Mountain Climbers
Cora Smith Eaton
The suffrage campaign in Washington reached new heights on July 30, 1909, when Dr. Cora Smith Eaton hoisted a "Votes for Women" pennant at the summit of Mount Rainier. Astute suffragists had planned a national women's suffrage conference in Seattle to coincide with the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a gala world's fair. For $40 apiece, suffragists were invited to join The Mountaineers club on a 21-day trek.
Dr. Eaton, an experienced climber, was the first woman to summit the East Peak of Mount Olympus in 1907, and she climbed Washington's six highest peaks. A founding member of the club, she created a long list of supplies for the female hikers to pack, including knickerbockers, smoked goggles, bee veils and cold cream. Eaton, a physician, provided medical advice to climbers. In the summer of 1909 she proudly attached the suffrage pennant to the A-Y-P flag and poked it in the glacier-capped summit. Washington women won the vote a year later.
Cora Smith Eaton Shanna Stevenson Collection
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As treasurer of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association, Cora Smith Eaton (right) played a significant role in Washington women gaining the right to vote. Pictured with key suffragists: Frances Maule Bjorkman, Jane Addams, and Emma Smith Devoe. Washington State Historical Society
The A-Y-P flag to which the "Votes for Women" pennant was attached on Mount Rainier's summit. Washington State Historical Society
Top left: As treasurer of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association, Cora Smith Eaton (right) played a significant role in Washington women gaining the right to vote. Pictured with key suffragists: Frances Maule Bjorkman, Jane Addams, and Emma Smith Devoe. Washington State Historical Society
Top right: The A-Y-P flag to which the "Votes for Women" pennant was attached on Mount Rainier's summit. Washington State Historical Society
Bottom: Eaton married Judson King and moved to Washington, D.C. In 1913, as the National Council of Women Voters congressional chair, she organized one of the first groups to meet with the newly inaugurated President Woodrow Wilson to push for national women's suffrage Shanna Stevenson Collection
Eaton married Judson King and moved to Washington, D.C. In 1913, as the National Council of Women Voters congressional chair, she organized one of the first groups to meet with the newly inaugurated President Woodrow Wilson to push for national women's suffrage Shanna Stevenson Collection
Melissa Arnot Reid
Almost a century after the suffrage pennant was planted atop Mount Rainier, Melissa Arnot was discovering her passion for ascending into thin air. Her parents put a premium on happiness, and Arnot found hers in climbing Rainier over 100 times as a guide. She went on to lead expeditions on some of the world's highest mountains. She has summited Mount Everest six times. The last of those treks was extraordinary.
In 2016, after seven years of training, Arnot reached her ultimate goal by becoming the first American woman to summit and descend Everest with no supplemental oxygen. Only six other women have completed the feat. Each breath at the extreme altitude has a third of the oxygen received at sea level. "The mountain doesn't care if you're male or female," she says. "It's going to give you the same challenges every day." Arnot has earned a reputation as America's best high-altitude female climber. Now married with a daughter of her own, Melissa Arnot Reid lives in the Methow Valley and mentors young female climbers and guides.
Melissa Arnot Reid
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Arnot didn't even tell her sponsor, Eddie Bauer, she was climbing Everest without oxygen because she didn't want to be distracted from her challenge. Tyler Reid
After her friend and Sherpa, Chhewang Nima (center), was killed in a 2010 avalanche, Arnot co-founded The Juniper Fund to support Nepalese families who lose a member on an expedition. Melissa Arnot Reid
Top left: Arnot didn't even tell her sponsor, Eddie Bauer, she was climbing Everest without oxygen because she didn't want to be distracted from her challenge. Tyler Reid
Top right: After her friend and Sherpa, Chhewang Nima (center), was killed in a 2010 avalanche, Arnot co-founded The Juniper Fund to support Nepalese families who lose a member on an expedition. Melissa Arnot Reid
Bottom: Arnot guided protégé, Maddie Miller, on a record breaking 50 Peaks Challenge, climbing each state's highest peak in 41 days. "I'm trying to teach these girls that the hard work is what you're proud of," Arnot said. "It's not all records and summits." Microsoft
Arnot guided protégé, Maddie Miller, on a record breaking 50 Peaks Challenge, climbing each state's highest peak in 41 days. "I'm trying to teach these girls that the hard work is what you're proud of," Arnot said. "It's not all records and summits." Microsoft