Spokane Mountaineers 100th anniversary

The Spokane Mountaineers have a century-old reputation as masters of cheap thrills in the great outdoors. They car-pool and sleep on the ground to get more adventure for the buck. Potluck meals feed their social appetite. They share a passion for wilderness and their expertise in muscle-powered sports. Group effort is the foundation of this club that’s left tracks on virtually every notable Northwest mountain destination. See Rich Landers' story about the club's first 100 years. Here's a 2005 story celebrating the club's 90th anniversary.

Section:Gallery

Sat., Dec. 5, 2015

Jim Spearman leads a Spokane Mountaineers trip to climb Dragontail Peak in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the 1980s. The outdoors club was founded on Sept. 19, 1915.

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The 1980 Makalu team all from Spokane. Back row: Jim States and Chris Kopczynski. Front row: Kim Momb and John Roskelley. Makalu is located on the border of Nepal and China.
Cris Currie improvises a climbing harness out of webbing during a Spokane Mountaineers Mountain School trip to Mount Hood in 1981.The outdoors club was founded on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Bill Erler was among theSpokane Mountaineers' talented ice climbers in the early 1990s. The outdoors club was founded on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Steve Nolan shows his technique during a Spokane Mountaineers backcountry skiing clinic in 1980. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Jim Spearman celebrates a Spokane Mountaineers group climb of Dragontail Peak in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the 1980s, with Mount Rainier in the background. The outdoors club was founded on Sept. 19, 1915.

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David Moershel gets ready to break camp during Spokane Mountaineers' ski mountaineering trip in the 1980s to Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Betty Mattoon snuggles into her first snow cave during an overnight Spokane Mountaineers winter camping seminar. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Mac McCandless, left, and Steve Weinberger paddle the Elk River in British Columbia in the 1990s with the Spokane Mountaineers. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Isabelle Cook negotiates a river crossing on a washed out bridge during a wilderness backpacking trip with the Spokane Mountaineers. The club was founded as the Spokane Walking Club in 1915 by five women librarians.

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Terry Janek hiked to Chimney Rock in the Idaho Selkirk Mountains in 1986 with the Spokane Mountaineers. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Marion Krauss and Bert Preecs, both of whom took up long-distance bicycling in their 60s with the Spokane Mountaineers, complete a 100-mile group trip from Priest Lake to Spokane. The outdoors club was founded by five hikers on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Romance has been a byproduct of the Spokane Mountaineers group trips to specatular outdoor destinations, such as this 1980 trip to Lake Ann for a climb of Mount Shuksan.The outdoors club was founded on Sept. 19, 1915.

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Brian Hoots demonstrates the strength of snow anchors on Stevens Peak. Many of the classs instructors relax a moment before joining their teams for individual practice.
Darrel Anderson, Dave Smith, and Will Murray of the Spokane Mountaineers crossing a glacier during a circumnavigation of Mount Rainier in July 1968.
Neil McAvoy of Kellogg, Idaho, climbs steep rock leading to 9,143 foot Leda Peak in British Columbia's Glacier Park. He was one of five men who performed the remarkable feat of climbing seven peaks in a little more than 19 hours. The men covered 22 miles, much of it almost perpendicular. Photo taken Sept. 5, 1967.

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The Spokane Mountaineers 1981 Mountain School graduation climb led dozens of students and volunteer instructors on the summit of Mount Hood.

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Before mountain bikes were created, Spokane Mountaineer Pat (Randall) Cassel was on a 1970s week-long bicycle tour mostly on Forest Service roads along the Lolo Trail.

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Kim Momb leads a group of students off the foggy summit of Mount Hood during the Spokane Mountaineers 1981 Mountain School graduation climb. Mom later went on to climb Mount Everest.

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Bill Fix relaxes near Kennedy Hot Springs after a 1980 Spokane Mountaineers climb of Glacier Peak.

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Entertainment at a Spokane Mountaineers annual banquet.

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Spokane Mountaineers helped lead the campaign for Spokane County to secure what is now John Shields Park, a.k.a. Minnehaha Rocks. The area is a training ground for rock climbers off Upriver Drive.

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Spokane mountaineer Rich Landers ascends the West Buttress of Mount McKinley near Denali Pass during a 1983 climb with Chris Kopczynski as Kop was training for an upcoming climb of Mount Everest.

Chris Kopczynski
Spokane Mountaineers head into a 1980s week-long backcountry ski trip through The Ramparts area of Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

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Lynn Smith of the Spokane Mountaineers briefs his crew of volunteers on using tools such as the Pulaski for building a new trail in the Dishman Hills Natural Area.

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Deb Hansen has become a leader in Spokane Mountaineers hiking activities since taking the club's Backpacking School.

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Sam Schlieder works on creating the original cross-country trail system at Mount Spokane State Park. Schlieder and other Spokane Mountaineers have provided a dependable volunteer work force for trail projects.

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Spokane Mountaineers hiker Sam Schlieder backpacks up the Selway River across a trail wash out in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

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Mary Weathers takes a day trip from a base camp at Aneroid Lake in the Eagle Cap Wilderness during a backcountry ski trip with the Spokane Mountaineers.

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