CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Think it's lonely at the top? Ask Stacy Allison.

Twenty years ago the Oregon State University alum became the first American woman to climb Mount Everest.

She was one of several female mountaineers on a 1988 U.S. expedition, and there was a friendly competition to be the first to summit the world's highest peak. But it was one Allison didn't really expect to win.

"I just assumed one of the other women would reach the top," said Allison, now the owner of a Portland construction business. "It was the weather that turned them around."

For her own summit attempt, Allison had better weather, and on Sept. 29, 1988, she reached the mountain's peak at just over 29,000 feet with Sherpa Pasang Gyaljen.

Becoming the first American woman to accomplish that feat brought Allison a measure of fame and, as she soon came to realize, an equal measure of responsibility.

"After I stood on top of Mount Everest, I knew I would be a role model for people, and I took that seriously," Allison said. "It caused me to take a good, hard look at myself, to make sure I was the kind of person who could be a good role model."

While high-altitude mountaineering remains very much a male-dominated sport, Allison continues to inspire other women to follow in her footsteps.

In 2002, Sue Ershler became just the 12th American woman to summit Everest, reaching the top with her husband, Phil. In the process they became the first couple to scale the highest peak on each continent.

Throughout her Seven Summits quest, Ershler says today, Stacy Allison was a guiding light.

"When she did it, she didn't have a lot of role models. It was a different world back then," the Seattle businesswoman said.

But thanks to pioneers such as Allison, Ershler could look to other female climbers who had gone before her on the high peaks.

"When you're up there and it's extremely tough, you have to find ways to motivate yourself," said Ershler. "I would roll through the women I know who had climbed it before. I told myself, 'Look, they did it. You can do this."'

Allison still gets lots of e-mails from admirers, but her focus has shifted from climbing big mountains to running her business, speaking on the motivational circuit and raising her sons, ages 12 and 14.

But she still feels the sense of responsibility that comes with being a role model.

Allison does a good deal of charity work, including chairing Reach the Summit, an annual mountain-climbing fundraiser for the Oregon chapter of the American Lung Association that generated $250,000 in donations this year.

She's also taken up marathon running, and this month she'll tackle the Chicago Marathon as a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

"It's not climbing, but it's using my physical skills ... to give back to different charities," Allison said. "It's all about trying to give back."