The Mazamas () is a
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
organization based in
Portland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1894.
Promotion of mountaineering
The Mazamas has been an important part of the climbing community in the Pacific Northwest of the United States since its founding. The Mazamas was the second mountaineering organization in the Pacific Northwest, following the Oregon Alpine Club.
The Mountaineers of
Seattle, Washington, which began in 1906 as an auxiliary of the Mazamas, is similar in its aims and activities to the Mazamas.
The Mazamas offers more than 900 hikes and 350 climbs annually for more than 13,000 participants. A variety of classes and activities are offered for every skill and fitness level and are open to both members and nonmembers. The group also promotes mountaineering through education, climbing, hiking, fellowship, safety, and the protection of
mountain environments.
Founding
On July 19, 1894, more than 350 people assembled near the hamlet of Government Camp at the base of Mount Hood. Despite the nasty weather, 155 men and 38 women reached the summit, where they elected
William G. Steel
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
as the society's first president.
With 105 charter members, the Mazamas was the third oldest mountaineering society in the United States. The founders set four goals for the organization:
# to explore snow-capped peaks and other mountains,
# to collect scientific knowledge about the mountain environment,
# to preserve the natural beauty of forests and mountains,
# and to share that knowledge with others in the Pacific Northwest.
Prominent founding members included J. Francis Drake, Martin W. Gorman, Francis C. Little, Charles H. Sholes,
Henry Pittock
Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 – January 28, 1919) was an English-born American pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican politics and Portland, Oregon civic affairs, a Freemason and an a ...
,
Rodney Glisan,
Fay Fuller, Oliver C. Yocum, and Lander L. Hawkins. Early honorary members included the naturalist and conservationist
John Muir, photographer
Edward Curtis, financier
Edward Harriman
Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive.
Early life
Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...
, and President
Theodore Roosevelt.
Conservation
In 1895, Steel and the Mazamas lobbied to prevent development in the
Cascade Range Forest Reserve. A few years later, in 1902, they rallied to limit the destructive effects of sheep grazing in the Northwest. In 1928, the Mazamas entered a prolonged battle against the proposed Mount Hood Tramway, and four years later they were instrumental in forming the Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs. The Mazamas advocated against the development of a tramway on
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...
and development in
Olympic National Park and for the creation of
Forest Park
A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment.
Examples Chile
* Forest Park, Santiago
China
* Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai
* Mufushan National Fo ...
in Portland, and the
Wilderness Act of 1964.
Scientific research
The public's interest in scientific exploration drove early
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
. It was almost unheard of for mountaineers to undertake a climb without a
barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
, mapping instruments, or other scientific equipment. The Mazamas were no different, embracing scientific research from the get-go. Mazama members documented the flora, fauna,
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
, and
glaciology of the majority of Northwest peaks. In the 1930s, the Mazama began surveying glaciers and documenting how they changed from year to year.
Role of women
William Steel remarked, “No climb is complete without them” when asked about women and mountaineering. From the very beginning, the Mazamas have welcomed women as full members. At the time, this was uncommon. The Mazamas and Oregon were ahead of the times. Oregon adopted women's
suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
in 1912, followed nationally by the
19th amendment in 1920. A few dates:
* 1895, the organization's first two vice-presidents were women;
* 1917, first Mazama climb led by a woman;
* 1932, first all female climb;
* 1954, first female Mazama president.
From the 1890s on, women hiked and climbed in the Pacific Northwest. While they were bound by the constraints of fashion on Main street, they found ingenious ways of getting around those rules on the mountain.
Name
The name Mazamas means
mountain goat, from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
''mazatl'', deer.
[See mazatl (Wiktionary)] Mount Mazama, the collapsed volcano that formed
Crater Lake, is located in Oregon and was named after the organization on August 21, 1896, while on their annual outing.
They also named the
Mazama Glacier on
Mount Adams and the
Mazama Glacier on
Mount Baker after themselves in 1895 and 1907 respectively.
See also
*
Ella E. McBride
Ella Etna McBride (November 17, 1862 – September 14, 1965) was an American fine-art photographer, mountain climber, and centenarian known for her career achievements after age sixty. In addition to running her own photography studio for over t ...
*
Fay Fuller
*
Edward S. Curtis
*
Henry Pittock
Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 – January 28, 1919) was an English-born American pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican politics and Portland, Oregon civic affairs, a Freemason and an a ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazamas, The
Organizations based in Oregon
Climbing organizations
Mount Hood
1894 establishments in Oregon
Organizations established in 1894