Anne Parmenter, head field hockey coach and assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Trinity College (Connecticut), has been mountaineering and rock climbing since she went on a school trip at the age of 11.

Since then, Parmenter has scaled peaks all over the globe, including Mt. McKinley in Alaska, Ama Dablam in Nepal and Aconcagua in Argentina. This past spring, she climbed to the top of world — literally.

In the early morning hours of May 25, Parmenter reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,017 feet — five and a half miles above sea level.

"I wouldn’t say this has been a life-long dream. It was like the opportunity arose and why not?" she said. "Everybody always says there are plenty of other mountains to climb. Yes, there are, but it doesn’t take away the fact that this is the highest one."

It was Parmenter’s second attempt to scale Everest. A friend initally talked her into attempting the climb two years ago, an experience she described as "disasterous." A combination of factors, including stressed group dynamics and unfavorable weather conditions, forced Parmenter and company to turn around at 25,000 feet. She said after recognizing that the situation wasn’t good, group members realized they could return under better circumstances — and they did.

While Parmenter is far from a rookie, one element that was new to her in her quest to conquer Everest was using oxygen. Parmenter was introduced to other realities as well.

"I saw things I’ve never seen but that I’ve read an awfully lot about — people with terrible frost bite," she said. "We did help with rescuing someone who is going to lose part of his hand. At that point, we had not summited and I really questioned — I was not going unless we have perfect conditions and I felt good. I wasn’t going to jeopardize even my little toenail because it was not worth it."

As it turned out, the expedition was blessed with near-perfect conditions in which to summit. The mild weather allowed Parmenter and the other members of her crew to spend about 50 minutes reveling in their accomplishment under a crystal-clear sky before beginning their descent. She even took time to pose for a photo with the Trinity flag.

Family, friends and colleagues followed Parmenter’s progress online. She also kept in contact through e-mail.

"The reaction on campus has been nothing but supportive. The president is all excited. My mother is like ‘Thank God. Let’s hope you never do this again,’" said Parmenter.

One of the lessons Parmenter said she carried from Everest’s summit was the importance of serving as a role model to girls and women whose mentors in pursuits such as rock climbing may be men. As for her team, two of the lessons she hopes to transfer to them from her experiences are the importance of mental toughness and setting and striving for high goals.

She recounted an episode with her team that occurred after she tried to summit in 2004. At the end of a practice, the squad was finishing with sprints. "They were like ‘for God’s sake, if Anne can climb Everest, we can do a couple of suicides,’ " said Parmenter. "It’s a hard physical endeavor, but the mental side of climbing Everest is more than the physical. If that’s the lesson I can share with people, then I certainly want to share that."

Even before her latest triumph on Everest, Parmenter was sharing those lessons and continues to do so through slide shows and talks at schools, colleges and businesses.

"So many more people followed it than I knew," she said. "It’s part of Division III athletics. Yes, I coach field hockey and I am an assistant lacrosse coach. I also have another passion and interest. It’s not all about this sport. I think that makes a healthy person, so trying to live what I’m preaching is, I think, important."

Even as she enjoys her accomplishment, Parmenter isn’t sure what the future holds other than another mountain.

"I’m a rock climber and there’s always something else to climb," she said.

Parmenter is in her sixth season in charge of the field hockey program at Trinity. Formerly the head field hockey coach at Connecticut College for 14 years, she recently guided the Bantams to their first appearance in the New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament. Parmenter is a native of England.