SEATTLE — Looking for love in the Pacific Northwest? Take a hike.
The Mountaineers was founded in 1906; today this organization that’s headquartered in Seattle has thirteen thousand members. This community built around exploring the outdoors isn't a singles group. But a lot of love stories have blossomed in this club.
"It’s very Pacific Northwest, The Mountaineers is a great place to meet people,” says Kristina Tursi, the club’s Communications Director. "Starting in 2016 we began a feature in our magazine called Love in the Mountains where we feature folks who have met in The Mountaineers."
Among the many couples Kristina has profiled for her Mountain Love series are Damien Scott and Dandelion Dilluvio-Scott. They met in The Mountaineers, on a climb Damien was leading.
"We went to climb El Dorado, and we shared a tent, and basically we couldn't stop talking to each other,” said Dandelion.
Talking in the tent eventually led to a marriage in the mountains. The couple did their vows in The Enchantments. And today, Dandelion runs an outdoor adventure consulting business - Off Grid Adventures - with the help of her husband. These two believe that loving the wilderness makes their love strong, and the woman collecting these love stories agrees.
"When you're outside with people you're practicing trust and communication and grit and overcoming challenges,” Kristina Tursi explained.
And she isn't just speaking from other peoples' experience:
“I am guilty of having found love in The Mountaineers as well. I was on staff for about a year and a colleague of mine introduced me to a friend of hers who she met in a Mountaineers course. She thought we might hit it off. Four years later we got married and surprise wedding in our backyard."
From mountaineering to matrimony. That’s love Pacific Northwest style.
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