Junko Tabei

Junko Tabei (May, 23, born 1939) is a Japanese mountain-climber, who became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 16, 1975. After she graduated from Showa Women's University, where she studied English literature and joined the mountain climbing club, She formed a women's mountain climbing club; "Ladies Climbing Club: Japan(LCC)" in 1969. She also enjoyed mountain climbing with her husband, they climbed Mt. Fuji and some of,the highest mountains in Japan. She also climbed the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps.

By 1972, Tabei was known as one of the best mountain climbers in Japan. The Yomiuri newspaper and Nihon Television decided to send an all-woman team to Nepal in order to challenge the unforgiving Mt. Everest. Fifteen women including Junko out of hundreds were selected for the expedition.

After a long hard training, early in 1975, they traveled to Katmandu, where they found nine local Sherpa people to guide them. They used the same route Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay took in 1953. By early May, the women camped at a height of 6,300 meters, and there they were resting when an avalanche struck their camp. The women, including Junko and the guides, were buried under the snow. Tabei lost consciousness for about six minutes until her Sherpa guide dug her out. Twelve days after the avalanche, Tabei became the first female to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

In 1992, Tabei was the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.

Tabei has a goal to climb the highest peak in every country in the world. Today, at 61, she has slowed down her climbing, but continues to work passionately on ecological concerns. Troubled by the increasingly negative impact climbers have on the nature, Tabei is currently the director of Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan, an organization working on a global level to preserve mountain environments.

Additional reading

• 『エベレスト・ママさん:山登り半生記』（山と渓谷社,1978年）ISBN 4-635-04705-9
• 『七大陸最高峰に立って』（小学館,1992年）ISBN 4-09-387086-1
• 『山の頂の向こうに』 （佼成出版社,1995年）ISBN 4-333-01706-8
• 『エプロンはずして夢の山』（東京新聞出版局,1996年）ISBN 4-8083-0567-4
• 『さわやかに山へ』（東京新聞出版局,1997年）ISBN 4-8083-0598-4
• 田部井淳子編『エヴェレストの女たちWomen on Everest』（山と溪谷社,1998年）ISBN 4-635-17113-2
• 『山を楽しむ』（岩波書店,2002年）ISBN 4-00-430803-8
• 『はじめての山歩き:花、木、自然に会いに』（文化出版局,2002年）ISBN 4-579-30397-0
• 『高いところが好き』（小学館,2007年）「七大陸最高峰に立って」の増補 ISBN 978-4-09-408206-7
• 『山からの贈り物』（角川学芸出版,2007年）ISBN 978-4-04-621304-4
• 『いつでも山を:田部井淳子の実践エイジング登山』（小学館,2008年）ISBN 978-4-09-387776-3

Related books:

• 日本女子登山隊著『私たちのエベレスト:女性初登頂の全記録』（読売新聞社,1975年）
• 落合誓子著『女たちの山:シシャパンマに挑んだ女子隊9人の決算』（山と渓谷社,1982年）ISBN 4-635-04136-0
• NHKプロジェクトX制作班編『プロジェクトＸ挑戦者たち;6：ジャパンパワー、飛翔』（日本放送出版協会,2001年）ISBN 4-14-080574-9
• 澤正宏ほか編,木村幸雄監修『福島県文学全集.第2期(随筆・紀行・詩編) 第4巻(現代編1)』（郷土出版社,2002年） ISBN 4-87663-586-2
• 養老孟司著『話せばわかる!:養老孟司対談集:身体がものをいう』（清流出版,2003年）ISBN 4-86029-050-X
• 毎日新聞社大阪本社学芸部編『わたしとおかあさん』（青幻舎,2004年）ISBN 4-86152-005-3
• 日本エッセイスト・クラブ編『カマキリの雪予想：ベスト・エッセイ集;2006年版』（文藝春秋,2006年）ISBN 4-16-368380-1