Get a perspective from the top

A 45-year veteran of climbing in Washington, Fay Pullen will be the featured speaker at Friday night’s meeting of the Tacoma Mountaineers.

Pullen will give her talk, “Climbing Washington’s 100 Highest Peaks: A Lifetime of Adventure in Washington’s Highest Places,” at 8 p.m.

Her show will focus on the various criteria used for compiling these lists and her most recent ascents of the most interesting and more difficult peaks. She is a graduate of The Mountaineers Intermediate Climbing Course.

Pullen said she became interested in climbing the state’s highest 100 peaks only after retiring in 2003. She is the first woman and fourth climber to be named on the Clean 400 Prominence List in 2008.

That list contains the summits with 400 feet or more of clean prominence. A clean prominence is the number of feet a peak rises above the lowest contour that entirely encircles the peak without including any other peaks.

The top five peaks on the Clean 400 list are Mount Rainier, 14,411 feet; Mount Adams, 12,276 feet; Little Tahoma, 11,138 feet; Mount Baker, 10,781 feet; and Glacier Peak 10,520 feet. On some lists, Liberty Cap at Mount Rainier is listed as number 2, at 14,112 feet.

Pullen also was the 25th person to be named to the Bulger list, the 100 highest peaks in Washington.

The meeting will begin with an open house and new member night at 7 p.m. Prospective members can get an orientation on the programs and courses offered by The Mountaineers. The Tacoma Mountaineers offer classes and programs such as avalanche training, climbing and scrambling, sea kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, first aid, navigation and family activities.

Admission is free and open to the public. The event will be at the Tacoma Clubhouse, 2302 N. 30th St., Tacoma. For more information, go to www.tacomamountaineers.org.