Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and the first woman to ascend all Seven Summits by climbing the highest peak on every continent. She led an all-female Japanese expedition and reached the top of Mount Everest on May 16, 1975. She died in October 2016, aged 77.
During 1990–91, Tabei reached the summit of Mt. Vinson, Antarctica’s highest mountain. On June 28, 1992, she ascended the Puncak Jaya in Indonesia to become the first woman to complete the Seven Summits — that include the highest peak in every continent. She also worked on the ecological front and in 2000, completed post-graduation at the Kyushu University in the environmental degradation of Everest. She became the director of the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan, which works globally to preserve mountain environments.
Tabei was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer in 2012 but continued many of her mountaineering activities. She passed away at a hospital in Kawagoe on October 20, 2016.
In the wake of her historic Everest ascent, Junko Tabei’s statements revealed that she was not just a passionate mountaineer but also a self- effacing person. She was quoted as saying in the Telegraph that rather than being known as the first woman to climb Everest, she wanted to be remembered as the 36th person to achieve the feat. “I did not intend to be the first woman on Everest,” she said.
In November 2019, a mountain range on Pluto was named in honour of Tabei’s achievements. She was honoured on the theme “Historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in the exploration of the Earth, sea and sky”.
Tabei was quoted as having said that she had founded the Ladies Climbing Club prompted by the manner in which some male mountaineers of the time looked down women mountaineers, their capabilities and seriousness towards the adventure activity. Later, when she tried to find sponsors for the Everest expedition, Tabei said that she was frequently told that the women “should be raising children instead.”
Credit : Hindustan Times
Picture Credit : Google
