First Woman To Climb Mt Everest: Junko Tabei's Legacy 50 Years On

On May 16, 1975, Junko Tabei made history as the first woman to ascend the mighty Mount Everest. The ascent was arduous, marked by a life-threatening avalanche, an injury, and altitude sickness. However, she took her last steps to the summit, becoming the first woman and 40th person to summit the peak. This was just the beginning, as Junko went on to become the first woman to scale the formidable Seven Summits. 

Junko Tabei's Early Life

Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, born on  22nd September 1939, in a small town named Miharu, located in Fukushima prefecture. From being considered a "frail" child to being the first woman to scale new heights, Tabei excelled in her mountaineering career. She began mountain climbing at the young age of 10, going on a group climbing expedition to Mount Nasu.

Also known as Junko Ishibashi, she studied English and American literature at Showa Women's University. While she initially planned to be a teacher, her passion for scaling new heights and become a mountaineering legend.

First Woman to summit Mount Everest

In 1975, the 15-member Japanese Women’s Everest Expedition team set off to make mountaineering history by summiting the 8,000m tall Mt. Everest. On May 4, 1975, they set up a campsite at 6,300m to rest, when a dangerous avalanche engulfed the camp, burying several of the teammates, including Junko Tabei. It took the strength of four Sherpas, the elite Nepali climbing guides assisting the expedition, to pull her out, according to an article in The Conversation.

However, Junko's spirit remained high. “There was no way I was leaving the mountain,” she recalled in her memoir, Honouring High Places: The Mountain Life of Junko Tabei. 

The Japanese team faced immense pressure, as another Chinese team was in the run to reach the Everest peak from the Tibetan side. However, it was too late, as the all-women Japanese expedition worked together to place Junko on the summit. Many of the teammates stayed back at the camp as they were suffering from altitude sickness.

Junko marched on, becoming the first woman and 40th person to summit Everest, along with her sherpa guide Ang Tsering. "I felt pure joy as my thoughts registered: ‘Here is the summit. I don’t have to climb any more," she wrote in her book.

With her friend and Everest teammate Setsuko Kitamura, Junko established the first Mount Everest conference in 1995, inviting all 32 women who had by then successfully climbed Everest. Soon after her achievement, she became a symbol of social progress and women’s emancipation at the UN International Women’s Year world conference.

Junko's Climbing Voyages

Everest was not the only expedition Junko was known for. Even before eyeing the highest peak, she established the Joshi-Tosan Club in 1969, an all-women mountaineering club with the slogan "Let's go on an overseas expedition by ourselves" (translated from Japanese). The establishment of the club was a result of how she was treated by her male counterparts of that time; her male companions refused to climb with her, while a few others made fun of her expeditions with some dogmatic remarks.

As Junko persisted in her mountaineering endeavours, she eventually ascended Kilimanjaro (1980), Aconcagua (1987), Denali (1988), Elbrus (1989), Mount Vinson (1991), and Puncak Jaya (1992), the highest peak on each continent. She made history by becoming the first woman to complete the Seven Summits after her successful ascent of Puncak Jaya.

Junko's Legacy

Junko has also written several books, taken up various environmental initiatives, and social activities worldwide. Junko passed away in 2016, after a 4-year battle with stomach cancer. Junko has an asteroid and a mountain range named after her on Pluto. She has left behind a legacy to be celebrated for decades to come.