It is well known fact that very
few in the world has been able to scale the summit of Mount Everest. Its harsh
weather conditions, difficult trails and lack of oxygen makes it very difficult
to reach the peak.
Since the time when the two well known mountaineers Edmund
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa scaled the peak way back in the year 1953,
mountaineers from across the world has tried to reach this mountain peak, but
even today the number is quite less total of 5652 times.
Well that is the other side of
the expedition but when Junko Tabei the 35 years old from Fukushima in Japan
reached the Mount Everest summit from the South, she created history of
becoming the first women to do so.
While she was about to reach the peak, the
team were forced to cross a narrow icy bridge close to 49ft long and it was so
difficult that even a slight mistake would have sent them down to the base came
from a height of 21,000 ft.
Unlike climbers today, they did not have any access
to any modern technologies or even advanced mountain climbing equipments like
ultra light gear, stainless steel ice axe or polarized snow goggles.
After the
successful expedition, Tabai later shared her experience with The Japan Times,
the problems she faced all the way to the peak till she returned back to the
base came of Mount Everest. How she crawled along sideways to main a strong
grip by kicking her crampons into the ice, how she fought the battle with the
harsh weather condition and how she overcame all the struggles to reach the
peak.
She was the first
women to climb the world highest peak Mount everest 29,028 ft above sea level.
Here achievement brought a new hope in the world for women and soon her
achievement was regarded as the symbol of progress made by the Japanese Women
and soon many women started to join the Japanese workforce in the development
in every sphere than ever before.
Now it has nearly become four
decades since Tabei’s journey to Mount Everest, the highest summit of the world
and since then more than 3,000 climbers have reached the summit by the help of
modern technologies and advanced equipments.
The Nepalese government too has
eased restrictions on issuing the permits, even amateurs with the help of the
professional guides and local porters are able to climb the Everest. Now it has
become a leisure activity to reach the peak,” she says. With this the mountain
has become a crowded as well as populated place.
Today she dedicates her time
for environmental initiatives and sustainable mountaineering. She also heads
the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan an organization that was set up in order
to preserve the Everest habitat. Her success has paved the way for women to
take the challenges and come up as a winner in not just mountaineering but in
all the sphere of life.
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