Mazamas

Our dedicated and talented volunteers are critical to the operation of the Mazamas. By a recent estimation, volunteers contributed over 39,000 hours to Mazamas in 2006! Here are some ways you can get started:

• Be a member of a committee
• Be a friend of a committee
• Help out at the Mazama lodge
• Volunteer in the office
• Help maintain the MMC and landscaping
• Become a leader for climbs, hikes, Nordic skiing, & AYM (see below)
• Work with our Trail Tenders (see below)
• Help in the library
• Be on a special task force
• Teach a class
• Become a wilderness steward (see below)

Committees

Commitee work forms the bulk of volunteer opportunites in the Mazamas.  With over 25 committees, we have something for nearly everyone.  Details on Mazamas committees

Leadership

Be a Climb Leader
Our climb leaders go through a rigorous training program that teaches both hard skills of technical climbing and the soft skills of managing a climb team.
For complete details, see the Climb Leader Development pages

Be a Trail Trips Leader
Volunteer leaders are the core of all Mazamas activities, and hiking is no exception.  Trail Trips has over 100 leaders, and we always welcome new folks to lead for us!

It’s easy to become a Mazamas hike leader.  You need to be a Mazamas member, have current certification in First Aid Basics, and lead one hike along with a Trail Trips leader selected by the Trail Trips committee.  After that, you’re in!  Contact us at the Mazama Mountaineering Center for more info on becoming a Mazamas trail trip leader.  (NOTE:  Mazamas will reimburse you for your First Aid Basics class, after you have led three hikes.  CPR and any additional first aid training is encouraged.)

We offer a trail trips leader appreciation dinner and leader training night (in January or February) at the Mazama Mountaineering Center for hike leaders and potential leaders to learn leadership skills. The event is free.  While participating in this event is not required to lead a hike, all potential trail trip leaders are encouraged to attend.

Be a leader for AYM (Adventurous Young Mazamas)
Leading events is a lot of fun and easier to get into than you might think:  you need to be a current Mazamas member, and have taken First Aid Basics.  Leaders are expected to follow the organization’s hiking procedures and be good representatives of both the Mazamas and AYM.  Leadership also counts towards volunteer activities – something great to put down on your climb cards.  If you have an idea for an activity you’d like lead, stop by an AYM Committee meeting (usually the first Monday of the month), join us for our roaming Pub Night (third Monday of the month), or send us an email! 

Trail Tending
Trail Tending is a branch of the Trail Trips Committee that helps to construct and maintain our favorite trails.  Details on Trail Tending

Wilderness Steward Program
The Wilderness Steward Program is for folks who want to partner with Mt. Hood National Forest to be volunteer seasonal backcountry rangers. 
Details on the Wilderness Steward Program