Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains Read online

  Then…silence. And stillness.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The avalanche stopped as abruptly as it had begun.

  “Is everyone okay?” Junko cried out. There was no answer. She wondered in horror if she was the only one still alive.

  Then she realized that there was a person on top of her. Her tent mate, Yuriko.

  “Are you all right?” Junko demanded.

  “Everything hurts,” Yuriko replied in a ragged voice.

  “We have to get out of here.”

  “How? We’re trapped.”

  Yuriko was right. Their tent had been buried under big blocks of snow and ice. Junko tried to move, but it was impossible. There was no space between them and the tent walls.

  Junko realized that they needed to cut their way out of the tent. She reached for the camping tool that she wore on a cord around her neck.

  The tool contained a knife. She used her teeth to open the blade, but she couldn’t move her arms enough to use it on the tent walls.

  “Yuriko, take this knife!”

  Yuriko’s eyelids were fluttering. She was obviously about to black out. They were quickly running out of air.

  “Yuriko!” Junko said, but her voice sounded far away.

  Terrified, she tried to take a breath, but got nothing, just a dry wheezing in her throat.

  Bright lights began to flash in front of her eyes.

  No, no, no!

  The last thought Junko had before she passed out was that she had to stay alive.

  * * *

  Junko woke to the sound of scared voices and the sensation of strong arms pulling on her.

  “Where’s the first aid kit?”

  “We need to radio for help!”

  “What if there’s another avalanche?”

  Slowly, Junko became aware of her surroundings. She was lying in a tent—an upright, intact tent—next to several of her teammates. The Sherpa support climbers were rushing around tending to injuries.

  “Is everyone alive?” Junko managed to choke out.

  “No one died,” someone answered.

  That was a miracle. The campsite had been buried by a huge wave of snow and ice.

  Junko and the others spent several days recovering. They all wanted to continue up to the summit.

  The team doctor tried to talk Junko into quitting. “You’re not in any shape to climb. You need to rest.”

  “I’ll be good to go in two days. I’m not quitting.”

  Junko didn’t quit. Over the following week, more team members gave up because of their injuries, sickness, or fatigue, and finally only she and one of the Sherpa support climbers, Ang Tsering, remained.

  On May 16, 1975, twelve days after the avalanche, Junko reached the summit. She was surprised to find that it wasn’t very big—just the size of one of the tatami mats she slept on at home.

  “I made it!” she announced to the rest of the team on her walkie-talkie. She heard cheers and clapping and everyone shouting, “Congratulations!”

  She had done it!

  To commemorate her victory, Junko planted a Japanese flag and a Nepalese flag in the snow.

  * * *

  Many years after the Mount Everest expedition, Junko gave Mr. Watanabe, her fourth-grade teacher, a very special present for his seventieth birthday. She invited him to Nepal, where she chartered a private helicopter to fly them to the Himalayas.

  After thirty minutes in the air, Mount Everest came into view. Mr. Watanabe gasped in wonder.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  The moment was just as sweet as when she’d reached the summit in 1975.

  AFTERWORD

  After climbing Mount Everest, Junko Tabei became famous. She never felt like a celebrity, though. She thought of herself as a regular person who enjoyed climbing and who wanted to spread the word that everyone should try it for themselves—not to achieve fame and fortune, but to have a good time.

  When their daughter, Noriko, was six years old, Junko and Masanobu welcomed a son, Shinya. Junko loved being a mother as much as she loved being a mountaineer.

  Junko climbed mountains for the rest of her life. She climbed the highest peak in over seventy countries, and was the first woman to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peaks on each of the seven continents).

  Junko was also an activist. She knew about the negative impacts too much climbing had on Mount Everest, like littering, water pollution, and the loss of trees. In 1990, she established the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan to help protect the mountain range.

  In 2011, disaster struck in the Tohoku region, where Junko’s hometown was located: an earthquake and a tsunami, followed by a terrible accident at a nuclear power plant. In response, Junko created Project Cheer Up Tohoku to help the area and its people. One of the projects was an annual trip for local high school students to climb Mount Fuji. This trip continues today. Junko’s son, Shinya, who is also an avid mountaineer, has taken on his mother’s role with the project and leads students to the top of Mount Fuji every summer.

  In 2012, Junko was diagnosed with cancer. She lived for another four years and climbed mountains until her final days. She died on October 20, 2016, at the age of seventy-seven, with her family by her side.

  Before she passed away, she asked her son to do three things for her:

  1. Let everyone know about the wonders of nature.

  2. Continue the Mount Fuji program for high school students.

  3. Protect and take care of Masanobu and Noriko.

  “Anyone can take up mountaineering,” she told him.

  “I started out as a little girl with no athletic talent. I just wanted to challenge myself and have fun. And I did!”

  ACTIVITIES

  TYING KNOTS

  You already know one knot — the kind you use to tie your shoes! But there are nearly 4,000 other unique knots with different purposes.

  For instance, Junko and her fellow climbers used several different knots to keep them safe as they climbed high mountains. Tying a knot can come in handy in many situations. Grab an old shoelace, a piece of rope, or a string and practice tying the knots described below.

  Climbers use a Girth Hitch knot to tie themselves to a fixed point, like a tree. It’s used for rescues since it’s quick and easy to tie. Here are the steps:

  Place a rope loop behind the object you’re attaching it to.

  Pull the remaining loop away from object to tighten.

  Wrap the open end over the object and feed it through the loop underneath.

  The Figure Eight Follow Through knot is one of the strongest knots and helps climbers connect securely to a wall. Here are the steps:

  Make a figure “eight” with your rope.

  Wrap the free end of the figure “eight” around the item you’re tying yourself to.

  Take the free end and follow the “eight” around a second time.

  Then pull the end tight.

  The Double Overhand Stopper knot is used at the end of a rope for extra security. This knot will make sure that a climber’s rope never slips unexpectedly. Here are the steps:

  Make a loop and feed one end into the loop.

  Take the end and pass it through the loop one more time.

  Pull the ends to tighten.

  FINDING BALANCE

  As a climber, it’s important to strengthen your balancing skills, so that you feel confident climbing on less stable surfaces. Climbers have to switch out their hands and feet when reaching for their next hold, so they don’t slip and fall. It is also important for them to shift their weight by leaning away or toward individual holds/footholds on the wall. Work on your balancing skills by trying the activity below!

  Stick a long piece of masking tape on your floor in a straight line. Hold two tennis balls or similar-sized objects in each hand and walk along the tape, following the line. Holding the tennis balls will strengthen your grip while also helping you to improve your balance when you can’t use your hands to steady your
self.

  Put the tennis balls away and look for a softcover book. Now try walking along the tape while balancing the book on your head. It may help to have your arms spread out like an airplane!

  CONQUERING FEARS

  Climbing can be scary, which is how Junko felt the first time she tried it. However, she learned that trying new things can make you stronger. When you really focus on the task in front of you, something that used to be frightening won’t seem very scary anymore.

  Talk about a time you were scared to try something new but decided to try it anyway. What did you learn? What did you like or not like about that experience?

  Is there something you’ve been too scared to try so far but would like to try someday?

  Cotopaxi creates outdoor products that help alleviate poverty, move people to do good, and inspire adventure.

  1% of Cotopaxi’s revenue goes towards grants focused on providing basic needs to communities in the Americas.

  Visit them at www.cotopaxi.com or @cotopaxi

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  While Junko Tabei may not have set out to be known as the first woman to climb Everest, there’s no better example. Tabei’s personal sacrifices and conservation efforts remind us that we are never too small to put one foot in front of the other and reach our highest potential.

  Nancy Ohlin, you’ve really astounded us. We thank you. Montse Galbany, your passion for the mountains glimmers in every painstaking detail. Tabei comes alive at every page turn, and that is in no doubt thanks to your gorgeous illustrations. Thank you, too, to Martha Cipolla and Marisa Finkelstein for your thoughtful reads. Cotopaxi has been a generous partner.

  And finally, Rebel Girls would like to thank our readers. Your continued interest drives the mission further than we’d ever dreamed. Remember, what some see as weakness can actually be strength. Junko Tabei was always underestimated—and there’s no greater advantage than being overlooked. Prove to the world and yourself that you are worthy.

  ABOUT REBEL GIRLS

  Rebel Girls is an award-winning cultural media engine founded in 2012, spanning over seventy countries. Through a combination of thought-provoking stories, creative expression, and business innovation, Rebel Girls is on a mission to balance power and create a more inclusive world. Rebel Girls is home to a diverse and passionate group of rebels who work in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Merida (Mexico), London, and Milan.

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  Editorial Director: Elena Favilli

  Art Director: Giulia Flamini

  Text: Nancy Ohlin

  Cover and Illustrations: Montse Galbany

  Cover Lettering: Cesar Yannarella

  Graphic design: Annalisa Ventura

  This is a work of historical fiction. We have tried to be as accurate as possible, but names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents may have been changed to suit the needs of the story.

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  ISBN 978-1-7333292-0-0

  ISBN 978-1-7342641-5-9 (ebook)