editorsnote
Wildflowers with Glacier Peak in the backdrop. Photo by Ida Vincent.
Love. The word can feel a bit corny, evoking images of tweety birds and cartoon hearts, but it really does seem to dictate our lives. The Mountaineers is centered around it – love for the outdoors, love for experience, love for community. People don’t walk uphill in 40lb packs out of “like.” I feel very fortunate to have an abundance of love in my life. I’m often emailing, calling, or texting someone – the double-edged sword of distance and technology. Weekly walks on the phone with one of my wise-cracking grandmas is a particular treat, and they aren’t the only ones who rack up my phone bill. Friendsgiving, Palentine’s Day, and other made-up holidays dot the year as a marker that not all family is blood, and they also deserve days of love, celebration, and quality grub. Hailey Oppelt haileyo@mountaineers.org Photo by Paige Madden.
I’ve fallen for many landscapes in Washington as well. It’s hard not to. The dreamy sagebrush and red plateaus by Potholes, salty, hair-whipping winds on the coast, and bone-chilling mist rolling through the rainforest are a smorgasbord for the senses. The smell of pine trees and dirt on an early morning gives better goosebumps than any date night I’ve attended. As we explore the theme of love & family in this edition, it’s clear that these concepts exist in many different iterations for our Mountaineers community, too. On our cover we feature Ashley McLoud and Molly Kirk, newlyweds who tied the knot on Ruth Mountain in the North Cascades. Having used COVID-19 as an
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mountaineer | spring 2021
opportunity for a mountain elopement, they offer tips for other couples hoping to hold alpine nuptials (and keep their dresses unwrinkled along the way). In The Speed of Love, Megan Bond explores her love story with legendary climber Fred Beckey, sharing his final years and final adventures together. From watercolor artist Claire Giordano we read about the concept of an “eleventh essential,” those highly-personalized items we can’t live without on the trail, before being treated to illustrations of the Ten Essentials in her signature style. Lastly, member Alison Dempsey-Hall shares a harrowing day on the trail, and how her and her sister’s maternal instincts kicked into overdrive when a cougar attacked her dog Blue at Cooper Lake. Our regular columns are full of great stories as well. In Impact Giving we hear about a mother-daughter duo who found new hobbies and shared experiences through our Basic Climbing course and teen-centered Mountaineers Adventure Club. Global Adventures explores how a surprise snow flurry in New Zealand opened the door to a food-lover’s paradise, and fitness enthusiasts will be excited to know that we offer a special extended column for Peak Performance, outlining exactly how to create an exercise regimen tailored to your summer goals. In Trail Talk, Craig Romano shares what it was like falling in love with his now-wife on the trail – and the joy they have bringing their young son on their shared adventures. Whether it’s our craggy mountains, teasing spring sunlight, or the people you experience them with, I have a feeling there’s something out there that makes you weak in the knees. The outdoors is a catalyst for big emotions. Could it be any other way? When faced with the splendor of nature and the warmth of loved ones, at the end of the day we’re all a bunch of suckers. Corny or not, the truth is - tweety birds abound.
