in the Ai r
the allure of conquering the mountain was great, and after years of preparation, Everest was calling. Trinity granted her the opportunity to make the journey, and the Brit flew to Nepal where she took her first steps on the mountain that had stoo d unconquered until 1953.
The ascent is as perilous as one might imagine. Hundreds have died on the slopes, casualties of the eternal struggle of people versus the world. It is on a journey such as this, where one is exposed to the basic struggle of humankind versus nature, that the issues are very raw and very real. One’s moral compass is more in play than any map of the trails. It was this very series of steps that gave Parmenter the chance to look deep within her soul, a view that was much deeper than the 20,000 feet to sea level below her.
When the mountaineer was placed in the position of choosing to steal oxygen from fellow climbers in order to continue the journey, the decision was easy: she turned back to base camp.
“I had never been faced with a decision about something that was so wrong and so right,” recalled Parmenter. “It was part of the very fabric of what life is.”
And so the aspiring conqueror of Everest began the descent down the mountain, the alluring summit within reach physically. At that moment, however, it might have well been 30,000 more
feet away, it was so distant morally.
It would be two more years before Parmenter had the chance to return to the mighty Himalayas, this time with a group that was cut from the same moral cloth as she, ready to summit the world’s greatest peak with a group of fellow mountaineers that included firefighters, investment bankers, and a solid ethical code that would make the ascent and eventual summit the true achievement that it is.
“To say it was breathtaking is an understatement,” recalled the hockey player. “Not only was the view incredible, but the realization of the accomplishment was amazing.”
After conquering mighty Everest, Parmenter continued her assault on other would-be barriers. A life-long student, she navigated the American Mountain Guides Association course in 2007. Two years later in 2009, she passed the Rock Instructors’ Exam, becoming one of just a handful of women who have successfully completed the course. In fact, fewer women have earned this distinction than have climbed Mount Everest.
“We all have an Everest in our lives,” mused Parmenter. “We have things that seem impossible at first, but we need to realize they are not. We all need to conquer our own Everest.”
fhlife@usafieldhockey.com
by Chip Rogers
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