Tell us your Mazama story...

As the Mazamas celebrate their 125th Anniversary we invite you to tell us your Mazama story.

It could be your first climb, a first ascent, or a memorable hike. Perhaps it’s watching a parent, child, or mentor start climbing or achieving something great. It could when you participated in the hike of a lifetime or your fiftieth climb of Mount Hood. In short, we’d love for you to share with us the Mazama story that has the most meaning for you. Your story, along with those of other Mazamas, will be included in our evolving oral history collection. We aim to preserve and celebrate the decades of local climbing and mountaineering culture that the Mazamas help establish in the Pacific Northwest.

The Mazamas is building a archive of stories and short recordings documenting the climbing, hiking, and explorations of our amazing members. Your story will join a growing collection of oral history recordings held by the Mazama Library and Historical Collections. Stories, images, and recordings will be added to our online collection found here.

Smith Rock climbing
Mountain Lake
Crevasse jump

Two ways to tell your story

You can: 

  • Submit your story in writing, along with a photo, using this form
  • Share your story in person and have it recorded at an upcoming Mazamas event 

Regardless of how you choose to share your story, try and include as much detail as possible about the people, places, and events as you can recall. More detail makes not only for a better story, but will help future members understand and appreciate your story all the more. For more information on what to include see the FAQs below. 

Fine print

By submitting your stories and photos, you give Mazamas the right to include the submitted materials into its Collection, including the right to publish the images and events described as part of, but not exclusively onto, the Mazamas Library and Historical Collections Oral History Project.