Evening Travel Programs

7:00 pm, Wednesday evenings (and some Fridays), October through April
at the Mazama Mountaineering Center (Click here for a Map to the MMC)

Welcome to the Mazama 2010–2011 season of evening programs, from October through April. Our shows are free and open to Mazama members and the general public. We do appreciate a voluntary contribution at the discretion of each attendee. Thank you for supporting our successful series by your regular attendance.

The Mazamas Program committee hosts evening slide programs.  These programs are free and both members and non-members are welcome to attend.  Programs begin at 7:00 pm, and are usually held every Wednesday (and occasionally Fridays) from early October through late April.  During the program season, a full description of each show is printed in the Mazama Bulletin and will be posted on this web page.  While scheduled programs almost always keep to this schedule, there are occasional cancellations and last minute switches.  It can be a good idea to contact the Mazama Mountaineering Center at 503-227-2345 to confirm these shows beforehand.  Please scroll down this page for more detailed show descriptions.

Program Committee: John Leary & Dyanne Foster (Co-Chairs), Nancy Bentley, Gail O’Neill, Karen Park, Rick Pope.

DIY Nepal: Trekking the Annapurna and Everest Base Camp Circuits on your Own
Wednesday, October 13
Hear how Mazama member Kerry Loehr traveled to Nepal with nothing more than a plane ticket, a Kathmandu hotel reservation, and some hiking gear.  While on the Annapurna and Everest Base Camp circuits he met fellow trekkers from around the world and ended up crossing passes with a United Nations group of new friends.  Kerry will share what he learned, what he saw, and perhaps most importantly, what he ate.  Come travel to the high Himalayas for a night and learn about its rich culture along the way.

Remembering Mount St. Helens: A Trek through Time, A Special 30th Anniversary Public Remembrance of Mount St. Helens
Wednesday, October 20
Join us for a rare treat and journey back through time to see remarkable images of Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake before and after 1980. Mountain lovers Darryl Lloyd, Susan Saul and Marianna Kearney will show their treasured photographs of Mount St. Helens and recount their many adventures at Spirit Lake and the volcano. Christine Colasurdo will lead an audience discussion of what Mount St. Helens means to our region. Please bring photos for a show-and-tell table and be ready to share your own story of Mount St. Helens.

TBD
Wednesday October 27

Tramping in New Zealand
Wednesday November 3
Join Mazama Varis Ratnieks as he takes us along on his New Zealand adventures. See slides of spectacular scenery as he treks on both the North and South Islands. Varis hiked two of ten segments of The Great New Zealand Trek, the track that goes from the northern tip of the North Island to the southern tip of the South Island. His other treks include the Coromandel Peninsula, Able Tasman Coastal Track, Routeburn Track, Milford Track, Kepler Track, Heaphy Track and the Queen Charlotte Walk. We will also enjoy slides of a four day bike trip on the Otago Rails to Trails Bike Trail on the South Island.

Northwest Wildlife Viewing
Wednesday November 10
In his book, The Northwest Nature Guide, James Davis gets you to the right place at the right time so you can experience some of the best wildlife watching opportunities in Oregon, Washington, and SW British Columbia. Winter herds of elk, migrating swans and cranes, breeding herons, tide pool creatures, and alpine meadows of wildflowers are among the monthly events described with detailed directions to make sure you have the best chance of seeing what has made the 150 sites in the book favorites of American and Canadian naturalists. For yanks who haven’t explored much outside of the cities of Victoria and Vancouver, Davis describes dozens of areas that will amaze you with their wildness so close to those two big cities. James will take you through a year of the best wildlife watching, month by month like the book, with a real old fashioned slide show.

A Return to the Italian Dolomites
Wednesday November 17
Some say these are the most spectacular mountains in the world. With sheer cliffs and vast meadows, the Dolomites offer a balance of high mountain wildness with the cultural attractions of small but dynamic villages. Patrick and Suzanne Feeney return to the Dolomites to bring back new images of trails and routes from their latest adventure. The area is unique in the number of via ferrata routes that are available and so has a special attraction to mountaineers as well as trekkers.

No Program: Holiday
Wednesday November 24

Walking Softly Adventures
Wednesday December 1
Amy & John Osaki

Wyoming
Wednesday December 8
Doug Lorain

Potpourri
Wednesday December 15
Betty Parker

No Program: Holiday
Wednesday December 22

No Program: Holiday
Wednesday December 29

South Africa
Wednesday January 5
Gail O’Neill

TBD
Wednesday January 12

Mazamas Expedition Commitee
Wednesday January 19

Around the World on a Bucket Ticket!
Wednesday January 26
Join Candace Gossen, who in 2002 was a student studying world civilization. For less than $10,000 she and two others travelled west on a great and humbling adventure, experiencing human culture from Portland and San Francisco, then on to Taiwan, Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, Malta, Italy and Greece. She went on to more adventures in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Guatemala in the same year.

Desert Hikes In Washington
Wednesday February 2
If your hiking experience is limited to summer excursions on tight, tree-lined trails through often-dripping evergreens, it’s time to enter an entirely different world: the high desert of central and eastern Washington. Best Desert Hikes in Washington features 100 of the best trails on the dry side of the Cascades. It’s a great way to extend your outdoor adventures through three seasons. Come join professional photographer Alan L. Bauer as he presents the adventure and beauty of the Washington Columbia Basin desert country covered in his title “Best Desert Hikes: Washington” published by The Mountaineers Books. Regions ranging from the wildlife rich areas between the Cascades and Columbia River, the Grand Coulee Country, the Snake River Country, and all the way south to the Columbia River Gorge will be shared. Books will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation and Q&A time. Alan L. Bauer is a freelance professional photographer specializing in the natural history and local histories of the Pacific Northwest. His work has been utilized by businesses near and far, has been published throughout eight books, and in dozens of publications around the world.

Circumnavigation of Mount Adams on Skis
Wednesday, February 9
In April 2009, Chuck Daellenbach of Albany and his son, Keith Daellenbach of Portland, completed a circumnavigation of Mount Adams on skis.  Starting on the south side, this 33 mile tour took five days and crossed nine glaciers.  The counterclockwise route took them well above tree line at roughly 8,000’ where they saw two separate populations of mountain goats and many spectacular hanging glaciers emanating from the summit ice cap high above.  Please join Chuck and Keith as they present their adventures on this stunning and remote volcanic peak of the Pacific Northwest.

Backpacking the Northern Rockies
Wednesday February 16
Come along with Mazama and author Paul Gerald  for two one-week backpacks in the Northern Rockies: one to the Beartooths of southwestern Montana, and the other to the Wind River Range of western Wyoming. The Beartooths contain one of the largest roadless areas in the continental United States, a wilderness area of 944,000 acres, and America’s highest concentration of land above 10,000 feet elevation. This trip, in fact, started at 8,900 feet and included much off-trail travel through alpine tundra on the Beartooth Plateau. The “Winds.” meanwhile, are considered one of the premier backpack destinations in the US. We will visit the 400,000-acre Bridger Wilderness, which includes 1,300 lakes averaging 10 acres in size.

Trekking Tibet
Wednesday February 23
Donovan Pacholl

Walking Softly Adventures
Wednesday March 2
Amy & John Osaki

TBD
Wednesday March 9

Mazamas Expedition Commitee
Wednesday March 16

No Guts, Know Glory: Traversing the Impossible Mt. Whittier Ridgeline
March 23, 2011
Enjoy an exciting adventure presented by hiker, author, and storyteller Dennis Stilwell as he relates his first encounter with crossing the Mt. Whittier ridge of the Mt. Margaret Backcountry in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. What had been anticipated, as a regular hike across a rugged andscape became more of an overwhelming challenge and disheartening impossibility as daylight began to erode the likelihood of a successful outcome. Even with the landscape still bearing the scars of complete devastation, the beauty of the lakes and prominences along this route make this hike very likely the most fulfilling within the St. Helens complex. Join us and you will behold a unique beauty this exists in this forgotten land, complete with a herd of bull elk and a family of mountain goats to enthrall you. Dennis grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is author of the website nwhiker.com as well as a number of hiking guides on CDs.  He has also authored a DVD of the Columbia River Gorge.

TBD
Wednesday March 30

Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge
Wednesday April 6
Craig Romano

Tracking Bears
Wednesday April 13
Join author Linda Jo Hunter for a slide and PowerPoint presentation on bears and their habits.  Linda spent four summer seasons living among brown/grizzly and black bears in Alaska as head guide at a bear viewing lodge and has been tracking bears in Washington State for eleven years.  She will explain how to tell the difference between black and grizzly bear tracks and how to see the delicate tracks and sign that bears leave along the trail. No hike will ever be the same once you can understand what to look for. Linda will also cover bear encounters, bear body language and safe hiking in bear country.

Bill’s Favorite Hikes & Adventures
Wednesday April 20
Oregon hiking guru Bill Sullivan takes us on a tour of his favorite trips—hikes and adventures in all parts of the state. Based on his upcoming book, “Oregon Favorites,” the show includes tips on new trails, as well as anecdotes about history, geology, wildlife, and people along the trail. A fifth-generation Oregonian, Sullivan has written 7 books about Oregon’s outdoors, as well as two books on Oregon history, two adventure memoirs, and three novels. His journal, “Listening for Coyote” was chosen by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission as one of the 100 most significant books in the state’s history.