Technique and Ability Alone Do Not Get You To The Top
Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer and author. She was the first woman to climb Mount Everest and the Seven Summits, ascending the highest peak on every continent.
During her era, Tabei faced severe sexism. For example, some men refused to climb with her, and others thought she was only interested in climbing as a way to find a husband. In response, she established a women-only mountaineering club - the first of its kind in Japan.
Tabei and the group had trouble securing funding for their 1975 Everest climb. Still, with resilience and determination, she helped raise the necessary funds by teaching piano lessons (on top of her regular job) and made much of her equipment from scratch, creating waterproof gloves out of the cover of her car and sewing trousers from old curtains.
Despite a damaging avalanche, having to abandon her group, and other unpredictable challenges, Tabei became the first woman to reach Everest's summit on 16 May 1975.
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Hello! I am a multidisciplinary designer and have been with the Laidlaw Foundation for over five years, working to strengthen our global Scholar community and amplify the impact of our programmes.
My work lives somewhere between design, education, and anthropology, usually with sticky notes involved. I studied Human Sciences as an undergrad and am currently doing a Master’s in Anthropology at UCL. Degrees I struggle to explain at parties.
Born and raised in Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 Outside of work? Probably in the ceramics studio, wandering aimlessly with a podcast in my ears, attempting a handstand, or watching far too much TV. Big fan of nature and very small bugs.
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