First Woman To Climb Mount Everest Peak, Junko Tabei Dies At 77

Junko Tabei, the first woman to climb Mount Everest died on October 20, 2016. She was 77 years old.

BBC reports that Tabei had conquered not only Everest, but the other entire seven world’s highest peak. She climbed Everest in 1975 at 35 years old, and then continued to conquer all the other summits in 1992. Four years ago, Tabei was diagnosed with abdominal cancel and died of it in a hospital in the city of Saitama.

According to Time, her cancer and age did not hinder her from climbing as she continued to climb while undergoing her treatment. According to reports, her last climb was in July in Mount Fuji with affected high school students of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

According to a feature in Japan Times, Tabei has always wanted to climb despite the traditional culture where women stay at home and the husbands work for the family. She even mentioned that even though some women have jobs, it is very unlikely for them to get promotions because of their gender. In her way, she wanted to break this mentality that women should only stay home. She initiated to form a group of 15 women to do an expedition to the Himalayas. But did not get much support, “We were told we should be raising children instead,” she said.

Fast forward, she never gave up on this and said that “There was never a question in my mind that I wanted to climb that mountain, no matter what other people said.” Indeed she has proven that dreams do come true as long as you work for it.

In the same interview in 2012, she expressed her love for climbing. “I’ve never felt like stopping climbing — and I never will — even when I myself have seen people killed in accidents in the mountains,” she said. “Of course every time it happens it’s really shocking, but it will never stop me climbing.”

Truly, she is a woman to be remembered for her determination and passion.