While Memorial Day is held to officially celebrate the U.S. Army and its fallen soldiers, it also serves as a long weekend for people to unwind and have a good time. It is a perfect time to go on trips that are just a little too big for a regular weekend, and no one knows this better than UREC Outdoors. One of their trips, a climbing and camping trip to Mazama, happened over the weekend, and it was a blast for everyone who attended.
Mazama is a small town in Washington in the Methow Valley, an area in the Northern Cascades known for its recreation opportunities. There are ample campgrounds, a small town that supplies water and internet and a gear shop and general store to outfit you with coffee, supplies and any equipment needs.
The area has access to some excellent crags and a variety of sport and traditional climbing encompassing a wide range of styles and difficulties. For this trip, the group stuck to Romance Rock, Fun Rock and Sun Rock, crags in the Mazama Rocks area, though these were a few of a huge number of available options.
The climbing was structured to be as beginner-friendly as possible, which was good, as most of the attendees had never climbed outdoors before. The trip leaders lead the climb, bringing the rope up, and then set up top ropes, which are the easiest, safest and most straightforward method of climbing a sport route.
According to Liyat Shenkute, a third-year nursing major and UREC Outdoor trip leader, the trips are purposefully designed to be open to all.
“At UREC, we try to make everything as accessible as possible, so that if you’ve never even heard of rock climbing that you can come and still climb routes. We set up routes that are pretty easy, and then for other people, we can set up harder routes as well. But overall, I think we try to focus on accessibility,” Shenkute said.
Claire Kampmeier, a second-year psychology major and attendee of the trip, shared how having experienced leaders and a beginner-friendly focus helped shape a positive first experience with outdoor climbing.
“I think it was really helpful to have the group leaders there, and to just be able to get into it in a really low stress environment,” Kampmeier shared.
The group leaders also spend time explaining the processes behind lead climbing, making anchors and other skills that they use to set up the routes. Through this, the attendees became more familiar with rock climbing concepts, which further educated attendees about safety protocols and gave them a head start on some of the information they would need to learn to start climbing outdoors themselves.
For all of the attendees, climbing outdoors was an interesting and educational experience. Some noted just how different it was from the gym climbing that they were used to doing.
“You go to [Seattle Bouldering Project] and get all these nice colored holds and these super-duper [easy holds], and then you go outside and none of that is to be seen anywhere. So, I thought that was a good introduction and reality check in terms of how different it is,” Keanu Rivera-Colipano, a fourth-year kinesiology major, mused.
In addition to the climbing, which spanned most of Saturday and Sunday, the trip also included hanging around the campsite and all of the other things that come with camping. The campsite was near a beautiful river and natural surroundings, which allowed attendees to wander and explore.
“I got the structure of learning how to climb outdoors and then also just the freedom to be in [the] outdoors by myself, which I really enjoy,” Kampmeier said.
The trip, like much in life, didn’t go exactly to plan and came with some unexpected surprises. However, some of these mishaps ended up being highlights in retrospect, including a tough parking job that led to a stuck vehicle.
“When we got the van stuck in the ditch, everyone was working together to try to solve that. I feel like that was a pretty great moment seeing everyone work together and try to do some problem solving,” Shenkute shared.
The trip, as might be expected, also included plenty of meals planned by the leaders. Ranging from chicken and pesto pasta to turkey wraps, a steady supply of food fueled everything that was accomplished on the trip. A big emphasis was put on the first night’s dinner, as the leaders prepared a staple, the Seattle Dog, for the attendees to try and rate. Many of the attendees really enjoyed them (me included), but for some, they didn’t live up to the hype.
“It was good, it wasn’t revolutionary,” Kampmeier said.
While Mazama was the last trip this year, UREC will be holding more climbing trips in the 2025-26 academic year. All day trips are free, and longer multi-day trips like Mazama cost the student a relatively small fee to attend. They encourage people of all levels to sign up, but especially beginners and those who have never climbed before. More information can be found on the UREC website.
