Honouring High Places

by Junko Tabei

  “Well, I have to look for a part-time job as I’ve spent all my money…,” Tabei said on our trek home from Everest.

  Astonished, I raised my voice, “What the heck are you talking about? You’ll be rounded up by media gangs for a while, no time for work or such a thing, I warn you.” Tabei’s idea of her mountaineering being “just a housewife’s hobby” was so fixed in her mind that she never expected her achievement as the first woman to climb Mount Everest to be worthy of such praise.

  The year she came to be truly aware of her social responsibility, I think, was 1979. There were only three women summitters on Everest at that time, and the famous French climber Maurice Herzog invited the three women to Chamonix. “Why Everest?” he asked them as part of a documentary film he was making on “Everest for Women.”

  I was there with them, and having listened to their remarks, I strongly felt the different social reasons for climbing Everest, one singular mountain. And I assume Tabei must have felt the same; her acceptance of media exposure became greater after this event, and it was obvious that she made up her mind to do her job for society. Meanwhile, she completed pursuit of the Seven Summits in 1992, the first female to do so, and again she became a popular figure, even amongst the non-mountaineers in Japan.

  In her fifties, Tabei started to work as a commercial tour leader on high (but not so technical) mountains, like Aconcagua. And her personal destinations seemed to veer towards more unfamiliar places than just hard climbing on high mountains.

  At this point, she was also frequently presented on television programs, not only as a mountaineer but as a mother of two. Although her son’s teenaged rebelliousness was at its peak, Tabei never tried to cover up that fact, and commented, “A woman cannot keep her son in her pocket, right?” People loved her straightforwardness.

  In the summer of 2008, NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting organization, launched a program that featured a young male newscaster hiking the country’s most popular, but not the most hard-core, alpine traverse, guided by Tabei. It is along a ridge from Tateyama to Hodaka, a 60-kilometre route in Japan’s Northern Alps that varies in elevation between 2500 and 3000 metres. The trip took three weeks (usually an eight-day hike) since it was filmed by the camera crew. The audience saw the beautiful mountains and the tough routes they went on, and more so, the much older Tabei (sixty-eight then) cheering up and reassuring her young male partner as he completed the ridge.

  This show was a major hit that made Tabei a much beloved person, even more than before, as her fans started to favour her because of her kind personality, not just admiring her for being the first woman on Everest.

  Besides TV appearances, Tabei started to write more of her stories, a skill she was naturally good at. Notes for daily personal occasions, or postcards with place information that she discovered, or a thank-you letter written in her powerful handwriting were found often in my mailbox. Many of her mountain friends benefitted from her documentation-buff trait – comments like, “Brittle rock, here (with arrow mark),” and “Right side of this is precipitous,” showed up on maps and such. So, the publication of her writing almost made the sound of the friction of rope running through gloves, and the eye-stinging light that reflected from fresh snow, seem very real.

  However, her writings never had tones of bragging about hardships or showing off, but were consistent throughout with “Yes, you can!” Thus, her “can-do” bottom line became accepted by a broad range of ordinary people outside the mountain community.

  Furthering Tabei’s contribution to society, she and I established two hiking clubs for working women. The first one, just before the year 2000, was for older women past the child-rearing stage. When that club dissolved, we started another one in 2009 called MJ-Link, aimed at young female professionals. Its focus was to convey how we, the older generation of women mountaineers, got over the hurdles (being women, raising children and working outside home). By then, Tabei knew that she had “to contribute to women’s mountaineering history of Japan.” Her awareness and transformation from being an active climber to a leader-mentor, in particular for women, was complete.

  For Tabei, a significant turning point occurred with the disastrous Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Tabei’s birthplace, Fukushima, suffered incredible, triple-fold devastation: the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear plant accident.

  She must have thought through the aftermath with great detail to eventually suggest the unique project titled Mount Fuji for the High-School Students of Tohoku Earthquake. The objective was to stir up youthful energy while everything else lay in ruins.

  To be honest, Fuji is not considered difficult to climb, except in winter; it is a long, monotonous hike mostly on a scree slope with no vegetation around. But it requires toughness to achieve, and it has been a sacred symbol for Japanese for millennia due to its plain, beautiful figure. Tabei must have seen the spirit in this, Japan’s number one symbol, for the youth to overcome difficulties in the earthquake-affected areas.

  Another turning point arose, ironically on the same day (March 11) the following year, in 2012 – late-stage cancer for Tabei. We were waiting for her at her family ski lodge, and she did not show up, having been admitted to hospital on the spot upon diagnosis.

  Having socially been represented as the “energetic auntie” that she was, Tabei’s cancer was kept from the public. A small group of close friends were informed of her illness, with her wish, “Don’t make a fuss over this. I’ll be treated and come back.” I suppose her willpower and well-trained physical shape worked like a near miracle during her recovery, even though the prognosis was dire. As she predicted, she returned to her active social life in less than half a year, at which point she declared publicly for the first time, “I am not going to be beaten by cancer,” and continued to make Mount Fuji for the High-School Students of Tohoku Earthquake happen. She even had a concrete plan: “Let a total of 1,000 students climb Fuji. This will take 100 students a year times 10 years,” and she started running around to raise 6,000,000 yen per year for this project.

  Tabei was determined not to end up as just a “sitting” organizer. She continued hiking with the students year after year while she battled with cancer in her mid-seventies. One might have seen her on TV, encouraging beginner teenaged hikers, “Here you go, keep going up one step at a time and you’ll be at the summit,” and “Hey, we rely on you guys for the Tohoku recovery! Are you ready!?” Her cheerful and powerful signature voice, her “can-do” attitude was seen and heard across Japan through multiple media sources.

  Regrettably, from around the time of summer 2016, the therapeutic effects began to fade and the side effects of cancer treatment became dominant. Without complaint, Tabei had led the trips and delivered the speeches lined up on her schedule, one after the other. “Whining doesn’t make things better at all, as I’m receiving the best treatment. What else I can do?” she said. Her attitude reminded me of how she dealt with numerous difficulties in mountaineering. “Don’t lose your nerve; whining won’t help,” was her consistent style of thinking whatever the situation, be it avalanche hazard, impossible ferrying of loads or traversing chancy gullies.

  On September 22, 2016, Tabei invited 140 friends to celebrate her seventy-seventh birthday party, a noted event in Japanese culture. She could barely stand straight. Concealing the seriousness of her condition, she dared to sing songs and even cracked a few jokes with me. Her signature smile and cheerful voice was heard throughout the event; however, many of us, noticing her leaner-than-normal figure, realized that this was it. It was a bright-spirited but sad party as people silently felt the seriousness behind the scene. Tabei was admitted to the hospital immediately after the party and never came home. Even then she kept private her reality except around her family and the closest few. “Don’t bother busy active people when it’s time to leave,” was her bottom line. She must have also wanted to spend profound time with her immediate family after decades peppered with her absence. Her hus
band, Masanobu, had done an awesome job supporting her by being with her around the clock after her cancer was diagnosed.

  Her late mother used to wish Junko, then a rare female university graduate from a well-educated family, to marry somebody with a similar background and degree. Junko’s decision to marry Masanobu, a high-school graduate, nevertheless proved right for her.

  “It’s much better and way more interesting that she climbs bigger ones than I, a man, would try. And she has the ability to do so,” Masanobu reasoned. Thus, he continued sending her on countless expeditions, including Everest, despite him being a top-notch climber. He also completed a solid work life as an engineer for an automobile corporation without being caught in the common trap of the expedition-ronin (a permanent part-timer who hops around to different jobs without a firm boss), which many keen climbers fall into. I cannot forget the impression that she was the one who relied on him spiritually rather than vice versa. “It feels so good to have a place to come back to. ‘Let’s go home safely where I can relax’ is always my base motivation,” she once uttered in front of me.

  After the cancer, she began to more openly rely on her husband, if not to cling to him. Their relationship was more like close peers or comrades, calling each other ojisan (uncle, old man) and obasan (auntie, old woman), which felt good to witness. I suppose other people around them must have been surprised by, while admiring, the rare scene of a Japanese couple in which the husband helped his wife with daily chores and movements, becoming her limbs when she could no longer rely on her own. Tabei was unwittingly letting us learn that there are men like him and it is possible to have a relationship like theirs.

  Whenever I see hikers and mountaineers, irrespective of age and gender, wrapped in bright-coloured outfits here and there in Japan, I cannot help taking it as the new scenery made possible by Junko Tabei, as that sight was not present or even thought of prior to her Everest. By demonstrating what we, the women, can do, and then we, the middle-senior aged, can do as Tabei did when she reached that age group, she continued opening the door to nature for all.

  Self-satisfaction was her original motivation for climbing mountains, which turned to a social aspect after she gained fame and became aware of her responsibility. She exemplified her life philosophies of “can do” by always practicing them herself. She also presented us with another legacy of courage, about how a person can leave this world when the time comes.

  Junko Tabei, my master of mountaineering and genuine friend, was a people’s person who could initiate chatting, even with villagers in remote countries, in her bright voice and in Japanese, “Hey, Mom, how’s your hubby?” or “Oh, Daddy, taking care of your woman well?” Then smiles and laughs happened without reason, as she reached out to shake hands with them.

  She also had the irresistible habit of making sure her friends ate good food by carrying heavy fruits and snacks in her already heavy backpack, and serving them with exquisite timing. No wonder her fixed spot at camp was always in front of the cook stove.

  “I would like to die saying it’s been a good life; I had so much fun,” she often said. Let me ask her now, “Was it so?” Yes, that rich life of hers must have been wonderful. I believe this as I bid farewell to my dearest friend, Junko Tabei.

  LIFE CHRONOLOGY

  YEAR MOUNTAINS AND SPECIAL EVENTS ELEVATION COUNTRY NOTE

  1939 Born September 22 (the youngest of seven siblings), in Miharu-cho, Fukushima, Japan

  1949 First mountain Tabei ever climbed, Nasu-dake (1915 m), led by school teacher

  1962 Graduated university; started winter mountaineering

  1967 Married to Masanobu Tabei; female climbing partner Rumie Sasou killed on Tanigawa-dake

  1968 Masanobu Tabei climbed the North Faces of Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses

  1969 Established the Ladies Climbing Club (LCC) with the goal “to climb overseas by women alone”

  1970 Annapurna III 7555 m Nepal First woman to climb. First Japanese to climb.

  1970 *Mount Damavand 5610 m Iran

  1972 Daughter, Noriko, born in February

  1975 *Mount Everest 8848 m Nepal Highest in the world. First woman to climb.

  1977 Yala Peak 5732 m Nepal

  1978 Son, Shinya, born in August

  1979 *Mont Blanc 4807 m France

  1981 *Mont Kilimanjaro 5895 m Tanzania Highest in Africa.

  1981 Shishapangma 8027 m China First woman to climb. First Japanese to climb. LCC team leader

  1983 Sepchu Kang 5200 m Bhutan First foreigner to climb.

  1983 Mount Hanuman Tibba 5984 m India

  1985 *Mount Communism 7495 m Tajikistan Now called Ismoil Somoni Peak.

  Korzhenevskaya Peak 710 5m Tajikistan Now called Ibn Sina Peak.

  Lenin Peak 7134 m Tajikistan First women’s expedition to climb three 7000-m peaks in one season.

  1986 *Mount Kinabalu 4095 m Malaysia Climbed up to 6200 m.

  Tomur (Jengish Chokusu) 7439 m China Also called Pobeda Peak, Victory Peak.

  1987 *Aconcagua 6960 m Argentina Highest in South America.

  Tuqllarahu/Tocllaraju 6032 m Peru

  Pisco 5752 m Peru

  Urus 5495 m Peru Also called Yanarahu.

  Ishinca 5530 m Peru

  Popocatépetl 5452 m Mexico

  Iztaccihuatl 5230 m Mexico

  1988 Yushan 3952 m Taiwan Highest in Taiwan.

  *Denali (Mount McKinley) 6194 m USA Highest in North America.

  Mount Shiva 6142 m India

  *Mount Wilhelm 4509 m Papua New Guinea

  1989 *Chimborazo 6268 m Ecuador

  Mera Peak 6476 m Nepal

  Tuagn Degli 4200 m Mongolia

  Mount Elbrus (East Summit) 5621 m Russia

  1990 *Mount Cook 3724 m New Zealand

  Cosmic 4000 m France

  Matterhorn 4478 m Switzerland

  Breithorn 4164 m Switzerland

  *Monte Roza 4634 m Switzerland

  Dent Blanche 4357 m Switzerland

  Mount Rindjani 3726 m Indonesia (Lombok)

  Mount Agung 3142 m Indonesia (Bali)

  Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan (HAT-J) established, Tabei was chairperson from 1990 to 2014

  1991 *Vinson Massif 4892 m Antarctica Highest in Antarctica.

  *Toubkal 4167 m Morocco

  *Mount Kosciusko 2228 m Australia With family.

  Erciyes-Dagi 3916 m Turkey In addition to three other peaks in Turkey.

  The International Symposium on Conservation of Mountain Environments, Tokyo (HAT-J operation), with Sir Edmund Hillary and Reinhold Messner

  1992 *Carstensz Pyramid 4884 m Indonesia Highest in Oceania.

  *Mount Elbrus

  (West Summit) 5642 m Russia Highest in Europe; the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.

  1993 Volcán Tajumulco 4220 m Guatemala

  Volcán Tacaná 4060 m Guatemala

  Semeru 3676m Indonesia

  Hang Tengri 7010m Kazakhstan Climbed to 6950 m.

  1994 *Fansipanan 3143 m Vietnam

  *Ras Dashen 4550m Ethiopia

  Bayan Kol 5791 m Kazakhstan

  *Hang Tengri 7010 m Kazakhstan

  Auyán-tepui 2560 m Venezuela

  1995 Held the Women’s Summit 1995, Tokyo, invited the nine female Everest summitters

  Eiger 3970 m Switzerland

  Mönch 4099 m Switzerland

  1996 Cerro Chirripó 3820 m Costa Rica

  Volcán Barú 3475 m Panama

  Mauna Kea 4206 m USA (Hawaii)

  Mauna Loa 4170 m USA (Hawaii)

  Mount Siguniang DaFeng 5025 m China

  Cho Oyu 8201 m China Third 8000-m peak.

  1997 The Oze Forum (HAT-J operation), invited Sir. Edmund Hillary and youth from several Asian countries

  *Qurnat as Sawda’ 3083 m Lebanon

  *Jabal an Nabi Shu’ayb 3666 m Yemen

  Mount Kumgang 1638 m North Korea

  1998 Gasherbrum II 8035 m Pakistan Climbed to 7800 m.

  Mont Blanc du Tacul 4248
m France

  1999 *Mount Olympus 1952 m Cyprus Not to the top (as a Royal Air Force radar station is located there).

  1999 *Pobeda Peak (Tomur) 7439 m Kyrgyz Received Snow Leopard Award.

  *Mount Cameroon 4070 m Cameroon

  Visited Mount Everest Base Camp to research the garbage issue for Master’s degree

  2000 Master of Arts degree completed, Kyushu University

  Mount Sinai 2285 m Egypt

  *Huascarán

  (South Peak) 6768 m Peru

  2001 Mount Roraima 2810 m Venezuela Highest peak in Guyana’s Highland Range.

  Mount Ossa 1617 m Australia Highest in Tasmania.

  *Pico de Orizaba 5636 m Mexico

  Muztagh Ata 7546 m China

  2002 Pico Ruivo 1861 m Portugal Highest on the Madeira Islands.

  Torre (Serra da Estrela) 1993m Portugal Highest of mainland Portugal.

  Mount Assiniboine 3618 m Canada

  Mount Athabasca 3491 m Canada

  Mount Gower 875 m Australia Lord Howe Island.

  2003 Mount Aorai 2066 m French Polynesia Tahiti Island.

  *Pico Turquino 1974 m Cuba

  Kaçkar Mountains 3932 m Turkey

  *Mount Ararat 5137 m Turkey

  2004 Mount Victoria (Nat Ma Taung) 3053 m Myanmar

  2005 Cerro Pastillitos 5090 m Chile

  Volcan del Laguna 4900 m Chile

  *Ojos del Salado 6893 m Chile

  *Mount Teide 3718 m Spain

  *Yding Skovhoj 173 m Denmark

  *Kebnekaise 2097 m Sweden

  *Halti 1328 m Finland

  *Galdhopiggen 2469 m Norway

  Mount Whitney 4421 m USA

  *Mount Apo 2954 m Philippines

  *Jebel Chambi 1544 m Tunisia

  First concert by the Women of No Fear; the project continued until 2016, total of 12 concerts held

  2006 Mount Etna 3323 m Italy Tallest active volcano on the European continent; climbed to 3252 m.

  Mount Ruapehu 2797 m New Zealand Climbed to 2600 m

  Manaslu 8163 m Nepal Climbed to 7000 m.

  *Musala 2925 m Bulgaria

  *Moldoveanu Peak 2544 m Romania