The Mountaineers, founded in 1906, is a nonprofit outdoor activity and conservation club, whose mission is "to explore, study, preserve, and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors..." Based in Seattle, Washington, the club is now the third-largest such organization in the United States, with 15,000 members and five branches throughout Washington State.

The Mountaineers sponsors both classes and year-round outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest, which include hiking, mountain climbing, ski-touring, snowshoeing, bicycling, camping, kayaking and canoeing, nature study, sailing, and adventure travel. The club's conservation division supports environmental causes through educational activities, sponsoring legislation, and presenting informational programs.

The Mountaineers' publishing origins trace back to 1961, when a group of volunteers, tired of mimeographing notes for the club's popular climbing course, pooled their resources and formed a committee to publish the notes as a book. Now, more than 30 years later, that book, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (now in its sixth edition), has sold 400,000 copies, and is the standard text for climbing courses around the world.

Today, with a full-time paid staff of 30, The Mountaineers Books is an active, nonprofit publishing program of the club. It produces guidebooks, instructional texts, historical works, natural history guides, and works on environmental conservation.

The Mountaineers Books has established itself as a leading publisher of outdoor-related titles. The subject matter of the company's catalog has expanded far beyond the Pacific Northwest of the United States, to include places like the North American mid- and southwest, New England, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, South America, Costa Rica, Russia, Western Europe, Tibet, Nepal, and many other exciting regions.

Write or call for a catalog of more than 450 outdoor titles:

The Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201
Seattle, WA 98134
U.S.A.

Phone: 1-800-553-4453 or 1-206-223-6303
Fax:       1-800-568-7604 or 1-206-223-6306
E-Mail:    mbooks@mountaineersbooks.org
Website: www.mountaineersbooks.org

Or click here to contact The Mountaineers Books directly through this website.