00:00:00
This is exactly right. An average annual single line payment of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless plan as of January 2026.
00:00:35
For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. Hello and welcome to My Favorite Murder.
00:00:56
That's Georgia Hardstart. That's Karen Kilgariff. This is a solo episode. And you know what that means.
00:01:01
Makeup tips. Makeup tips. I don't know how that happened. We were just like, let's start solo episodes.
00:01:08
With another one of our passions. Yeah. What's it called when you say you should try something?
00:01:13
Recommendations. Thank you. That's right. Recommendations and like beauty stuff.
00:01:18
Beauty talk. Yeah. This is like fun stuff. Do you want to go first this time? Sure.
00:01:22
I can never find the correct color of foundation. Sure. Because my base color is red with green.
00:01:28
You seem like you should be pale, but you're tan. Yes. Right? I get people put pale makeup on me all the time, and then I look like a ghoul.
00:01:37
Right. There's a little brown under there, and also a lot of red that reads as brown.
00:01:43
Sure. The redness is a real problem. Sounds fun. Anyhow, there's a TikToker who I adore named Tyler Mars.
00:01:50
She has rosacea, so she's always giving these recommendations of covering and stuff.
00:01:55
Oh, yeah. It's just like, I just look up if I need to get something. So anyhow, there's a foundation that I found on TikTok, of course.
00:02:04
And it's the brand is R-E-M. And it is the best foundation I've worn to date. Is it like, is it red correction foundation or it's just foundation that just works that way?
00:02:15
It's like, it's a foundation color that somehow addresses all of the things that need to be covered without making me look like either a vampire or like I looked in high school.
00:02:26
with my one color of cover girl makeup. Oh God, oh God. That's just clowny, clowny.
00:02:29
Have you smelled that recently? The like cover girl powder? Oh my God. It'll bring you back.
00:02:34
It would like immediate bawling. And I just want to say, I have bought every other foundation.
00:02:39
So it's like, people are like, you've got to try it. Armani, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, sure.
00:02:43
Except for that for some reason on me, it turns orange. It's so about what it works for you.
00:02:47
I use Charlotte Tilbury right now, but in three weeks, it might not work anymore for me
00:02:52
and people look terrible. Yeah. It's real high stakes. And also a lot of panic decision making.
00:02:57
Yeah. Because we're like, now we're on camera again. Now we're on camera again. Yeah.
00:02:59
So I want to get it right. R.E.M. R.E.M.'s getting me there, I think. Mine is also like a face one.
00:03:07
We got our makeup done recently. And whenever I get my makeup done, I end up with tons of notes of what to buy because I don't fucking know.
00:03:14
And the makeup artist is great. So the thing that I bought this time around, there is a drag queen named Kim Chi.
00:03:21
Kim Chi. Yeah. who was a finalist on season eight of RuPaul's Drag Race. Kim Chi has a makeup line
00:03:28
and Kim Chi's Puff Puff Pass setting powder. I got in two colors, like one for under eye and one for my skin.
00:03:38
I am obsessed with it. Okay. Because you have been looking very like perfectly blurred.
00:03:43
Thank you. Maybe you need to get your eyes checked. Yeah, exactly. You really can't see.
00:03:48
I've been Puff Puff passing to myself right before the show starts. I'm going to try that for sure.
00:03:53
Yeah. It's called Puff Puff Pass Setting Powder. And, you know, it comes in such a like cute, fun packaging that you're like, this isn't
00:04:01
going to do anything. You know what I mean? Like that's my brain. That's how it works.
00:04:05
Yeah. But if the makeup artist hadn't like used it on me, I wouldn't have tried it.
00:04:09
And now it's like I use two different types of powder, which is like so not me. I'm so low maintenance.
00:04:14
You're very advanced. Yeah. I think this living in the cultural world of drag queen dominance has benefited and like it's raised all boats.
00:04:24
Yeah. Because, yeah, I care about makeup. But do I have that kind of time to be like, bake it in with a triangle pad or whatever?
00:04:32
It's like, OK, but maybe not. But if you're a drag queen, like you have to do that.
00:04:36
You have to be like good at it. You know all the tricks. You know all the tricks.
00:04:39
And it has to stay on for like 12 hours through sweating, all the different things.
00:04:43
Well, as you and I always say, we must listen to drag queens more. Please, always listen to drag queens.
00:04:48
Let them pass... Puff Puff? No. I was going to say... Pass legislation? That's the one.
00:04:56
Let them pass legislation, please. That's right. Well, what a perfect intro into my solo story for today.
00:05:04
No. Oh. But why not? It's actually terrible. Okay. But why not? Well, only in kind of in that.
00:05:11
It's about a woman who's a trailblazer who's doing it all for herself. Much like Kim Chi and the rest of the RuPaul Dragway cast.
00:05:21
Yeah. Shout out, Katya. You covered the deaths on Mount Everest in our episode 174.
00:05:29
One of my favorite stories to cover of all time. Yeah, it was good. I still think about it.
00:05:32
We titled that episode Rough Winds and High Water. That's funny. So we've talked about it before.
00:05:38
When you think of Mount Everest, and I know you think about it a lot, the first name that usually pops into your head or anyone's head is Sir Edmund Hillary.
00:05:46
Right. The first man, along with his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, who got to the top of Mount Everest in 1953.
00:05:53
The first ones to do it? First two to do it yeah And it was in 53 Today I going to tell you about the boundary trailblazing first woman to climb Mount Everest This year marks the 50th anniversary of her achievement
00:06:07
But like many of the great historic women that we talk about on this show, you've probably never heard her name.
00:06:13
Writer Jenny Hall reported on her for CNN, writing, quote, Her bravery helped her lead record-setting all-women expeditions and overcome the mountain of sexism in this male-dominated space.
00:06:23
Yet very few organizations, even in Japan, have thought to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by a woman.
00:06:33
Well, then fine, I'll do it. It falls on Karen once again. Once again, I'll do it.
00:06:39
I'll celebrate women on Everest. Today I'm going to tell you about an athlete who refused to take no for an answer, who defied strict cultural expectations, and who was so unstoppable even an avalanche couldn't keep her down.
00:06:51
Damn. This is the story of Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabe'i. Amazing. Like, yes, I want to hear that.
00:06:59
It never crossed my mind. Right? Perfect. Okay. Sources from this story that Maren used are a 2017 Outside Magazine article by Brad Frenette entitled A Final Interview with Junko Tabe'i.
00:07:11
and a 1996 Sports Illustrated article by Robert Horn entitled, No Mountain Too High for Her, How Junko Tabei Defied Japanese Views of Women to Become an Expert Climber.
00:07:22
Amazing. The rest of the sources are in our show notes. So we begin in September of 1939 when Junko, at the time her last name was Ishibashi,
00:07:31
is born in a small town in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture. A prefecture is basically a state.
00:07:37
Got it. But I love the word prefecture. I love the word prefecture. Yeah, I do too.
00:07:41
Oh, sorry. While we're here, just because of that word, if you haven't watched Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix, it's an anime series, and it is like an Oscar-winning film.
00:07:53
Okay. It is unbelievably made. Great. Great. Fukushima Prefecture is one of the country's largest prefectures. I keep saying it.
00:08:01
It's stretched from the Pacific Coast inward to the mountains. We all have heard of it from the devastating 2011 earthquake and then tsunami and then nuclear disaster.
00:08:12
Very horrible time. But this is a stunning part of Japan, complete with ski resorts, hot springs, cherry blossoms, volcanic lakes, and beautiful places to hike.
00:08:22
So it's no surprise that even as a little girl, Junko is captivated by the nature around her.
00:08:27
When she's just 10 years old, her teacher takes her class on field trips to two nearby mountains, both around 6,000 feet in elevation, which aren't huge, but they're not small either for kids especially.
00:08:42
And Junko isn't the type of kid anyone would say was adventurous. She's very tiny.
00:08:49
As a child, she endures multiple bouts of pneumonia. And even as an adult, she only ever gets to 4 foot 9 and about 90 pounds.
00:08:57
It's just she's a tiny lady. But Junko says that because of her stature, she's, quote, stamped as a weak child.
00:09:05
But something clicks for her on these mountain field trips, and her life is never the same after.
00:09:11
She will later remember, quote, I was so surprised by the rocky dry hills and a stream of hot water that came from a hot spring.
00:09:18
I was shocked to feel a little chilly while we were at the top of the mountain because it was summer.
00:09:23
I realized that there were so many things in the world which I have never encountered,
00:09:26
and that it is fun to see and learn directly through one's own experiences. I became determined to go wherever I could go.
00:09:34
Wow. So this is just a child being like, I love life. Yeah. I'm into this. Yeah.
00:09:40
Although if I saw a hot spring in a Japanese mountain, I think I would lose it. Yeah.
00:09:45
For sure. So cool. I mean, you can see it in Palm Springs and it's still amazing.
00:09:49
I know it is. But of course, being a little girl with an interest in the outdoors comes with its challenges.
00:09:54
It's post-World War II Japan, so many people are struggling financially. The country as a whole is just trying to get its bearings after a horrible war.
00:10:03
And, of course, with hiking, by the time you invest in a pair of good boots and transportation to the trail,
00:10:09
it could be considered expensive by some people and frivolous to spend money to basically just hike around a mountain in really tough economic times.
00:10:18
But more than that, Junko is a girl. And at the time, Japan has very rigid social conventions for men and women.
00:10:26
And hiking, climbing and adventuring is squarely something men do. As Robert Horn reports for Sports Illustrated, quote, despite Japan's tradition of explorers and adventurers, many of those who dared to strike out on their own paths, especially women, risked the fate foreseen in the Japanese adage, quote, the nail that sticks up will be hammered down.
00:10:47
Yeah. Oh, my God. What a time. Yeah. An adventurer's dreams were often not considered appropriate for a young Japanese woman.
00:10:55
So that's end quote. So after those formative grade school field trips, Junko never looks back because she doesn't care.
00:11:05
She is not for some reason. And I would love to know, was it just her personality?
00:11:10
Did she have like a badass mom? But like these incredibly strict kind of rules and expectations just don't faze her.
00:11:17
By the time she's in high school, she plans hiking trips whenever she can. It's almost a meditative practice for her.
00:11:24
She says, quote, It wasn't like a competition. If you go slow, you can make it to the top.
00:11:29
Or if you must, you can quit at the middle. But Japan was very poor at the time.
00:11:33
I couldn't think about climbing mountains or any kind of leisure. We had to worry about what we would eat.
00:11:39
So Junko eventually enrolls in an all-women's college in Tokyo where she studies English literature and plans on becoming a teacher.
00:11:45
Unlike her fondness for outdoor activities, this is considered a respectable path for young women.
00:11:51
All the while, Junko is dreaming about climbing, though. She manages to find a like female friend at school and they train together during the week On the weekends they head out to the mountains and by the time Junko graduates in 1962 she become an experienced mountaineer
00:12:07
So, as any other climber with her skill level would do, Junko goes right ahead and joins several alpine clubs.
00:12:15
The thing is, these are understood to be for men. At the time, nothing like an alpine club exists for female climbers, and the reaction to Junko's membership is mixed.
00:12:24
A few of the men respect her skill and her sense of adventure, but others outright refuse to climb with her.
00:12:31
And many think that she's only hanging around to find a husband. Okay. Why else would you go?
00:12:37
Yeah, it's not gorgeous Japanese mountainside. Oh, you like hiking, but you don't think women like hiking?
00:12:42
No. You like it just fine. Yeah, and that's fine. But Junko stays focused, and by her mid-twenties, she's summited every one of Japan's most prominent peaks.
00:12:52
Wow. This includes Mount Fuji, which is about 12,400 feet above sea level. And she's funding these climbs by working as an editor for an academic journal and giving piano and English lessons.
00:13:04
She does it all. I mean, yeah. And she's tiny. Yeah. She spends most of her downtime either climbing or training with the hopes of summiting larger and larger peaks.
00:13:14
And then in 1965, Junko meets a man named Masanobu Tabe'i. He's a seasoned Japanese mountaineer in his own right.
00:13:22
So she falls in love with another mountaineer. That's romantic. You got to find someone who at least supports your hobby.
00:13:30
Yeah. They fall in love and they're married the next year when Junko is 27 years old.
00:13:35
But her parents don't approve of this marriage because Masanobu doesn't have a college degree.
00:13:41
But Junko marries him anyway. She doesn't give a shit about anything. She's like, oh, is that your opinion about my life?
00:13:48
I'll see you later. Enjoy it. And the two have a daughter together who they name Noriko.
00:13:53
And later, they have a son named Shinya. So now is she not only the rare female mountaineer in 1960s Japan, she's also a working mother.
00:14:01
When she's in her early 30s, Junko says that she, quote, began to dream about going to the Himalayas with a team of only women.
00:14:09
Ooh. Mm-hmm. To make that happen, she does something that's never been done before in Japan.
00:14:14
In 1969, she forms the country's very first women's climbing organization. Its name, translated into English, is sometimes reported as Ladies Climbing Club and sometimes reported as Women's Mountaineering, depending on how people feel about it.
00:14:31
And the group's slogan is, quote, let's go on an overseas expedition by ourselves.
00:14:38
Translation. Yes, let's. Let's. Around 15 women joined Junko's group, each united by a dream to climb the world's tallest mountains.
00:14:48
But finding time to train is not easy. Like Junko, these women have jobs or families or both.
00:14:55
And Japan's standard vacation time is just two weeks a year, which many people don't feel empowered to fully take because of Japan's intense work culture.
00:15:04
Right. So you have it, but you kind of aren't supposed to go on it. This is complicating in and of itself because these expeditions require time off for training and for travel.
00:15:14
And on top of that, devoting time to a masculine hobby like mountaineering is stigmatized in the 1970s.
00:15:21
The women face judgment for not wanting to devote their entire beings to their husbands and their children, to which Junko has said, quote, I am a housewife.
00:15:30
I just climb mountains because I love it. And if people want to call me that crazy mountain woman, that's OK.
00:15:36
Cool. Love her. Eventually, Junko and her group plan an expedition to Annapurna 3 in Nepal, which is nearly 25,000 feet in elevation.
00:15:46
This is Junko's first time traveling outside of Japan, and she leads the climb. The group travels up a new route to Annapurna 3 Summit, and they successfully reach the top on May 19, 1970.
00:16:00
Karen Kilgariff is eight days old. Oh, my God. It's her first week in the world.
00:16:04
She's loving it. She's loving this energy. So they, on May 19th, 1970, become the first women ever to climb Annapurna 3.
00:16:14
Wow. And now their slogan is, let's be the first women to climb Annapurna 3 by ourselves.
00:16:20
That's not true. It's there on the summit of Annapurna 3 that Junko experiences another sort of spiritual awakening.
00:16:27
Robert Horn reports in Sports Illustrated, quote, The ascent profoundly changed her.
00:16:32
There would be no more slaving in the late hours to prove that she was her company's most loyal worker.
00:16:37
No more fears about speaking her mind. No more concerns about what people said behind her back.
00:16:43
Wow. It's also in this moment that Junko really starts to consider climbing Mount Everest.
00:16:49
Because she did that one. You might as well do this one. She brings the idea to her climbing club and they begin to mobilize with that goal in mind.
00:16:57
But Junko says, quote, most of the men in the Alpine community were against our plan, saying that it would be impossible to go to Everest on a women's only expedition.
00:17:07
Why? They're just so negative. I mean, God. Can we get a little positivity? How about or just shut up?
00:17:13
Yeah, or just shut the fuck up. If you can't, zip it. So Junko and her crew set out to prove them wrong.
00:17:19
They don't need us saying this. No. They're already doing it. It already happened.
00:17:22
Yeah. But getting to Everest is not easy. Of course, the women first need permission from Nepal's government.
00:17:29
So they apply in 1971, but then they're told that there's no space for their expedition,
00:17:34
and there won't be until 1975. So that would be upsetting. You have to wait four years to the average person, but they're
00:17:42
not discouraged. They just figure it will give them more time to train. And Junko uses
00:17:47
this long waiting period to help the group nail down sponsorships. But of course, finding
00:17:52
financial support is tricky As Junko puts it quote most companies reaction that was for women it impossible to climb Mount Everest No vision Yeah You that Why aren you the company that goes But if they do it totally
00:18:06
We'll all be. And even if they don't, they'll still get fucking average like eyes on the prize.
00:18:11
Yeah. We just have come. We truly have come a long way, baby. In marketing. Yes.
00:18:18
And then we both smoke because now it's the Virginia Slim Minute. Oh, OK. Yeah. Plus, in the early 70s, Japan experiences a years-long oil-related economic crisis.
00:18:29
There's just less sponsorship money to go around. Fortunately, the group locks down two sponsorships, one from a major Japanese newspaper and one from a TV station.
00:18:40
But the budget's relatively small. The male groups often raise hundreds of thousands of dollars when they do their climbs, and they raise it in Japan and elsewhere.
00:18:49
Junko's group only manages to raise about $70,000. So to pick up the slack, each member has to come up with an additional approximately $5,000 each.
00:18:59
And it's 1.5 million yen that they have to come up with. And it's worth, do you want to guess, in today's money?
00:19:05
You said they have to come up with $5,000 in the 70s, which in today's money would be 28.
00:19:13
30,000. So close. So finally, 1975 rolls around. It's time for the women to head to Nepal.
00:19:21
Years later, outside magazine reporter Brad Frenette will ask Junko if she ever felt hesitation as the climb date approached.
00:19:28
She says, quote, no, I never thought of giving up once. We had worked so hard to obtain the climbing permit.
00:19:35
She got the paperwork. No. She's not going anywhere. So that spring, the women set out.
00:19:41
Junko is 35 at the time, and she serves as co-leader for the 15-woman expedition.
00:19:46
Wow. They're accompanied by six experienced Sherpa guides, and together they embark on the most difficult, grueling climb of their lives.
00:19:55
Any Everest climb is punishing, and Junko's is no exception. But by May 3rd, 1975, her group has steadily made it more than 20,000 feet, and they have about 9,000 feet to go.
00:20:06
Now, around this point, they encounter terrible weather, which is a reality climbers face, of course, as they go up Everest, especially the closer they get to the top.
00:20:16
So these gals set up camp. They try to get some rest before continuing on. But it's not a lovely bucolic spot.
00:20:26
It's freezing cold. They're in tents that are being whipped around by these terrible winds.
00:20:32
Hours later, when they're sleeping, not long after midnight on May 4th, Junko is awakened by an extremely loud low rumble.
00:20:40
And she instantly knows what it is. It's an avalanche barreling down the mountain.
00:20:44
Dude, I saw a video recently of an avalanche. And I, like... No, no, no. No. No, no.
00:20:51
It's terrifying. It's horrible. So before she can even react, Junko is swept up by a wall of snow and ice.
00:20:59
She is tangled in her tent with some other climbers. Oh, my God. So they're tumbling down the mountain, getting knocked all over the place and against each other.
00:21:09
And it's really violent and chaotic, of course. And then once it ends, they're buried in the snow, still in the tent.
00:21:16
Yeah. We're all wrapped up. When it all comes to a stop, Junko is in extreme pain.
00:21:22
She worries she's going to die. She then has a vision of her daughter, Noriko, playing outside their home back in Tokyo.
00:21:28
And then she blacks out. Jesus. The next thing she remembers is the Sherpa guides pulling her out of the snow by her ankles.
00:21:35
Oh, my God. Which actually would probably be pretty easy because she's little. She's so tiny.
00:21:40
Somehow, miraculously, everyone survives the avalanche, which Junko credits to the experience and quick thinking of their Sherpas.
00:21:47
Thank God. I mean, like 15 women just. But they're not totally unscathed. Junko is battered and bruised and her body is extremely sore.
00:21:56
She has to rest for two days before she's even able to lift herself up. Wow. Let alone keep climbing.
00:22:02
No, like that would be the end of it. Yes. You know, for me. Like, thanks so much.
00:22:07
But she's. Thanks so much for there was an avalanche on me. But she's like, we got the permit.
00:22:13
Yeah. We're not leaving. She, and actually what she did say is, quote, as soon as I knew everyone was alive, I was determined to continue.
00:22:22
Wow. The women continue working towards Everest's peak with Junko still at the helm.
00:22:28
At times her injuries are so bad she has to crawl on her hands and knees. What the fuck?
00:22:33
She's no excuse. Like, I don't. You get out to Griffith Park tomorrow? Oh, I'm talking about like doing my laundry.
00:22:42
I'm not even talking about hiking. Just do it on your hands and knees. I can't. I have no excuse not to do my laundry when this—yeah.
00:22:49
I know. I mean, I think there's some people born with this like brain chemistry that's like up, up, up.
00:22:55
Yeah, yeah, yeah. God bless them. So she has to crawl on her hands and knees, but she just keeps going.
00:23:01
And then 12 days later, the team reaches the final camp of their climb, which is just below Everest's peak.
00:23:08
By this point, they are running low on oxygen. Originally, they'd planned to send two women up to the summit.
00:23:13
Now they only have enough oxygen to send one. These women clearly love one another on this mountaineering team.
00:23:20
No one wants to take the glory for themselves. But after they discuss it, the team decides Junko should be the one to make the final push to the top.
00:23:27
They're like, get on your hands and knees and you crawl up there. So now Junko realizes that to get to Everest's summit, she has to climb this skinny ridge of ice.
00:23:39
We may have talked about it on your story. I can't remember. It is just wide enough for a human body, a ridge of ice.
00:23:46
There are 15,000 foot drops on either side. I remember that drop. Okay. Yeah. It's called the Knife Edge Ridge.
00:23:52
Yeah. And it leads up to the Hillary Step, which is like the final spot before you go, you're on the peak.
00:23:58
Oh, my God. So it's named after Edmund Hillary. She's going to Hillary step. Oh, that must be just like a moment for those climbers.
00:24:08
Right. And then also for her where it's like, I don't know if they're aware of it, but like she's the first one.
00:24:13
Yeah. So it's like a true moment. One wrong move here, though, would absolutely result in a fatal fall.
00:24:20
It's all or nothing. Yeah. I didn't understand that, I think, until I read this story.
00:24:25
Junko, who's accompanied by a celebrated Sherpa guide named Ang Charing, now must crawl sideways
00:24:32
while sort of hugging the ridge to make it to the Hillary step. She later says, quote,
00:24:37
I'd never felt that tense in my entire life. I felt all my hair standing on end. I had no idea I
00:24:44
would have to face that, even though I'd read all the accounts of previous expeditions. I got so
00:24:49
angry at the previous climbers who hadn't warned me about that knife edge traverse in their expedition
00:24:55
records. Isn't that so like men? My heart just dropped thinking of doing that, like crawling,
00:25:01
hugging. Yeah. And she didn't know it was there. No one said, hey, also real quick. Yeah. Things
00:25:09
are scary. No. But just after noon on May 16th, 1975, Junko Tabe reaches the summit of Mount
00:25:17
Everest and becomes the first woman ever and the 36th person in history to do it.
00:25:23
She's made it to the highest point on Earth. Wow. So 35 dudes didn't tell the secret.
00:25:30
Sucks. Later, when asked if she shouted or cried when she reached the summit, Junko simply
00:25:35
says, quote, I didn't shout anything. I just thought, oh, I don't have to climb anymore.
00:25:41
Yeah. We love her. You've got to save your energy. Yeah. Yeah. Word of Junko's historic summit spreads quickly and becomes a celebratory moment around the world.
00:25:50
The King of Nepal even reaches out and awards medals of honor to Junko and the rest of the women in her climbing team.
00:25:57
Wow. Back in Japan, any naysayers the women may encounter are overshadowed by a wall of glowing media coverage.
00:26:05
They're profiled in newspapers, covered in countless news reports. They become the subject of a TV miniseries, and they're memorialized in textbooks.
00:26:14
Junko of course draws a particular amount of interest from the public and not just because of her historic summit She also celebrated for her humble leadership and her devotion to her teammates and for how she never once gave up despite her injuries from being in that avalanche
00:26:29
Junko doesn't exactly love being in the spotlight, though, and she knows she could capitalize off of all this media interest,
00:26:36
and that would certainly help pay for future climbs. She chooses to decline all corporate sponsorships, and she does this because,
00:26:44
If I accept a sponsorship, then climbing the mountain is not my own experience. It's like working for the company.
00:26:51
Wow. Yeah. Instead, Junko supports herself by continuing to teach music and English, but also working as a hiking guide, writing books and giving speeches.
00:27:02
In those speeches, she encourages others to chase their dreams, even if it means defying social norms.
00:27:08
Junko tells crowds to, quote, be the nail that sticks out. Yeah. Yeah. Be the nail that sticks out.
00:27:14
Love it. That's what you said to me? Well, then I'm going to use it against you. Fuck yeah.
00:27:18
Yeah. Turn it around. Hell yeah. Junko spends the rest of her life doing exactly what she loves, which, of course, is climbing.
00:27:25
In 1992, at 53 years old, she completes another historic first. Junko becomes the very first woman to complete the seven summits, which are the highest mountains on each continent.
00:27:37
Wow. These include Denali, Kilimanjaro, and Mount Vinson in Antarctica. What if that was your mom? Like, how inspiring would that be?
00:27:45
You keep coming home with a bag of laundry and you're like, hello, is any, no one?
00:27:49
No one. I mean, like, inspiration-wise, where it's like, oh, my mom's 50-something.
00:27:54
Like, I should probably, like, be like her. Yes, exactly. Over the years, Junko becomes more and more interested in the environmental toll of modern climbing, especially on Everest.
00:28:06
And by the 1990s, there's a shift towards high-budget commercial expeditions, which are often taken by wealthy climbers who outsource much of the heavy lifting to guides and sherpas.
00:28:17
Right. It's like luxury hiking. Yes. And Junko's very critical of luxury hiking, calling them, quote, intensive care unit climbers.
00:28:26
Wow. That's... Because of all the critical support they have along the way. But what troubles her the most is all of the damage caused by the increased foot traffic and trash left behind on Everest which is a problem that only gotten worse over the years Oh sorry I thought I was in a quote that whole time but it was just intensive care unit climbers was just her little quote That a barbed thing to say
00:28:52
But it's true. It's like you're creating, you're not trained, you're not serious about it,
00:28:56
truly. And then when you get up there, they have to helicopter you out. That's what happened when I went skiing for the first time.
00:29:03
So to do what she can to protect her beloved mountains, Junko not only studies the impacts of trash on mountain landscapes, but she also starts organizing cleanup trips both in Japan and abroad.
00:29:14
Her husband and children often join her on these trips, and along the way, she never stops uplifting other women.
00:29:20
By 2005, Junko has participated in 44 all-female climbs. Holy shit. But really, she's interested in cultivating young mountaineers.
00:29:30
So she starts leading yearly expeditions to Mount Fuji with Japanese high schoolers.
00:29:35
And she climbs with them every year, even after she's diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2012.
00:29:41
2012. Wow. Yes. So even as Junko battles cancer, she continues taking trips to Mount Fuji.
00:29:48
But in 2016, for the first time, she has to stop halfway up the climb. And she passes away a few months later in October at the age of 77.
00:30:00
So she basically started climbing mountains as a child and never stopped. That's so inspiring.
00:30:07
I know. Today, Junko Tabe-i is remembered for her endless courage, relentless environmental advocacy, and dedication to uplifting fellow adventurers, especially women.
00:30:17
And of course, the many climbs she completed. Throughout her amazing life, she summited at least 70 mountains across the globe.
00:30:25
And in doing so, she proved wrong those who doubted her and helped change the pervasive image of what a mountaineer looks like.
00:30:32
Shortly before Junko's death in 2017, she was asked what she would say to her younger self if she had the opportunity.
00:30:39
She responded with advice that we could all stand to hear. Junko said, quote, do not give up.
00:30:44
Keep on your quest. Wow. And that's the story of trailblazing Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei.
00:30:51
Holy shit. Man, maybe I'll start hiking again. You could just do flat hikes Yeah You know to start Yeah Is that still a hike or is that just walking I mean I think it you can use whatever word you want Right
00:31:07
They can't prove it wasn't a hike. Right. There's a slight incline. Yeah. It still counts.
00:31:11
Also, the thing I really like and the message of this, Junko's message, but then like the way she lived her life.
00:31:18
I was, of course, watching this TikTok this morning where they're like, how do we dismantle the patriarchy?
00:31:24
How would women do that? And it's just this idea of like you don't stay quiet. You don't fall prey to these cultural restrictions or norms of women are like this or women are supposed to do this.
00:31:37
You make your own money. You make your own business. You don't give up even when things are hard or even when people say shit about you.
00:31:44
It's like you just keep going and you just keep doing the thing you want to do and let them talk.
00:31:50
Right. Like you don't have to debate them at all. You don't have to argue with them online.
00:31:54
You don't have to like engage. Just keep doing what you're doing. Because doing it is the example for the next generation.
00:32:02
We have to show women, young women, what's possible and then they can do it. Then everyone's just doing it for each other.
00:32:11
Podcasting. That's what we're showing them. Podcasting is the same as mountaineering.
00:32:16
This is stolen valor. We're showing young ladies. Yeah. And I'm proud of it. Yeah, I am too.
00:32:23
So, well, that's a solo story. Great job. That was definitely one for the books.
00:32:29
Thank you. Thank you guys so much for listening. Do not give up. Nope. Keep on your quest.
00:32:34
Yeah. Stay sexy. And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie? This has been an Exactly Right production.
00:32:48
Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes. Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.
00:32:54
This episode was mixed by Liana Squalachi. Our researchers are Maren McGlashan and Allie Elkin.
00:32:59
Email your hometowns to myfavoritemurder at gmail.com. And follow the show on Instagram at myfavoritemurder.
00:33:05
Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:33:10
And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix. And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons.
00:33:16
That's the best way you can support our show. Goodbye.