. They’re fairly new to mountaineering, but summited Mt. Shasta in 2022 and are looking to add more peaks to their resume post-BCEP, which they credit with “absolutely changing my life.” 

Name: Emily McEntire

Pronouns: They/Them

Year Joined Mazamas: 2021

Present-day outdoor activities: Canyoneering!!! Mountaineering, Climbing, Hiking, Paddle-boarding, Exploring

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Running around in the miles of forest behind the townhomes I lived in. I’m an only child, and I’d spend hours by myself exploring every little corner of that place just zen-ing with the wind and the trees. There was a frog pond nearby as well, and I’d go sit and listen to the sounds of all the creatures that lived there.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I was looking for community when I moved back to the West, and a hiking friend mentioned BCEP. I had also been researching Zion National Park where I learned about Canyoneering, and after I saw the Mazamas offered that as well, it was a done deal. Haha

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Live and explore!!! I’ve heard so many people say “I wish I could.” You can!! It’s yours for the taking!! Just, approach it with respect, and of course safety in mind.

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? People with a thirst for life charge my batteries. People who live life with enthusiasm and compassion, and I’ve found more than many of those people within the Mazamas. There’s so much experience, and ambition, and miles underfoot, it’s a blessing to be surrounded by, and get to adventure with so many of my own personal heroes!!

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why?  Lately I’ve been reading “The Rock Warrior’s Way.” I try not to spend too much time on social media, but I do love seeing everyone’s adventures on Insta and Facebook. I’m always tickled to see everyone’s summer smiles!!

What’s on your adventure bucket list? Oh there’s so many!!! I grew up in the Tacoma area, so Mt. Rainier is at the top of my mountaineering dream list, and I’m slowly planning a canyoneering trip to Zion next year. The crystal caves down in Mexico caught my eye as well. Really I just want to rappel the world!! Haha