Wonder Woman of the Week: Junko Tabei
Our Wonder Woman this week was not only the first woman to summit Mount Everest- but was the first woman to summit the tallest mountain peak on every continent- inspiring women mountaineers around the world to conquer peaks in her name. Junko Tabei was born in Japan in 1939 into a family of seven children. Although frail in her youth, Tabei was also adventurous and began climbing mountains at ten years old. By 1975, Tabei had already become an accomplished climber- summiting several peaks in Japan and abroad. That year however, Tabei made history as the first woman to summit Mount Everest, and she didn't stop there. Tabei would go on to summit the tallest peak on every continent- becoming the first woman to do that as well, and her mountaineering didn't end there.
Decades of mountaineering and tourism has left countless mountain peaks littered with garbage- including Mount Everest. Following her most challenging climbs, Junko Tabei began working to lead conservation efforts to clear mountain paths of garbage. Not only does garbage cause ecological problems for the ecosystems of mountains, but it can also cause problems for climbers- as intense pollution slows down hiking and climbing which in turn can cause fatalities during bad weather on mountains where minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death. Tabei is also a major leader in getting children interested in mountaineering and has led several children's groups to the peak of Mount Fiji in her native Japan. Tabei died in 2016 as the leading name in women's mountaineering and one of the greatest mountaineers in history. Her legacy continues to inspire women and girls to take up mountaineering to this day.
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