Bold Stories

Under the Avalanche: Junko Tabei’s Climb to the Top of Everest

In the 1970s, many people in Japan expected women to stay home, not lead mountaineering expeditions. Junko Tabei co-founded a women’s climbing club anyway, and in 1975 she was part of an all-women Japanese expedition to Mount Everest.

At high camp, an avalanche buried the tents. Tabei was knocked unconscious under the snow and was dug out by Sherpa guides. Twelve days later, on 16 May 1975, she reached the summit, the first woman to do so.

She kept going: in 1992 she became the first woman to complete the Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent. Later in life she also worked on cleaning up the waste left on Everest.

She didn’t climb because the mountain was safe. She climbed because she had prepared, and then she went.

Take it into your day

Bold isn’t careless. Tabei trained for years and climbed with a team. What preparation would make your next leap feel possible?

Illustration: AI-generated, not a photo of the person.