Junko Tabei

Junko Tabei was the 36th person to reach Mt. Everest's summit (and the first woman to do so though she didn't like to emphasize that). Growing up in post-WWII Japan, Tabei was a small child who fell in love with climbing at 10 years old. Though her family couldn't afford this expensive hobby, she picked it up again while she was in college. She joined a men's climbing club and despite the prejudiced attitude of some of her fellow climbers (thinking she was only there to find a husband), she quickly excelled. She started an all-women climbing club in 1969.

Her role as a climbing leader directly challenged cultural norms for women in Japan. Not only was she supposed to be at home raising a family, but asking questions and admitting there's something you don't know was seen as weakness. But ask questions she did; she organized a 15-person Mt. Everest expedition in 1975. An avalanche, altitude sickness, and unexpected narrow passages couldn't deter Tabei from reaching the summit. After her successful climb, she remained humble and never accepted corporate sponsorship for future climbs. She went on to become the first woman to complete the Seven Summits (the tallest peak on all 7 continents), organized 44 all-women expeditions around the world, and became an environmental activist focused on preserving the mountain landscapes she loved.