Junko Tabei (1939 – 2016)

In 1975, Japanese mountaineer Junko became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and in the 1990s the first woman to climb all Seven Summits

(the highest peaks on every continent).

Despite her incredible achievements, she received widespread criticism for leaving her young daughter at home when heading off as part of the first all-female climbing crew.

Throughout her career, she also championed ecological preservation of mountain habitats and completed a number of ‘clean-up climbs’. Her slogan was 'Do not give up. Keep on your quest.'