Renegade Female Adventurers: Junko Tabei

May 30th, 2016 • BY Morgan Tilton

What makes an adventuresome lady a renegade? A she-go-getter that sets the bolts, gallops the stallion, and stair-steps in crampons—ice axe in hand—like a spring picnic.

In this WomensMovement.com series, we celebrate the top historical female badasses from the past two centuries. Globe-hopping, climbing the world’s highest summits, and scaling its steepest faces, these cream-of-the-crop women paved the way for future explorers. They chipped away at gender stereotypes when the barrier was not yet addressed publicly or politically.

Fueled by self motivation, and liberated by pants, these babes traveled the globe, rallied up mountains and rock, and reached the summit of never-before-conquered crests.

Female Adventurer: Junko Tabei

Era: 1939-today

Origin: Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Claim to Fame: Junko became the first woman in the world to achieve the Seven Summits—summiting the highest summits on all seven continents—in 1992.

Fun Fact: A debate ensues regarding whether the Australia or Australasia’s highest summit should be included on the list, so there are two official Seven Summits lists.

One lists Indonesia’s Carstensz Pyramid and the other includes Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko. No problem. Junko bagged both. She was also the first mountain climber of Japanese descent to complete the feat.