BURSTJunko Tabei became the first woman to climb Mount Everest when she was 35 years old in May 1975. “Back in 1970s Japan, it was still widely considered that men were the ones to work outside and women would stay at home.” Tabei told the Japan Times. “Even women who had jobs – they were asked just to serve tea. So it was unthinkable for them to be promoted in their workplaces.”
Two weeks before reaching the top of Everest, Tabei was caught in an avalanche. She was dug out and insisted on continuing. Near the summit, she was faced with difficult climbing. She told the Japan Times after her ascent, “I had no idea I would have to face that, even though I’d read all the accounts of previous expeditions.”
Before climbing Everest, Tabei had founded the Ladies Climbing Club, whose slogan was, “Let’s go on an overseas expedition by ourselves.” Her interest in climbing began on a climbing trip when she was 10 years old. “I was stamped as a weak child,” she told Sports Illustrated back in 1996, a label that motivated her to pursue adventure.
Tabei completed the seven summits in 1992, but went on many more expeditions and continued advocating for sustainable climbing in the Himalayas. She died in 2016 at the age of 77.
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