There is a theory, probably right, that it's a universal human need to get high.
After all, those pleasure receptors are there for a reason!
So for a long time, our species has been compelled to climb mountains. The thin clean air, the silence and unobstructed view are the reward for getting high on elevation. Maybe it's also attractive by the very fact it's out of reach of most flatlanders.
There is a good argument that the environmental legal landscape of today is the result of those same drives by Supreme Court justice William O Douglas. At age 6, Douglas settled in Yakima, Washington. In his writings, he proposed his hikes in the foothills of Mt Rainier were therapy to combat the effects of childhood polio, although this has been disputed. A lifelong outdoorsman, he went on to become a SEC commissioner and chairman, fighting for the 99%, under President Roosevelt, then, the youngest Supreme Court justice since 1812, at age 40. He was both a liberal and an activist judge, more of that please!
Douglas is also the longest serving Supreme Court justice in history. He was a mountaineer and author of the revolutionary dissent in Sierra Club (Mineral King) v. Morton, a landmark opinion on environmental law - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club_v._Morton#Douglas.27_dissent. Although Disney won the decision to allow them to build a ski resort there, the plan was abandoned and the land became part of a national park. He was also a contributor to the first ever dedicated environmental law journal, published by Lewis and Clark College Law School.
So individual outdoor experiences can have a huge impact on public policy and public policy can have a huge impact on the availability of outdoor experiences.
The mission of the Mazamas, as it was with William O Douglas, is to get high outdoors. They lead climbs of Mt Hood, other area high spots, and outdoor events including humble Portland city hikes of our Portland hills. They have overseas expeditions. They also have films, speakers and used equipment trades.
I was able to climb Hood with friends. If that is your standalone ambition, the Mazamas have been training climbers and leading ascents for over 100 years. If you don't have personal mountaineer buds, and you want to get it up, the Mazamas is highly recommended!
They teach mountain survival, self arrest, rope work and traversing crevasses. You will need that to get by Mt Hood's Bergschrund - http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Report_Hood_Bergschrund.htm. The summit's most common approach, the Pearly Gates, is a steep narrow chute which can be plagued by rockfalls in the warmer season or warmer parts of the day (helmets required). I was able to easily arrest a slip by a ropemate on our descent there. On the way up and down, you will pass poisonous volcanic gas vents. Yes, Mt Hood is a volcano. You can check the history, not too long ago it was quite active!
Mt Hood is not a joke: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood_climbing_accidents. Don't be a statistic! It is the job of the Mazamas to train you to safely summit it.
The Mazamas has continual activities for people interested in the outdoors. It is the outdoorsy crowd not the cocktail crowd. But I've not known the Mazamas to be teetotalers, their clubhouse is by a bottle shop, and they seem to have an endless supply of Sierra Nevada beer.
The Mazamas clubhouse is classic. They fully occupy an old church. The main room has a stage for speakers and bands where the altar would be. Flanking the "altar" to either side are indoor climbing walls, floor to ceiling. So these Mazamas aren't worshiping any false gods!
They have a library, guide books for sale and old photographs from the organization climbing Hood in the snow in the 1800's when they first formed. I have heard they have organized heritage climbs using old equipment and with the women climbers wearing dresses. No word if the men were required to have beards for the climb.
I heard a Mazamas talk by a world famous ice climber who specializes in horizontal ice climbing. What is horizontal climbing? That is where you are upside down climbing the underside of an overhang with ice tools and crampons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZlbObESWr0. In his spare time he paraglides, climbs icebergs, stunt doubles, climbing as Jason Bourne in the Bourne Legacy, and climbs for Red Bull. He also was giving a Portland workshop on dry tooling, a new boutique technique of using ice tools on rock.
Mazamas are very similar to Seattle's The Mountaineers or the Colorado Mountain Club, but older.
All and all it's a great place to connect with fellow outdoor adventurers, indoors and outdoors! read more
