Each October, Mountaineers are asked to elect (or re-elect) members to the Board of Trustees (BOT). The BOT guides the strategic direction of the club, establishing policies and making decisions on behalf of the membership. This year is no different, and we have a group of six candidates vying for four open positions.

Just as on the national level, our elections are important, as they can determine the organization's course into our next century. We encourage all members to take the time to fill out their ballot - when it arrives in their mailboxes in late September/early October.

Ballots are due in our office no later than 6:30 pm on October 22, 2008. You can mail in your ballot, or drop it off at our front desk. Visit our Mountaineers Board of Trustees Election webpage, or see the October issue of the Go Guide for all the information, including candidate statements.

In June 2007, Erin McKittrick and Bretwood (Hig) Higman walked out their front door in Seattle to start an unprecedented 4,000-mile journey. They had only one rule - no motorized transportation. A little over a year later, roughly following the Pacific Coast by foot, packraft and skis, they reached the first Aleutian island in far western Alaska. Their journey took them over thousands of miles through remote, harsh, roadless and trailless terrain, as well as dozens of small villages, and a few larger cities.

One of their goals was to explore and catalog the key environmental issues facing the region - clearcutting, pollution from mineral extraction, global warming and a decline in wild salmon numbers. These places are far from the public eye, but are considered key environmental battlegrounds. By moving through the areas on foot, they hoped to see firsthand the impacts of development - what worked and what didn't.

Join The Mountaineers on Wednesday, October 8 at 7 p.m. for this stunning slideshow and talk. Admission is free, and this is open to everyone. The talk takes place at The Mountaineers Building, 300 Third Ave W, Seattle. For more information on Erin and Hig's trip, visit their website at www.groundtruthtrekking.org.

Glen Denny: Yosemite in the Sixties
November 14, 2008 at 7 p.m.
$8 members/$10 non-members
The Mountaineers, 300 Third Ave West

Glen Denny scaled the big walls of Yosemite Valley with the climbing icons of the 1960s: Warren Harding, Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Yvon Chouinard, and Chuck Pratt. The sixties were a golden age in Yosemite Valley, an era of first ascents and all-night parties in Camp 4. Camera in hand, Glen Denny captured both the gritty reality and the sunny optimism of those years on film.

Our presentation will be only the second time Glen's shared these amazing images. You may not get a chance to see these portraits of a long-gone time, so make sure to lock the date on your calendars. Tickets are available through The Mountaineers at 206-284-6310.

We are moving! Which means that we're going to have to carry a LOT of boxes. To reduce the load (books are heavy!) and save our backs, we're holding a moving sale in the bookstore. Every last piece of merchandise in the store will be on sale, with prices getting better as the week-long sale goes on.

As you can see from the table below, sale prices will keep getting better and better. However, there will be less to choose from the longer you wait. The holidays are right around the corner, and now is a great opportunity to get gifts for those adventures (armchair or otherwise) on your list.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Books	25%	30%	35%	40%	50%
Maps	25%	25%	25%	25%	25%
Video	25%	25%	25%	25%	25%
TOPO! software	25%	25%	25%	25%	25%
Logo merchandise	10%	10%	10%	10%	10%
Book "Seconds"	50%	55%	60%	65%	70%
Clearance titles	as marked	as marked	as marked	50%	50%

The Mountaineers Bookstore is (currently) located at 300 Third Ave W, Seattle.

- Wednesday night work parties begin at 4, followed by a BBQ at 6:30.
- Satruday work parties start at noon, with a BBQ around 5:30.

If you are interested in making your mark on the new building, please contact Gene Yore, the project manager, to let him know you're coming. This helps him plan the projects in advance. If you can't make it to a work party but still want to help, contact Gene for information on 1-person projects.

Landscaping projects
The Naturalists Committee is organizing work parties to complete the landscaping. As part of the project a landscape architect developed a plan using mostly native plants, including dogwood, vine maple, salal, sword fern, and many more. We are looking for volunteers to help put them in the ground.

Naturalist work parties take place on Oct. 4 and 11, and November 1-2. Refreshments provided. Open to all members, family, and friends. For more details, or to sign up, go to our Activity Search page, or call headquarters at 206-284-8484.

Sitting high atop Mt. Pilchuck is a fire lookout, left over from the days when the forest service regularly used these structures to keep an eye out for the telltale signs that a blaze was at work in the forest. The fire lookouts aren't used for this purpose anymore, but a dedicated group of volunteers in the Everett Branch have committed themselves to maintaining some of the remaining ones.

Last winter, the Pilchuck fire lookout sustained serious damage, causing it to be deemed unfit for visitors and a safety hazard. The Everett group determined that repairs could be performed that would allow the lookout to be reopened to the public.

Harnessing their regular volunteer crew, along with a group from Microsoft and random hikers on the trail, the Everett members were able to transport all the materials and tools they needed to the site. After a lot of hard work, the lookout was re-opened and made accessible to visitors.

The October issue of The Mountaineer magazine features an article on the efforts of the Everett Lookout and Trail Maintenance Committee. Head over to our magazine archives to read about this amazing display of volunteer work. You can also visit our online collection of images from the Mt. Pilchuck Lookout.

Birds from across six continents and all 50 United States migrate to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge annually to take advantage of the 24-hour arctic summer daylight and plentiful, rich food sources. Hundreds of thousands of birds nest on the coastal plain of Alaska during breeding season, mating and storing up fat for the long migration to southern wintering grounds.

A new environmental photography exhibit at Seattle's Burke Museum explores the phenomenon of bird migration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a region that is environmentally crucial to the survival of over 190 bird species, yet is a hotbed for political controversy.

Featuring the photography of Subhankeer Banerjee, Paul Bannick, Michio Hoshino, Arthur Morris, Hugh Rose, Mark Wilson, and Brad Winn, Arctic Wings presents 30 large-format color photographs that capture global bird biodiversity abundantly represented in the ANWR ecosystem.

For the opening day of this exhibition, ornithologists will be on hand with a selection of Arctic birds from the Burke collection. Stephen Brown, editor of Arctic Wings, the book that inspired the exhibit, will be speaking along with Debbie Miller, Alaskan author of illustrated nature books, and Marilyn Heiman, founding director of the Boreal Songbird initiative.

Arctic Wings: Miracle of Migration was organized by the Burke Museum and Braided River, the conservation imprint of The Mountaineers Books. This exhibit is the third partnership between the Burke Museum and The Mountaineers Books in two years to present nature photography exhibits that engage the public in conversations about some of the most immediate environmental crises of our time, including biodiversity, habitat protection, and global warming.

To see pictures of the wall's installation, head over to our Flickr page. You can also access this through the NFCC site, dedicated to updates and news about the move to Magnuson.

Join The Mountaineers each month for our "Adventures in Reading" book club. Visit exotic destinations, meet courageous explorers and discover long-kept secrets. Most meetings are in Seattle, with the occasional Eastside session.

Next meeting will be Oct 14, Tue. - 7-9 pm at Espresso Vivace Alley 24 across from the Seattle REI. Be prepared to discuss "Walking the Gobi" by Helen Thayer. Follow Helen's walking trip at age 63 across the Gobi Desert with her 74 year old husband and two camels, 1,600 miles in 126 degree temperatures over 60 days. All are welcome.

Visit our Adventures in Reading page for a complete list of books, meeting places and times.

Have you ever seen the spectacular colors of the maples and the hobble bush painting the landscape of New England? If not, join us as we hike under a canopy of fall colors in the ancient Appalachian Mountains, among the oldest on Earth and once towered above the continents as the Himalayans do today. The brilliantly jeweled gold and ruby ridges of the White Mountains will be etched in your memory for ever.

The Mountaineers' Recreational Properties Division will again offer an eight-day expedition through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We will depart Oct. 5 and return Oct. 12. Since we will be hiking between the full service huts and lodges of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), you will not have to carry a sleeping bag or food except for lunch. Most trails are dotted with large rocks and may include short stretches of scrambling.

Trip preview: Sunday, June 22 at 3 p.m. in Redmond. Follow the link below for more information on this session.

For the full description of this outing, including fees and itinerary, please visit the International & North American Outings page.

Click to enlarge

Show your support for The Mountaineers, and tell the world where your priorities lie! These shirts are available through our Seattle office so stop by and pick one up. Or give us a call at 206-284-6310 to order yours today!

Braided River books bring together some of the world's best nature photographers with thoughtful essays by well-known authors, conservationists and public figures. The books' distinctive voices are carried to a wider audience through lectures, exhibits and multi-media presentations, held in partnership with leading environmental organizations. As branches of a braided river cut new channels and then reunite, the books are conceived to weave connections between photographers and writers, environmental groups and the public.

The first book to be published under the new imprint will be The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, due out in February 2008. This remarkable book combines wildlife photography by Steven Kazlowski with first-person accounts of his Arctic adventures and thought-provoking essays that provide a fresh perspective on the effects of climate change.

Please visit the Braided River website to find out more about this incredible new imprint and its mission. And stay tuned for special events and announcements connected with Braided River.

Keep up with developments at Magnuson Park by visiting the website of the New Facilities Construction Committee (NFCC). There you will find pictures of the current Building 67, construction updates, schedules of activities, and more!