Omaha daily bee., 1898-07-31
CLIMBS WITH THE MAzAMAS
Woman Who Goes with the Portland
Mountain Scalers,
FIRST OF HER SEX TO ASCEND RAINIER
Miss Fay Fuller, writer, Explorer and
Hnrbor Master, Now Doing the
Exposition for Her west
ern Magazine.

Miss FAY Fuller, the we'll known news
paper writer of Tacoma, Wash, who is do
ing the exposition in the interests of The
State" a new and swell magazine OF Pa
cifc northwest literature, has achieved dis
~tinction in several ways during several
years of newspaper work.
First and foremost OF her ut-of-the- ordi-
nary achievements is that she was the first
woman to climb Mount Rainier with the
Portland Mazamas. Mount Rainier is the
king OF the snow peaks on the Pacific coast,
and hat Miss Fuller accomplished the
hazardous journey with her fellow Mazamas,
carrying her own camping equipage and en-
during the cold and fatigue, speaks much
for her grit. The Mazama society-an
association of mountain climbers-is proud
of her.
Il think l undertook the trip" she says.
lust because l wanted to prove that it
could be done by a woman. They attempted
to dissuade me, saying that ! would never
endure the fatigue OF such a journey. But
| was determined to try 1t. The summit of
old Rainier was reached August 10, 1890.
We were led by Rev. e. c. Smith Of Seattle.
There were four men besides myself, and
we spent the night on the mountain top,
4,519 feet above the sea in a cave OF ice.
II have always taken a great deal OF in
terest in the explorations of the Mazamas.
The society came into existence on the sum-
nit Of Mount Hood. July 10, 1884, at which
time nearly 200 persons participated in the
exercises. The society pursues a line OF
scientific study, and we promote mountain
climbing, for one thing, because our noun
tains in the greater west beat the Alps.
Tourists are coming to recognize this fact.
Very little was known of our great peaks
until the Mazama society directed general
attention to them.
There is no grander, nobler inspiration"
at these words Miss Fuller's eyes sparkled
with delight and enthusiasm as she thought
of it-"than the satisfaction one feels in
having actually mounted clear to the sum
nit, up above the clouds-the very top!
Where, if you could toss a stone it would
fall a mile to shifting clouds and the thun-
der storm.
Some Advice to Amateurs.
"Mountain climbing Should be undertaken
by only men and women who have the cour-
age. The fatigue from climbing Is in
tense, indeed. Each must carry his or
her own pack. While the men are always
kind and helpful and all that. you
are certainly not to expect them to help
you up along rough places and to carry
! your pack for you. Camping out Is aW-
fully jolly. We build a great big camp
fire in the wilderness and around 1t we
gather to hear a scientific talk on noun
tains. singing by some one who has brought
instruments at least a part of the way, and
then the society transacts business.
"You leave the timber line at between
1000 and 1000 feet, and from that on up
for twelve hours it is a hard and exceed
ingly trying climb until the topmost peak
is reached. One should not imagine there
is lack of room, however, for 1t Is nearly
two miles between the two peaks on the
summit.
Last summer a large number Of people
successfully scaled Rainier, which is the
most difficult mountain of any of them. 1t
| was a day and two nights journey. The
expedition was marked by the first tragedy
on that mountain. Prof. Edward Mcclure
| Of Oregon was dashed to death over a
| precipice, having gone just a little out Of
his way on starting to descend. 1t was
a gloomy night we kept on the mountain
| top that night. The unfortunate man was
beyond help and we had to wait till day
light TO attempt a rescue Of the body.
Last year, on going up with the party. 1
was struck by a falling stone which came
tumbling dow the mountain side and
knocked unconscious.
This year the Mazama society will go
on an expedition up to st. Helens, another
high peak in Skemania county, Washing
ton, and reached by two or three days drive
from old Fort Vancouver.
Zone of the most notable
expeditions in recent years was the explora-
tion of Crater lake, in klamath county,
Oregon. / had the honor of christening this
| naaE Nuhnrain thnrn ic tho thlpI Jan-o,k
lake in the whole world, being in the bow
Pitt and is a most remarkable place. In
the center Of the lake there is a small
island, and one OF my great adventures was
to spend a night alone on this island. Such
glorious scenery as surrounds Lake Pitt
eclipses anything that tourists have Travelled
the seas over to see"
She's a Nautical Exper Too.
Miss Fuller is probably the first woman
reporter, who took the routine OF the water
front, and nearly everything else In the way
of assignments usually allotted to the men
on any paper on the coast, not excepting San
Francisco. The water 'front.' is considered
the most important assignment in most
every newspaper Office out there. Miss
Fuller reported 1t on a morning paper ant
did 1t well. 1t required a great deal of nerve
and energy, but she did 1t, and wher
Tacoma's harbor master became Ill he Sent
for Miss Fuller and appointed her his sue.
cessor during his illness. She drew the
salary and did the work, and Miss Fuller
bushes when she recalls the notorlety q
San Francisco paper gave her as the "onl,
woman harbor master in the world" TIL,
position, 1t should be remembered, is an
important one, as Tacoma annually exports
about l,0O0,O 900 bushels OF wheat.