Mount Everest, from Kalapatthar: Image by Pavel Novak

Dateline: September 29, 1988.

Mount Everest Successful Climb: On Top of the World

Stacy Allison, the First American Woman to Reach Mount Everest.

Stacy Allison is famous for becoming the first American woman to reach the summit of  Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, on September 29, 1988.  She has been involved in many climbing expeditions. She first began by climbing New Hampshire’s Mount Washington.

Allison attempted her first major climb at age 21. Unfortunately, her climbing partner broke his ax only 200 feet from the top, forcing them to turn back.

On September 29, 1988, after 29 days on the mountain, she finally became the first American woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the world’s highest mountain often associated with Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa companion, Tenzing Norgay, who first reached the summit on May 29, 1953,  35 years earlier.  Incidentally, the first woman to reach the top of Everest is Japanese Junko Tabei, on May 16, 1975.

It was Stacy Allison’s second attempt after to climb Mt. Everest after the first attempt failed when her team was trapped by a horrible storm.  Since then, Allison has has continued to climb, leading expeditions on K2, the second highest mountain.

Stacy’s experiences extend well beyond the mountains. She owns and operates Stacy Allison General contracting, specializing in high-end restoration. Stacy and her team preserves the charm and integrity of classic old homes while achieving financial success. Allison’s main ambition now is to give back to her community by using her experience in climbing.

She is the co-author of “Beyond the Limits: A Woman’s Triumph on Everest” and the author of “Many Mountains to Climb: Reflections on Competence, Courage, and Commitment.”

Quoted from Stacy Allison:

“I wanted to hug somebody. This is an experience that you want to turn around and share with someone. Unfotunately when I turned around, there was no one there.”

~ Stacy Allison ~

Sources:

• Dateline. Sydney (NSW): Millennium House P/L (2006).

• www.everesthistory.com/climbers/stacyallison.htm. Accessed October 3, 2011.

• www.nytimes.com/1988/12/04/sports/outdoors-american-woman-at-the-summit.html. Accessed October 3, 2011.

Image Credit:

Mount Everest by Pavel Novak, Wiki Commons