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The first woman to climb Everest

The story of Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei who in 1975 became the first woman to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, Everest. She was 35.

In 1975, the Japanese mountaineer, Junko Tabei, became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. As well as being an achievement in its own right, Tabei had to defy the cultural norms of a country where women were not expected to be world-class mountaineers. Louise Hidalgo talks to Setsuko Kitamura, who was on Tabei鈥檚 Everest climb, and to her friend and biographer, Yumiko Hiraki.

Picture: Junko Tabei (left) with Ang Tsering standing in front of the southern wall of Mount Everest at the start of the climb that would result in the two of them reaching the summit. (Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:50GMT

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  • Thu 6 Aug 2020 09:50GMT
  • Thu 6 Aug 2020 23:50GMT
  • Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:50GMT

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