The WAC is now a 501(c)(3) Volume , Issue We have completed the work to transition from a 501(c)(7) to be a 501(c)(3). Washington Alpine Club This has been a multi-year effort by Ira Rushwald, Dave Wilson, and P O B o x 3 5 2 Mike Mahanay, including almost two years working with the IRS. What Seattle, WA 98111 does this mean? In a nutshell, the only real difference is that this will allow you to take a tax deduction on your membership dues, other donations to the WAC, and your volunteer hours (not Cabin fees). This is a huge advantage for our Club as many companies provide matching funds. Additionally, we Inside this issue: can all use the tax deductions. This will allow our Club to continue to be financially healthy and allow us to focus on outdoor education. Our fil- Contact Info 2 ing status will continue to be via the same tax form as before. Looking ahead 2 Because this requires a change to our Constitution, in a few days we will be sending out a ballot to you to approve the changes. Everyone President’s Corner 3 needs to vote! Classes 4 More information about voting and our constitution on Page 5. 501(c)(3) Status 5 New Website 6 Guye Cabin 7 Final Thoughts 8 We have a new website! www.washingtonalpineclub.org Page 2 WASHINGTON ALPINE CLUB Incorporated 1916 Looking Ahead! MEMBER OF: Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, WAC Calendar Washington Trails Assn. Washington Environmental Council. Washington Wilderness Coalition. Now > Time to renew your membership MidFORC Coalition The primary objective of this club is to encourage the healthful January 01 > Climbing Class Enrollment Begins enjoyment of the great outdoors, to preserve its natural beauty and to promote good fellowship among all lovers of nature. January 14 > Telemark/Randonee Ski Class starts PO Box 352 Seattle, WA 98111 January 30 > Vashon Wilderness Program www.washingtonalpineclub.org January 31/Feb 01 > Backcountry Class at Cabin Board Of Trustees February 7/8 > Backcountry Class at Cabin President Mike Mahanay February 08 > Snoqualmie Loppet Nordic Ski 1st VP Pat O’Brien 2nd VP Susan Ashlock April 3/5 > Advanced First Aid Treasurer Dave Wilson April 11/12 > Advanced First Aid Secretary Elden Altizer April 18 > Olympic Beach Cleanup Directors March - June > Basic Climbing Class Eli Holmes Ira Rushwald Jiri Pertold Joanna Hingle Pat Beurskens Alpine Division Climbing Class Pat O’Brien Co-chairs Jennifer Louie, Kyle Zinter Chelsea Sweetin, Tim Dardis Join the WACLIST on Yahoo! Winter Division If you want to get mail on the WAC email list, join the yahoo Telemark Ski Randy Oakley group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waclist/ Back Country Susan Ashlock, Alex Ford Post message: [email protected] Property & Membership Subscribe: [email protected] Cabin Chair Mike Mahanay Work Party Mike Mahanay Important: You must be a current member! We have to approve Membership Dave Wilson you before you can join. All we see is your email address unless Publicity Kay Ishi you tell us more. Please put your name in the comment sec- Cabin Supply Tami Sargent tion. As much as we love you all, we haven't memorized your email addresses, and if we can't figure out who you are from your email address alone, then we'll deny your request. Public Relations Bulletin Editor Amber Casali If this happens to you just apply to join the group again and in Conservation Mike Mahanay the comment section, tell us your name. Circulation Dave Mitchell Does the WAC have your good email address? By Laws Ira Rushwald You can check these things on the WAC website. MOVING? Please go to www.washingtonalpineclub.org Please update your info on the website: If your address changes please let us know! www.washingtonalpineclub.org Page 3 President’s Corner January 2015 There is big news in the WAC- First - We have a new website at www.washingtonalpineclub.org thanks to the hard work of Dave Wilson. If you have not been there yet, please click the link, reset your password, update your profile, and renew for 2015. The entire process is now automated, saving us time and work! Second – We have completed the work to transition from a 501(c) (7) to be a 501(c)(3). What does this mean? This will allow you to take a tax deduction on your membership dues, or other donations to the WAC, and your volunteer hours (though not Cabin fee). Be- cause this requires a change to our Constitution, we will soon be sending out a ballot to you to approve this change. You will receive it via email. If you don’t have email we will send you a paper bal- lot. Snoqualmie Pass has been deserted thru Christmas but there are still opportunities for snowshoeing the WAC Trail System, Commonwealth Basin, Gold Creek, as well as exploring the backcountry with their free heel skis. We should have plenty of snow by New Years. We had an excellent Snow Dinner despite the pouring rain! Nick Nichols prepared his famous ribs! A won- derful group of people participated and we had a fine array of delicious food. Thanks also to Susan Ashlock for taking us to Nepal. We appreciate everyone that attended! Guye Cabin is in excellent shape and ready for lots of use over the winter. Folks are using it as a base to meet, play, rest, have a hot lunch, and spend weekends and vacations year-round. There are almost always WAC members and their guests at the Cabin. Do your part to keep the Cabin clean and running smoothly. Sign the Cabin Log, pay your fee for you and your guests when you arrive, and introduce yourself to every- one. Help out by doing a chore or two, and haul recyclables and trash home. See something that needs to be done? Go ahead and do it! This is important- The Summit has done a great job of plowing our parking area so far this winter. We owe our winter parking to the Summit and Sahalie so please follow our parking process. Don’t forget to carpool, and if you bring guests, you might unload and shuttle extra cars over to the Summit hotel. Be sure to wave and make friends with Summit snowplow drivers, Summit Security, and Sahalie folks when you see them. Please only park in our parking area, and if we need more we should park only at the far North end of the Sahalie side. Everyone will have to do their part to ensure our signs, cones, pylons, and tape are out in the parking area all day on the weekends and holidays. If you see them out of place, blown over, etc. please put them back where they should be. In our daily lives we are part of many different communities- our home, our neighborhood, school, work, yo- ga class, running club, church, and the most special – the WAC! Of course it is this sense of community that makes our Club so special. We are a diverse group of family and friends that enjoy seeing each other, spend- ing lots of time together, and providing support for each other. We love introducing people to the wonders of the outdoors, teaching them new skills, growing their confidence, and stretching their boundaries as we all grow in our lives. Get outside and make friends with the great people that make up the WAC! Enjoy the snow and winter weather! Page 4 Basic Climbing & Mountaineering The WAC Basic Class is accepting applications from now until Sunday, January 25. Know of anyone who is interested in a fun yet com- prehensive introduction to mountaineering? Please have them apply! This 13-week class covers back- country skills, rock climbing, snow/glacier travel, and culminates in a climb of Mt Baker. More information about the application process and the class can be found at http://wacclass.org. Telemark and Randonee Wednesday Nights Series Come join the oldest and largest telemark ski instruc- tion program in the US. The program also has classes for Randonee/Alpine skiers. Develop your skills so you can enjoy the backcountry even more. This evening program helps you improve your ski de- scent skills on uncrowded weeknights. Classes are orga- nized by ability level, so that your classmates are skiing at about the same level. All levels between "never skied" and "advanced" are available. Location: Summit West— just across the freeway from the WAC Cabin. Days/Dates: Wednesdays: Jan 14, 21, 28; Feb 4, 11, 18 2015. Times: Lessons run from 7:30-9:30 PM More Info / Sign Up: Contact Randy Oakley The Bulletin is produced by members of the WAC Do you have a story or photo you would like to share? Please send it in to us. Climbing Hiking Biking Skiing Partners Many folks are looking for skiing, hiking, biking, and climbing partners. The Yahoo Waclist is a very effective way of looking for someone on short notice. Participating in Club events is also an excellent way of making new friends and finding long term partners. December 2007 Page 5 WAC is now a 501c3! (Continued from page 1) Because this requires a change to our Constitution, in a few days we will be sending out a ballot to you to approve the changes. Everyone needs to vote! You will receive the ballot via email. If you don’t have email we will send you a paper bal- lot. Here is what has been updated in the Constitution: 1.