Fay Fuller & Mount Rainier
Welcome to All Things PNW. You, again, are my captive audience as I talk about the most beautiful and terrifying object I see nearly every day… Mount Rainier.Have you ever been to Washington State?
I'll ask my question a different way. Have you ever been to Washington State when the mountain is out?
That's what we say here. The mountain is out today! And it's a glorious day when the mountain is out. But even when the mountain is not out (which is often), it's still there. Still beautiful and still terrifying.
Reflection Lake taken by my husband
We drive by lahar siren stations and see signs pointing toward evacuation routes. I can drive through two river valleys on my way to visit my daughter, who lives only twelve miles from me. Here in the foothills of Mount Rainier, the mountain's beauty is never entirely separated from the danger it represents.
For millennia, the Indigenous peoples surrounding Mount Rainier traveled its slopes, navigated its river systems, and gathered its seasonal vegetation. And long before British explorers named it Mount Rainier, the mountain was known to Sahaptin-speaking peoples as Taxúma.
But today, I want to tell you about the first woman on record to summit the mountain.
Edwina Fay Fuller
Fay Fuller in her mountaineering attire, circa 1890.
Courtesy of the National Park Service, Mount Rainier Archives.
Born on October 10, 1869, Fay moved with her family to Tacoma when she was twelve. By twenty, she was teaching school in Yelm, Washington.
Her fascination with Mount Rainier began when famed mountaineer Philemon Beecher Van Trump visited her classroom. Van Trump, who had made the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier alongside Hazard Stevens in 1870, inspired the young schoolteacher with his account of climbing the mountain.
She was determined to stand on that summit herself. Soon Van Trump invited her to join a climbing expedition.
At the time, mountaineering was largely a man's sport. The physical demands were considerable, but society's expectations for women's clothing and behavior made such adventures particularly difficult. Fay, however, was undeterred.
On August 10, 1890, just two months before her twenty-first birthday, Fay Fuller became the first woman known to summit Mount Rainier.
Even today, climbing to the top of this more than 14,000-foot volcano requires considerable preparation, endurance, and specialized equipment. Imagine attempting such a feat in 1890, when climbing gear was rudimentary and the journey to the mountain itself was an undertaking.
There were certainly no modern climbing clothes designed for women. Instead, Fay ascended the highest peak in the Cascade Range wearing heavy flannel underwear and bloomer suit, wool stockings, boys' hiking boots fitted with metal spikes, and a straw hat.
Her unusual attire attracted almost as much attention as her accomplishment. Some considered her clothing immodest, particularly the bloomers, which allowed greater freedom of movement than the long skirts expected of respectable women.
And Fay was the only woman in her climbing party, accompanied by four men.
Before the final ascent, Fay blackened her face with charcoal to protect herself from the intense glare of the sun reflecting off the snow.
The climb was arduous, yet Fay was determined to reach the summit through her own efforts, reportedly refusing assistance from her companions.
At approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, the five climbers finally reached the summit.
Fay later recalled the experience in words quoted by the National Park Service:
A heavenly moment, nothing was said—words cannot describe scenery and beauty, how could they speak for the soul?
Imagine spending the night on Mount Rainier in 1890. In those clothes!
There's also an amusing account of a climbing party that followed Fay's expedition. According to the story, the men discovered several hairpins she had lost along the route and jokingly declared them proof that a woman really had reached the summit!
Seven years later, on July 27, 1897, Fay climbed Mount Rainier a second time. Sadly, that expedition was marked by tragedy.
Thirty-four-year-old Professor Samuel Edgar McClure had joined the Mazamas climbing expedition to conduct scientific measurements of the mountain's elevation. During the descent, McClure lost his footing and fell to his death, becoming the first recorded climbing fatality on Mount Rainier.
Today, McClure Rock, near Paradise, bears his name.
But Fay's remarkable story extended well beyond mountaineering.
She became Tacoma's first female newspaper reporter, writing a column for the Tacoma Ledger called "Mountain Murmurs," where she covered mountaineering excursions and news. She also helped establish climbing organizations, advocated for women's participation in mountaineering, and supported the movement that led to the creation of Mount Rainier National Park in 1899.
Fay Peak, near Mowich Lake, was named in her honor.
What fascinates me most about Fay Fuller is not simply that she was the first woman to reach the summit, but that she challenged the expectations of her time with such determination.
Enumclaw, Washington, circa 1905. PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle.
Public domain in the United States.
So… the next time someone says, "The mountain is out!" I'll probably do what I always do—stop and admire it. But now I'll also think about a twenty-year-old schoolteacher who looked at that enormous volcano in 1890 and decided she wanted to stand on top of it.
And I think I'll be perfectly content to admire it from down here!
As close to the peak as I've ever been.
2nd Burroughs, Sunrise Visitor's Center
Heidi writes faith filled historical fiction with a touch of romance set along the Columbia River, where faith, hope, and love meet the rugged beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Her stories celebrate courage, redemption, and the resilience of the human spirit—woven into real history and the landscapes she cherishes.
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