Junko Tabei

Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer who became the first woman to summit Mount Everest, on May 16, 1975. She later became the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.

1975 Japanese Women’s Everest Expedition: A Japanese all-women expedition that put Junko Tabei on Mount Everest’s summit in 1975. This expedition carried Tabei to Everest as its climbing leader.
Hiroko Hirakawa: A Japanese mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest with Junko Tabei in 1975. She was among the Japanese women who shared Tabei’s Everest expedition.
Mount Nasu: A volcanic mountain in Japan’s Nasu range, known for its accessible hiking routes. Tabei began climbing as a child on a school trip to this mountain.
Women in mountaineering: Women’s participation in climbing, expedition leadership, and mountaineering institutions. Tabei’s achievement challenged assumptions that high-altitude climbing belonged to men.
Mount Everest: Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, on the Nepal–China border. Tabei became the first woman to reach its summit.
Hanae Sakai: A Japanese mountaineer who joined the 1975 Japanese women’s Everest expedition. Her participation placed Tabei’s summit within a collective team effort.
Mount Fuji: Japan’s highest mountain, a stratovolcano rising to 3,776 meters. Tabei’s early mountaineering included climbs in Japan before Himalayan expeditions.
Gender discrimination: Unequal treatment based on a person’s gender or perceived gender. Tabei encountered expectations that women should not lead demanding climbing expeditions.
Seven Summits: The highest mountain on each of the seven traditional continental landmasses. Tabei later completed this mountaineering challenge as the first woman.
Hillary Step: A steep rock-and-snow obstacle near Mount Everest’s summit, named for Edmund Hillary. Tabei’s ascent belonged to the climbing history shaped by earlier Everest pioneers.

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Catherine DestivelleRelated: Tabei and Destivelle represent distinct generations of women’s high-altitude and technical climbing.