Women on Top - Everest Summiteers
October 21st 2009 by Jude Limburn
For a long time Everest Trekking was seen as a male-dominated pursuit, with the majority of climbers to have made the peak being
men. But there are several notable female climbers who have successfully trekked from Everest Base Camp to the summit.
The first woman to trek from Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,360 metres to the summit at 8,848 metres above sea level was
Junko Tabei. She had to conquer more than the formidable mountain; she first had to overcome the prejudices of the age. Japan’s
deeply conservative society of thirty years ago would not accept that Junko had any business even attempting to trek up Everest.
“Some people really tried to stop me, but I knew I could do it. In the 1970s, in Japanese culture, the status of women was much
lower than it is now.” On May 16th 1975 Junko proved her critics wrong, becoming the first woman to reach the summit of the world’
s tallest mountain.
When it comes to climbing mountains, Junko Tabei is a bit of a traditionalist herself, criticising the infrastructure that has been
established on Everest since the days of her climb. She has doubts about the services of Sherpas, who tend to the needs of the
climbing teams at Everest Base Camp, trekking up the mountain ahead of the expeditions to fix ropes and ladder bridges across
the crevasses, and making repairs to the route. It’s undeniable that anyone who takes the Everest Base Camp Trek or makes a
summit bid of Everest is appreciative of the expertise of the Sherpas and mountain porters, but Junko argues that this is not in the
spirit of the true climbing experience: “When we climbed, everything had to be done by our own team”.
Junko has continued climbing long into her sixties and in 1992 was the first woman to complete the prestigious Seven Summits
series of climbs. Completing this challenge means climbing the highest peak in each of the world’s seven continents.
Another woman to complete the Seven Summits is Oh Eun-Sun, a Korean mountaineer who has made this new this year for her
attempt to conquer all of the “eight-thousanders.” This means summiting all fourteen of the world’s peaks above 8000 metres. A
select group of just 17 climbers has been verified as having achieved this feat. Her successful Everest Trek was in 2004, and in
August this year she completed her thirteenth of the eight-thousanders: Gasherbrum (8,080 meters) in Pakistan.
Other famous female mountaineers whose names you might hear on the Everest Base Camp Trek include Lydia Brady, Alison
Hargreaves, and Rebecca Stevens. Rebecca Stevens was the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993, and she
wrote about her experiences in her book “On Top of the World.” Lydia Brady from New Zealand has been “on top” twice, with a wait
of twenty years between her expeditions of 1988 and 2008. If this isn’t remarkable enough, spare a thought for Alison Hargreaves,
who not only made her Everest Trek without the assistance of supplementary bottled oxygen in 1995, but also conquered the
mountain without backup, as a solo climber: a real example of “sisters doing it for themselves.”
Jude Limburn Turner is the Marketing Manager for Mountain Kingdoms, an adventure tour company who have run the Everest Base
Camp Trek for over 20 years. They now offer treks and tours worldwide, including destinations in North and South America, Europe,
Africa, and Central and South East Asia.
This article is by courtesy of Travel Articles Directory
This article does not in any way reflect the opinion or views of Virgo Holidays or the website owners.
Return to homepage
October 21st 2009 by Jude Limburn
For a long time Everest Trekking was seen as a male-dominated pursuit, with the majority of climbers to have made the peak being
men. But there are several notable female climbers who have successfully trekked from Everest Base Camp to the summit.
The first woman to trek from Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,360 metres to the summit at 8,848 metres above sea level was
Junko Tabei. She had to conquer more than the formidable mountain; she first had to overcome the prejudices of the age. Japan’s
deeply conservative society of thirty years ago would not accept that Junko had any business even attempting to trek up Everest.
“Some people really tried to stop me, but I knew I could do it. In the 1970s, in Japanese culture, the status of women was much
lower than it is now.” On May 16th 1975 Junko proved her critics wrong, becoming the first woman to reach the summit of the world’
s tallest mountain.
When it comes to climbing mountains, Junko Tabei is a bit of a traditionalist herself, criticising the infrastructure that has been
established on Everest since the days of her climb. She has doubts about the services of Sherpas, who tend to the needs of the
climbing teams at Everest Base Camp, trekking up the mountain ahead of the expeditions to fix ropes and ladder bridges across
the crevasses, and making repairs to the route. It’s undeniable that anyone who takes the Everest Base Camp Trek or makes a
summit bid of Everest is appreciative of the expertise of the Sherpas and mountain porters, but Junko argues that this is not in the
spirit of the true climbing experience: “When we climbed, everything had to be done by our own team”.
Junko has continued climbing long into her sixties and in 1992 was the first woman to complete the prestigious Seven Summits
series of climbs. Completing this challenge means climbing the highest peak in each of the world’s seven continents.
Another woman to complete the Seven Summits is Oh Eun-Sun, a Korean mountaineer who has made this new this year for her
attempt to conquer all of the “eight-thousanders.” This means summiting all fourteen of the world’s peaks above 8000 metres. A
select group of just 17 climbers has been verified as having achieved this feat. Her successful Everest Trek was in 2004, and in
August this year she completed her thirteenth of the eight-thousanders: Gasherbrum (8,080 meters) in Pakistan.
Other famous female mountaineers whose names you might hear on the Everest Base Camp Trek include Lydia Brady, Alison
Hargreaves, and Rebecca Stevens. Rebecca Stevens was the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993, and she
wrote about her experiences in her book “On Top of the World.” Lydia Brady from New Zealand has been “on top” twice, with a wait
of twenty years between her expeditions of 1988 and 2008. If this isn’t remarkable enough, spare a thought for Alison Hargreaves,
who not only made her Everest Trek without the assistance of supplementary bottled oxygen in 1995, but also conquered the
mountain without backup, as a solo climber: a real example of “sisters doing it for themselves.”
Jude Limburn Turner is the Marketing Manager for Mountain Kingdoms, an adventure tour company who have run the Everest Base
Camp Trek for over 20 years. They now offer treks and tours worldwide, including destinations in North and South America, Europe,
Africa, and Central and South East Asia.
This article is by courtesy of Travel Articles Directory
This article does not in any way reflect the opinion or views of Virgo Holidays or the website owners.
Return to homepage
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