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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome my favorite murder.

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Speaker 2: That's Georgia Hardstar.

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Speaker 1: That's Karen Kellgera. This is a solo episode, and you

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Speaker 1: know what that means.

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Speaker 2: Makeup tips, makeup tips.

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Speaker 1: I don't know how it happened.

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Speaker 2: We're just like, let's start solo episodes with another one

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Speaker 2: of our passions.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what's it called when you say you should try something?

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Speaker 2: Recommendation? Thank you? That's right, recommendations and like a beauty

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Speaker 2: stuff we talk. Yeah, it's like fun stuff.

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Speaker 1: Do you want to go first time?

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Speaker 2: Sure? I can never find the correct color of foundation. Sure,

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Speaker 2: because my base color is red with green.

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Speaker 1: You're also like, you seem like you should be pale,

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Speaker 1: but your tan.

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Speaker 2: Yes, right, I get people put pale makeup on me

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Speaker 2: all the time, and then I look like it's cool. Right,

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Speaker 2: there's a little brown under there and also a lot

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Speaker 2: of red that reads is brown. The redness is a

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Speaker 2: real problem.

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Speaker 1: Sounds fun anyhow.

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Speaker 2: There's a TikToker who I adore named Tyler Mars who

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Speaker 2: she she has rosetia, so she's always giving these recommendations

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Speaker 2: of like a tough down the red. It's just like

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Speaker 2: I just look up if I need to get something

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Speaker 2: So anyhow, there's a foundation that I found on TikTok

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Speaker 2: of course, of course, and it's the brand is R. E. M.

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Speaker 2: And it is the best foundation I've worn to date.

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Speaker 1: Is it like is it red correction foundation or it's

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Speaker 1: just foundation that that just works that way.

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Speaker 2: It's like a it's a foundation color that somehow addresses

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Speaker 2: all of the things that need to be covered without

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Speaker 2: making me look like either a vampire or like I

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Speaker 2: looked in high school with my one color of cover

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Speaker 2: Girl just clowny, clowny.

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Speaker 1: Have you smelled that recently? The like cover Girl powder?

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, it'll bring you back.

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Speaker 2: Like immediate bawling. And I just want to say, I

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Speaker 2: have bought every other foundation. So it's like people are like,

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Speaker 2: you've got to try it, our money, blah blah blah.

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Speaker 2: And it's like, sure, except for that, for some reason,

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Speaker 2: on me, it turns out orange.

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Speaker 1: It's so about what it works for you. I use

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Speaker 1: Charlotte Tillberry right now, but in three weeks it might

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Speaker 1: not work anymore for me and look terrible.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's real high stakes and also let a

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Speaker 2: panic decision making. So like now we're on camera again.

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Speaker 2: Now we're on camera again, so I want to get

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Speaker 2: it right. Arim's getting me there.

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Speaker 1: I think mine is also like a face one. It's

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Speaker 1: I got. We got our makeup done recently, and whenever

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Speaker 1: I get my makeup done, I end up with tons

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Speaker 1: of notes of what to buy because I don't fucking know,

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Speaker 1: and the makeup artist is great. So the thing that

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Speaker 1: I bought this time around, there's a drag queen named kim.

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Speaker 2: Chi Kimchi, yeah.

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Speaker 1: Who was on The Fine who was a finalist on

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Speaker 1: Season A to RuPaul's drag Race. Kimchi has a makeup

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Speaker 1: line and kim Chi's puff puff pass setting powder. I

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Speaker 1: got in two collars, like one for under eye and

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Speaker 1: one for my skin. I am obsessed with.

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Speaker 2: It, okay, because you have been looking very like perfectly.

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Speaker 1: Blurred, like maybe you need to get your checked.

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Speaker 2: I mean exactly, you can't see I've been puff puff

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Speaker 2: passing to myself right before the show starts. I'm going

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Speaker 2: to try that for sure.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. It's called puff puff pass setting powder. And you

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Speaker 1: know it comes in such a like cute fun packaging

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Speaker 1: that you're like, this isn't gonna do anything, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean, Like, yes, my brain if that's how

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Speaker 1: it works. But if the makeup artists hadn't like used

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Speaker 1: it on me, I wouldn't have tried it. And now

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Speaker 1: it's like I used two different types of powder, which

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Speaker 1: is like, so not me. I'm so lowing.

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Speaker 2: You're very advanced. I think this living in the cultural

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Speaker 2: world of drag queen dominance has benefited and like it's

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Speaker 2: raised all boats, because yeah, I care about makeup, but

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Speaker 2: do I have that kind of time to be like

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Speaker 2: bake it in with a triangle pad or whatever where

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Speaker 2: it's like, okay, but maybe you're a.

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Speaker 1: Drag queen, like you have to do that.

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Speaker 2: You have to be like you know all the tricks, yes,

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Speaker 2: all the tricks, and it has to stay on for

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Speaker 2: like twelve hours through sweating all.

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Speaker 1: The day things. Well as you and I always say,

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Speaker 1: we must listen to drag queens more.

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Speaker 2: Please always listen to drag Let them pass uh puff puff?

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Speaker 1: No, I was gonna say, past legislation, that's the one.

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Speaker 1: Let them pass legislation please. That's right.

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Speaker 2: Well, what a perfect intro into my solo story for today. No,

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Speaker 2: but why actually terrible? Okay, but why not? Well only

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Speaker 2: in kind of in that it's about a woman, okay,

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Speaker 2: who's a trailblazer who's doing it all for herself, much

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Speaker 2: like kim Chi and the rest of the Rubaul Dragway cast. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: shout out Katya. You covered the deaths on Mount Everest

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Speaker 2: in our episode one seventy four.

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Speaker 1: One of my favorite stories to cover of all time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was good.

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Speaker 1: Don't think about it.

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Speaker 2: We titled that episode rough Winds and high Water.

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Speaker 1: That's funny.

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Speaker 2: So we've talked about it before. When you think of

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Speaker 2: Mount Everest, and I know you think about it a lot,

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Speaker 2: the first name that usually pops into your head or

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Speaker 2: anyone's head is Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man, along

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Speaker 2: with Hisshrpa Tenzing Norgate, who got to the top of

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Speaker 2: Mount Everest.

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Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty three. First ones to do it, first.

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Speaker 2: Two to do it, Okay, and it was in fifty three. Today,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you about the boundary breaking, trailblazing

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Speaker 2: first woman to climb Mount Everest. This year marks the

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Speaker 2: fiftieth anniversary of her achievements. But like many of the

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Speaker 2: great historic women that we talk about on this show,

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Speaker 2: you've probably never heard her name. Writer Jenny Hall reported

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Speaker 2: on her for CNN writing quote, her bravery helped her

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Speaker 2: lead record setting all women expeditions and overcome the mountain

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Speaker 2: of sexism in this male dominated space. Yet very few organizations,

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Speaker 2: even in Japan, have thought to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary

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Speaker 2: of the first ascent of Everest by a woman. Well,

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Speaker 2: then fine, I'll do it.

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Speaker 1: It falls on Karen again.

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Speaker 2: Once again, I'll do it. I'll celebrate women on Everest. Today,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you about an athlete who refused

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Speaker 2: to take no for an answer, who defied strict cultural expectations,

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Speaker 2: and who was so unstoppable even an avalanche couldn't keep

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Speaker 2: her down. Say this is the story of Japanese mountaineer

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Speaker 2: Junko to Baye.

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Speaker 1: Amazing it Like, yes, I want to hear that. It

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Speaker 1: never crossed my mind? Right? Perfect?

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Speaker 2: Okay. Sources from this story that Marin used are a

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Speaker 2: twenty seventeen Outside Magazine article by Brad Furnett entitled a

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Speaker 2: Final Interview with Junko to bay E and a nineteen

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Speaker 2: ninety six Sports Illustrated article by Robert Horn entitled No

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Speaker 2: Mountain Too High for Her. How Junko to Baye defied

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Speaker 2: Japanese views of women to become an expert climber amazing.

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Speaker 2: The rest of the sources are in our show notes.

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Speaker 2: So we begin in September of nineteen thirty nine when Junko,

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Speaker 2: at the time her last name was Ishi Bashi, is

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Speaker 2: born in a small town in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture. A

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Speaker 2: prefecture is based a state, got it, But I love

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Speaker 2: the word prefecture.

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Speaker 1: The word is it? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: I do do oh sorry, while we're here just because

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Speaker 2: of that word. If you haven't watched Blue Eye Samurai

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Speaker 2: on Netflix, it's an anime series and it is like

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Speaker 2: an Oscar winning film. It is unbelievably made, great great.

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Speaker 2: Fukushima Prefecture is one of the country's largest prefectures. I

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Speaker 2: keep saying it stretch from the Pacific coast inward to

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Speaker 2: the mountains. We all have heard of it from the

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Speaker 2: devastating twenty eleven earthquake and then tsunami and then nuclear disaster.

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Speaker 2: Very horrible time. But this is a stunning part of Japan,

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Speaker 2: complete with ski resorts, hot springs, cherry blossoms, volcanic lakes,

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Speaker 2: and beautiful places to hike. So it's no surprise that

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Speaker 2: even as a little girl, Junco is captivated by the

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Speaker 2: nature around her. When she's just ten years old, her

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Speaker 2: teacher takes her class on field trips to two nearby mountains,

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Speaker 2: both around six thousand feet in elevation, which aren't you huge,

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Speaker 2: but they're not small either for kids especially, and Junko

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Speaker 2: isn't the type of kid anyone would say was adventurous.

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Speaker 2: She's very tiny. As a child, she endures multiple bouts

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Speaker 2: of pneumonia, and even as an adult she only ever

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Speaker 2: gets to four foot nine and about ninety pounds, So

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Speaker 2: she's a tiny lady. But Junko says that because of

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Speaker 2: her stature, she's quote stamped as a weak child. But

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Speaker 2: something clicks for her on these mountain field trips, and

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Speaker 2: her life is never the same after. She will later

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Speaker 2: remember quote, I was so surprised by the rocky, dry

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Speaker 2: hills and a stream of hot water that came from

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Speaker 2: a hot spring. I was shocked to feel a little

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Speaker 2: chilly while we were at the top of the mountain

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Speaker 2: because it was summer. I realized that there were so

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Speaker 2: many things in the world which I have never encountered,

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Speaker 2: and that it is fun to see and learn directly

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Speaker 2: through one's own experiences. I became determined to go wherever

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Speaker 2: I could go. Wow, So this is just a child

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Speaker 2: being like I love life. I'm into this. Although if

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Speaker 2: I saw a hot spring in a Japanese mountain, I

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Speaker 2: think I would lose it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure, so cool you can see in palm

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Speaker 1: springs and it's still amazing iron is.

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Speaker 2: But of course being a little girl with an interest

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Speaker 2: in the outdoors comes with its challenges. It's post World

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Speaker 2: War two Japan, so many people are struggling financially. The

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Speaker 2: country as a whole is just trying to get his

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Speaker 2: bearings after a horrible war. And of course, with hiking,

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Speaker 2: by the time you invest in a pair of good

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Speaker 2: boots and transportation to the trail, it could be considered

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Speaker 2: expensive by some people and frivolous to spend money to

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Speaker 2: basically just hike around a mountain in really tough economic times.

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Speaker 2: But more than that, Junko is a girl, and at

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Speaker 2: the time, Japan has very rigid social conventions for men

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Speaker 2: and women, and hiking, climbing, and adventuring is squarely something

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Speaker 2: men do. As Robert Horns reports for Sports Illustrated quote,

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Speaker 2: despite Japan's tradition of explorers and ventures, many of those

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Speaker 2: who dared to strike out on their own paths, especially women,

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Speaker 2: risked the fate foreseen in the Japanese adage quote the

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Speaker 2: nail that sticks up will be hammered down.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh my god, what a time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And adventurers dreams were often not considered appropriate for

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Speaker 2: a young Japanese woman. So that's end quote. So after

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Speaker 2: those formative grade school field trips, Junko never looks back

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Speaker 2: because she doesn't care. She is not for some reason,

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Speaker 2: and I would love to know it. Was it just

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Speaker 2: her personality did she have like a badass mom, But

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Speaker 2: like these incredibly strict kind of rules and expectations just

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Speaker 2: don't FaZe her. By the time she's in high school,

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Speaker 2: she plans hiking trips whenever she can. It's almost a

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Speaker 2: meditative practice for her. She says, quote, it wasn't like

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Speaker 2: a competition. If you go slow, you can make it

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Speaker 2: to the top, or if you must, you can quit

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Speaker 2: in the middle. But Japan was very poor at the time.

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Speaker 2: I couldn't think about climbing mountains or any kind of leisure.

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Speaker 2: We had to worry about what we would eat. So

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Speaker 2: Junko eventually enrolls in an all women's college in Tokyo,

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Speaker 2: where she studies English literature and plans on becoming a teacher.

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Speaker 2: Unlike her fondness for outdoor activities, this is considered a

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Speaker 2: respectable path for young women. All the while, Junko is

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Speaker 2: dreaming about climbing, though. She manages to find a like

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Speaker 2: minded female friend at school and they train together during

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Speaker 2: the week. On the weekends they head out to the mountains,

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Speaker 2: and by the time Junko graduates in nineteen sixty two,

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Speaker 2: she's become an experienced mountaineer, so as any other climber

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Speaker 2: with her skill level would do. Junko goes right ahead

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Speaker 2: and joins several alpine clubs. The thing is, these are

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Speaker 2: understood to be for men at the time. Nothing like

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Speaker 2: an alpine club exists for female climbers, and the reaction

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Speaker 2: to Junko's membership is mixed. A few of the men

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Speaker 2: respect her skill and her sense of adventure, but others

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Speaker 2: outright refuse to climb with her, and many think that

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Speaker 2: she's only hanging around to find a husband. Okay, did

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Speaker 2: you go Yeah, it's not gorgeous, no Japanese mountains. You

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Speaker 2: like hiking, but you.

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Speaker 1: Don't think women like hiking?

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Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, you like it just fine. Yeah, and that's fine,

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Speaker 2: but Junko stays focused, and by her mid twenties, she

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Speaker 2: summoned every one of Japan's most prominent peaks.

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Speaker 1: Wow.

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Speaker 2: This includes Mount Fuji, which is about twelve four hundred

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Speaker 2: feet above sea level. And she's funding these climbs by

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Speaker 2: working as an editor for an academic journal and giving

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Speaker 2: piano and English lessons. She does it all, I mean,

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Speaker 2: and she's tiny.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: She spends most of her downtime either climbing or training

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Speaker 2: with the hopes of summoning larger and larger peaks. And

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Speaker 2: then in nineteen sixty five, Junko meets a man named

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Speaker 2: Masu Nobu Tabei. He's a seasoned Japanese mountaineer in his

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Speaker 2: own right. So she falls in love with another mountaineer.

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Speaker 1: That's romantic. I gotta find someone who at least who

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Speaker 1: likes yourself supports your hobby.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. They fall in love and they're married the next

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Speaker 2: year when Junko is twenty seven years old. But her

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Speaker 2: parents don't approve of this marriage because Masunobu doesn't have

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Speaker 2: a college degree, but Junko marries him anyway. She doesn't

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Speaker 2: give a shit about anything. She's like, oh is that

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Speaker 2: your opinion about my life, I'll see you later.

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Speaker 1: Enjoy it.

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Speaker 2: And the two have a daughter together, who they named Noriko,

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Speaker 2: and later they have a son named Shinya. So now

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Speaker 2: is she not only the rare female mountaineer in nineteen

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Speaker 2: sixties Japan, she's also a working mother. When she's in

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Speaker 2: her early thirties, Junko says that she quote began to

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Speaker 2: dream about going to the Himalayas with a team of

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Speaker 2: only women. Woo to make that happen, she does something

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Speaker 2: that's never been done before in Japan. In nineteen sixty nine,

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Speaker 2: she forms the country's very first women's climbing organization. Its name,

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Speaker 2: translated into English, is sometimes reported as Ladies Climbing Club

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Speaker 2: and sometimes reported as Women's Mountaineering, depending on how people

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Speaker 2: feel about it. Yeah, and the group's slogan is quote,

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Speaker 2: let's go on an overseas expedition by.

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Speaker 1: Ourselves translation yes, let's let's.

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Speaker 2: Around fifteen women join Junko's group, each united by a

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Speaker 2: dream to climb the world's tallest mountains, but finding time

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Speaker 2: to train is not easy. Like Junco, these women have jobs,

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Speaker 2: or families or both, and Japan's standard vacation time is

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Speaker 2: just two weeks a year, which many people don't feel

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Speaker 2: empowered to fully take because of Japan's intense work culture.

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Speaker 2: So you have it, but you kind of aren't supposed

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Speaker 2: to go on it. This is complicating in and of

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Speaker 2: itself because these expeditions require time off for training and

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Speaker 2: for travel, and on top of that, devoting time to

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Speaker 2: a masculine hobby like mountaineering is stigmatized. In the nineteen seventies,

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Speaker 2: the women face judgment for not wanting to devote their

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Speaker 2: entire beings to their husbands and their children, to which

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Speaker 2: Junko has said, quote, I am a housewife. I just

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Speaker 2: climb mountains because I love it, and if people want

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Speaker 2: to call me that crazy mountain woman, that's okay, cool

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Speaker 2: love her. Eventually, Junko and her group plan an expedition

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Speaker 2: to Anna Perna three in Nepal, which is nearly twenty

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Speaker 2: five thousand feet in elevation. This is Junko's first time

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Speaker 2: traveling outside of Japan, and she leads the climb. The

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Speaker 2: group travels up a new route to Anna Perna three's summit,

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Speaker 2: and they successfully reach the top on May nineteenth, nineteen seventy.

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Speaker 2: Karen Kilgerrett is eight days old. It's her first week

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Speaker 2: in the world. She's loving it. She's loving this energy.

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Speaker 2: So they, on May nineteenth, nineteen seventy, become the first

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Speaker 2: women ever to climb Anna Purna three.

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Speaker 1: Wow.

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Speaker 2: And now their slogan is, let's be the first woman

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Speaker 2: to climb Anna Purna three by ourselves.

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Speaker 1: That's not true.

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Speaker 2: It's there on the summit of Anna Purna three that

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Speaker 2: Junko experiences another sort of spiritual awakening. Robert Horne reports

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Speaker 2: and Sports Illustrated quote, the ascent profoundly changed her. There

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Speaker 2: would be no more slaving in the late hours to

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Speaker 2: prove that she was her company's most loyal worker, no

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Speaker 2: more fears about speaking her mind, no more concerns about

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Speaker 2: what people said behind her back.

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Speaker 1: Wow.

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Speaker 2: It's also in this moment that Junco really starts to

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Speaker 2: consider climbing Mount Everest. Because she did that, Yeah, you

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Speaker 2: might as well do this. Fine.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: She brings the idea to her climbing club and they

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Speaker 2: begin to mobilize with that goal in mind. But Junko says, quote,

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Speaker 2: most of the men in the alpine community were against

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Speaker 2: our plan, saying that it would be impossible to go

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Speaker 2: to Everest on a woman's only expedition. Why they're just

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Speaker 2: so negative?

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Speaker 1: God, can we get a little positivity? How about or

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Speaker 1: just shut up?

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Speaker 2: Or you show it if you can't zip it. So

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Speaker 2: Junco and her crew set out to prove them wrong.

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Speaker 2: They don't need us saying this, they're already doing it.

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Speaker 2: It already happened. But getting to Everest is not easy.

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Speaker 2: Of course. The women first need permission from Nepal's government,

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Speaker 2: so they apply in nineteen seventy one, but then they're

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Speaker 2: told that there's no space for their expedition and there

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Speaker 2: won't be until nineteen seventy five five, so that would

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Speaker 2: be upsetting. You have to wait four years to the

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Speaker 2: average person, But they're not discouraged. They just figure it.

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Speaker 2: It will give them more time to train, and Junko

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Speaker 2: uses this long waiting period to help the group nail

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Speaker 2: down sponsorships. But of course finding financial support is tricky.

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Speaker 2: As Junko puts it, quote most companies reaction that was

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Speaker 2: for women, it's impossible to climb Mount Everest. No vision, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: why aren't you the company that goes? But if they

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Speaker 2: do it totally will all.

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Speaker 1: Be And even if they don't, they'll still get fucking

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Speaker 1: yeah average like eyes on the prize.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we just have come. We truly have come a

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Speaker 2: long way baby in marketing. Yes, and then we both

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Speaker 2: smoke because now it's the Virginia Minute.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Plus, in the early seventies, Japan experiences a years long

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Speaker 2: oil related economic crisis, so there's just less sponsorship money

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Speaker 2: to go around. Fortunately, the group locks down two sponsorships,

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Speaker 2: one from a major Upanese newspaper and one from a

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Speaker 2: TV station, but the budget's relatively small. The mail groups

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Speaker 2: often raise hundreds of thousands of dollars when they do

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Speaker 2: their climbs, and they raise it in Japan and elsewhere.

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Speaker 2: Junko's group only manages to raise about seventy thousand dollars.

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Speaker 2: So to pick up the slack, each member has to

355
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Speaker 2: come up with an additional approximately five thousand dollars each,

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Speaker 2: and it's one point five million yen that they have

357
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Speaker 2: to come up with, and it's worth do you want

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Speaker 2: to guess in today's money?

359
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Speaker 1: He said, they have to come up with five thousand

360
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Speaker 1: dollars in the seventies, which in today's money would be

361
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Speaker 1: twenty eight.

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Speaker 2: Thirty thousand, so close. So finally, nineteen seventy five rolls

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Speaker 2: around it's time for the women to head to Nepal.

364
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Speaker 2: Years later, Outside magazine reporter Brad Frenette will ask Junko

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Speaker 2: if she ever felt hesitation as the climb date approached.

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Speaker 2: She says, quote, no, I never thought of giving up

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Speaker 2: once we had worked so hard to obtain the climbing permit. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: she got the paperwork. No, she's not going anywhere. So

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Speaker 2: that spring the women set out. Junko is thirty five

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Speaker 2: at the time, and she serves as co leader for

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Speaker 2: the fifteen woman expedition. They're accompanied by six experienced Sherpa guides,

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Speaker 2: and together they embark on the most difficult, grueling climb

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Speaker 2: of their lives. Any ever's climb is punishing, and Junko's

374
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Speaker 2: is no exception. But by May third, nineteen seventy five,

375
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Speaker 2: her group has steadily made it more than twenty thousand

376
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Speaker 2: feet and they have about nine thousand feet to go now.

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Speaker 2: Around this point they encounter terrible weather, which is a

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Speaker 2: reality climber's face of course, as they go up Everest,

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Speaker 2: especially the closer they get to the top, So these

380
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Speaker 2: gals set up camp. They try to get some rest

381
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Speaker 2: before continuing on but it's not a lovely bucolic spot.

382
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Speaker 2: It's freezing cold. They're in tents that are being whipped

383
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Speaker 2: around by these terrible winds. Hours later, when they're sleeping,

384
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Speaker 2: not long after midnight on May fourth, Junko is awakened

385
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Speaker 2: by an extremely loud, low rumble, and she instantly knows

386
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Speaker 2: what it is. It's an avalanche barreling down the mountain.

387
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Speaker 1: I saw a video recently of an avalanche, and I.

388
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Speaker 2: Like, no, no, no, no, no no.

389
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Speaker 1: It's terrifying.

390
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Speaker 2: It's horrible. So before she can even react, Junko is

391
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Speaker 2: swept up by a wall of snow and ice. She

392
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Speaker 2: is tangled in her tent with the some other climbers.

393
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Speaker 2: So they are tumbling down the mountain, getting knocked all

394
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Speaker 2: over the place and against each other, and it's really

395
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Speaker 2: violent and chaotic, of course. And then once it ends,

396
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,359
Speaker 2: they're buried in the snow, still in the tent. Yeah,

397
00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,640
Speaker 2: while wrapped up. When it all comes to stop, Junko

398
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,600
Speaker 2: is an extreme pain. She worries she's going to die.

399
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Speaker 2: She then has a vision of her daughter Narko playing

400
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Speaker 2: outside their home back in Tokyo, and then she blacks out.

401
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Speaker 1: Jesus.

402
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,480
Speaker 2: The next thing she remembers is the sherpa guides pulling

403
00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,440
Speaker 2: her out of the snow by her ankles. My god,

404
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,440
Speaker 2: which actually probably be pretty easy because she's little tiny. Somehow,

405
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,399
Speaker 2: miraculously everyone survives the avalanche, which Junko credits to the

406
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,800
Speaker 2: experience and quick thinking of their sherpas. Thank god. I mean,

407
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,520
Speaker 2: like fifteen women just but they're not totally unscathed. Junko

408
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,560
Speaker 2: is battered and bruised, and her body is extremely sore.

409
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Speaker 2: She has to rest for two days before she's even

410
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,879
Speaker 2: able to lift herself up. Wow, let alone keep climbing.

411
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Speaker 1: Oh, like that would be the end of it.

412
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Speaker 2: Yes, no for me, like like thanks so much, but she's.

413
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,040
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for there was an avalanche on me.

414
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 2: But she's like, we got the permit. Yeah, we're not leaving. Yeah,

415
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,200
Speaker 2: m she And actually what she did say is quote,

416
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Speaker 2: as soon as I knew everyone was alive, I was

417
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Speaker 2: determined to continue.

418
00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:45,879
Speaker 1: Wow.

419
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,080
Speaker 2: The women continue working towards Everest's peak, with Junko still

420
00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,880
Speaker 2: at the helm. At times, her injuries are so bad

421
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,320
Speaker 2: she has to crawl on her hands and knees.

422
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Speaker 1: So fun She's no excuse, I.

423
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Speaker 2: Don't you get out to Griffith Park tomorrow.

424
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Speaker 1: Oh, I'm talking about like doing my laundry. I'm not

425
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Speaker 1: even talking about it.

426
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Speaker 2: Just do it on your hands and knees.

427
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Speaker 1: I can't. I have no hands my laundry.

428
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,320
Speaker 2: When this, yeah, I know, I mean I think there's

429
00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:17,720
Speaker 2: some people born with this like brain chemistry that's like

430
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:22,000
Speaker 2: up up up yeah yeah yeah, God bless them. So

431
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:23,560
Speaker 2: she has to crawl on her hands and knees, but

432
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Speaker 2: she just keeps going. And then twelve days later, the

433
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,679
Speaker 2: team reaches the final camp of their climb, which is

434
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,960
Speaker 2: just below Everest's Peak. By this point, they are running

435
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,040
Speaker 2: low on oxygen. Originally they'd plan to send two women

436
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:38,720
Speaker 2: up to the summit. Now they only have enough oxygen

437
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,080
Speaker 2: to send one. These women clearly love one another. On

438
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:44,879
Speaker 2: this mountaineering team, no one wants to take the glory

439
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,840
Speaker 2: for themselves. But after they discuss it, the team decides

440
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,359
Speaker 2: Junko should be the one to make the final push

441
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 2: to the top. They're like, get on your hands and

442
00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,880
Speaker 2: knees and you crawl up there. So now Junko realizes

443
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,640
Speaker 2: that to get to Everest's summit, she has to climb

444
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,920
Speaker 2: this skinny ridge of ice. We may have talked about

445
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,320
Speaker 2: it on your story. I can't remember. It is just

446
00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,240
Speaker 2: wide enough for a human body a ridge of ice.

447
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,879
Speaker 2: There are fifteen thousand foot drops on either side.

448
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:13,280
Speaker 1: For that drop.

449
00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,760
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, it's called the Knife Edge ridge, and it

450
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:18,800
Speaker 2: leads up to the Hillary Step, which is like the

451
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,120
Speaker 2: final spot before you go you're on the peak. Oh

452
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:27,000
Speaker 2: my god, so it's named after Edmund Hillary. She's going

453
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:28,640
Speaker 2: to Hillary Step.

454
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 1: That must be just like a moment for those climbers.

455
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,920
Speaker 2: Right, and then also for her where it's like I

456
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:35,520
Speaker 2: don't know if they are aware of it, but like

457
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,440
Speaker 2: she's the first one. Yeah, so it's like a true moment.

458
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,919
Speaker 2: One wrong move here, though, would absolutely result in a

459
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,600
Speaker 2: fatal fall. It's all or nothing. I didn't understand that,

460
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,960
Speaker 2: I think until I read this story. Junko, who's accompanied

461
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,320
Speaker 2: by a celebrated Sherpa guide named on Sharing now must

462
00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:58,160
Speaker 2: crawl sideways while sort of hugging the ridge to make

463
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,680
Speaker 2: it to the Hillary Step, later says quote, I'd never

464
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,560
Speaker 2: felt that tense in my entire life. I felt all

465
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,240
Speaker 2: my hair standing on end. I had no idea I

466
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,400
Speaker 2: would have to face that, even though I read all

467
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 2: the accounts of previous expeditions. I got so angry at

468
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:17,000
Speaker 2: the previous climbers who hadn't warned me about that knife

469
00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:21,160
Speaker 2: edge traverse in their expedition records. Isn't that so like men?

470
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 1: My heart just dropped thinking of doing that, like crawling.

471
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,880
Speaker 2: Hugging, and she didn't know it was share. No one

472
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,880
Speaker 2: said hey, also real quick, Yeah, things are scary. No,

473
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 2: But just afternoon on May sixteenth, nineteen seventy five, Junko

474
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,199
Speaker 2: Tabe reaches the summit of Mount Everest and becomes the

475
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 2: first woman ever and the thirty sixth person in history

476
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,280
Speaker 2: to do it. She's made it to the highest point

477
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 2: on Earth. Wow, so thirty five dudes. Yeah, didn't tell

478
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:53,120
Speaker 2: the secret.

479
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:54,480
Speaker 1: Sucks.

480
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 2: Later, when asked if she shouted or cried when she

481
00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:01,120
Speaker 2: reached the summit, Junko simply says, quote, I didn't shout anything.

482
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 2: I just thought, oh, I don't have to climb anymore. Yeah,

483
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:06,200
Speaker 2: we love her.

484
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:07,920
Speaker 1: Got to save your energy. Yeah.

485
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,359
Speaker 2: Word of Junko's historic summit spreads quickly and becomes a

486
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:15,040
Speaker 2: celebratory moment around the world. The King of Nepal even

487
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 2: reaches out and awards medals of honor to Junko and

488
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,320
Speaker 2: the rest of the women in her climbing team Wow

489
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,200
Speaker 2: back in Japan, Any naysayers the women may encounter are

490
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,520
Speaker 2: overshadowed by a wall of glowing media coverage. They're profiled

491
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:33,080
Speaker 2: in newspapers, covered in countless news reports, they become the

492
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 2: subject of a TV mini series, and they're memorialized in textbooks. Junko,

493
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,560
Speaker 2: of course, draws a particular amount of interest from the public,

494
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,600
Speaker 2: and not just because of her historic summit. She's also

495
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,120
Speaker 2: celebrated for her humble leadership and her devotion to her teammates,

496
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 2: and for how she never once gave up despite her

497
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 2: injuries from being in that avalanche. Junko doesn't exactly love

498
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,360
Speaker 2: being in the spotlight, though, and she knows she could

499
00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,800
Speaker 2: capitalize off of all this media interest and that would

500
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,440
Speaker 2: certainly help pay for future climbs. She chooses to decline

501
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,360
Speaker 2: all corporate sponsorships, and she does this because quote, if

502
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,399
Speaker 2: I accept a sponsorship, then climbing the mountain is not

503
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 2: my own experience. It's like working for the company.

504
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,000
Speaker 1: Wow Yep yeah.

505
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 2: Instead, Junko supports herself by continuing to teach music and English,

506
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,240
Speaker 2: but also working as a hiking guide, writing books and

507
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:28,240
Speaker 2: giving speeches. In those speeches, she encourages others to chase

508
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:32,119
Speaker 2: their dreams, even if it means defining social norms. Junko

509
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,720
Speaker 2: tells crowds to quote, be the nail that sticks out. Yeah,

510
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 2: be the nail that sticks out.

511
00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 1: That's what you said to me. Well, then I'm going

512
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:40,920
Speaker 1: to use it against you.

513
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:43,040
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, turn it around.

514
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:43,800
Speaker 1: Hell yeah.

515
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,199
Speaker 2: Junco spends the rest of her life doing exactly what

516
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,200
Speaker 2: she loves, which of course, is climbing. In nineteen ninety two,

517
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 2: at fifty three years old, she completes another historic first.

518
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 2: Junka becomes the very first woman to complete this seven summits,

519
00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,919
Speaker 2: which are the highest mountains on each continent.

520
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:00,920
Speaker 1: Wow.

521
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:05,280
Speaker 2: These include Denali, Kilimanjaro, and Mount Vincent in Antarctica.

522
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:06,439
Speaker 1: What that was your mom?

523
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 2: Like?

524
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:08,880
Speaker 1: How inspiring would that be?

525
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:10,720
Speaker 2: You keep coming home with a bag of laundry and

526
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 2: you're like, hello, is any no one?

527
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,359
Speaker 1: No one open? Like i'd bean like inspire inspiration wise

528
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,000
Speaker 1: where it's like, oh, my mom's fifty something like I should.

529
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:23,920
Speaker 2: Probably like do something like her, Yes, exactly. Over the years,

530
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,399
Speaker 2: Junko becomes more and more interested in the environmental toll

531
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,160
Speaker 2: of modern climbing, especially on Everest, and by the nineteen

532
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:35,240
Speaker 2: nineties there's a shift towards high budget commercial expeditions, which

533
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,159
Speaker 2: are often taken by wealthy climbers who outsource much of

534
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:40,120
Speaker 2: the heavy lifting to guides and sherpas.

535
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:42,920
Speaker 1: Right, it's like luxury hiking.

536
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:47,280
Speaker 2: Yes, and Juneo's very critical of luxury hiking, calling them

537
00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:52,479
Speaker 2: quote intensive care unit climbers. Wow, that's because of all

538
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 2: the critical support they have along the way. But what

539
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,639
Speaker 2: troubles her the most is all of the damage caused

540
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,480
Speaker 2: by the increased foot trap and trash left behind on Everest,

541
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,359
Speaker 2: which is a problem that's only gotten worse over the years.

542
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:07,600
Speaker 2: Oh sorry, I thought I was in a quote that

543
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,360
Speaker 2: whole time, But it was just intense intensive care unit

544
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 2: climbers was just her little okay quote, that's a barbed yeah,

545
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,600
Speaker 2: I say, but it's true. It's like you're creating, you're

546
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,119
Speaker 2: not trained, you're not serious about it truly, and then

547
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,000
Speaker 2: when you get up there, they have to helicopter you out. Yeah,

548
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 2: that's what happened when I went skiing for the first time.

549
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 2: So to do what she can to protect her beloved mountains,

550
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,400
Speaker 2: Junko not only studies the impacts of trash on mountain landscapes,

551
00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 2: but she also starts organizing clean up trips both in

552
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 2: Japan and abroad. Her husband and children often join her

553
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 2: on these trips, and along the way she never stops

554
00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 2: uplifting other women. By two thousand and five, Junko has

555
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:49,040
Speaker 2: participated in forty four all female clients.

556
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,080
Speaker 1: Holy shit, But really.

557
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 2: She's interested in cultivating young mountaineers, so she starts leading

558
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,880
Speaker 2: yearly expeditions to Mount Fuji with Japanese high schoolers, and

559
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 2: she climbs with them every year, even after she's diagnosed

560
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 2: with stomach cancer in twenty twelve.

561
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 1: Twenty twelve. Wow.

562
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 2: Yes, So even as Junko battles cancer, she continues taking

563
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,600
Speaker 2: trips to Mount Fuji, but in twenty sixteen, for the

564
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 2: first time, she has to stop halfway up the climb,

565
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 2: and she passes away a few months later in October

566
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,840
Speaker 2: at the age of seventy seven.

567
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 1: Wow.

568
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,600
Speaker 2: So she basically started climbing mountains as a child that

569
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:28,480
Speaker 2: never stopped.

570
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,719
Speaker 1: That's so inspiring I know.

571
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,360
Speaker 2: Today, Junko Tobaee is remembered for her endless courage, relentless

572
00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 2: environmental advocacy, and dedication to uplifting fellow adventurers, especially women,

573
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,800
Speaker 2: and of course the many climbs she completed. Throughout her

574
00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:48,040
Speaker 2: amazing life. She summoned at least seventy mountains across the globe,

575
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,120
Speaker 2: and in doing so, she proved wrong those who doubted

576
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,800
Speaker 2: her and helped change the pervasive image of what a

577
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,880
Speaker 2: mountaineer looks like. Shortly before Junko's death in twenty seventeen,

578
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,320
Speaker 2: she was asked what she would say to her younger

579
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 2: self if she had the opportunity. She responded with advice

580
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,479
Speaker 2: that we could all stand to hear. Junko said, quote,

581
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:10,320
Speaker 2: do not give up, keep on your quest. Wow, and

582
00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 2: that's the story of trailblazing Japanese mountaineer Junko to bay.

583
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:20,160
Speaker 1: Holy shit, man, maybe I'll start hiking again.

584
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 2: You could just do flat, flat hikes, yeah, you know,

585
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 2: to start Yeah.

586
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:26,920
Speaker 1: Is that still a hike or is that just walking?

587
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 2: I mean, I think it's you can use whatever your

588
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,880
Speaker 2: word you want, right, they can't prove it wasn't a hike.

589
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:33,600
Speaker 1: Right, there's a slight incline.

590
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, it still counts. Also, the thing I really like

591
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,760
Speaker 2: in the message of this Junko's message. But then, like

592
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,000
Speaker 2: the way she lived her life, I was, of course

593
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 2: watching this TikTok this morning where they're like, how do

594
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 2: we dismantle the patriarchy? How would women do that? And

595
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:52,680
Speaker 2: it's just this idea of like, you don't stay quiet,

596
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:58,040
Speaker 2: you don't fall prey to these cultural restrictions or norms

597
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,160
Speaker 2: of women are like this, or women are supposed to

598
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 2: do this. You make your own money, you make your

599
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,960
Speaker 2: own business. You don't give up even when things are hard,

600
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,400
Speaker 2: or even when people say shit about you. It's like

601
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,280
Speaker 2: you just keep going and you just keep doing the

602
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,880
Speaker 2: thing you want to do and let them talk.

603
00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:16,160
Speaker 1: Right, Like, you don't have to debate them, not all.

604
00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:18,200
Speaker 1: You don't have to argue with them online, you don't

605
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,560
Speaker 1: have to like engage, just keep doing what you're doing.

606
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,320
Speaker 2: Because doing it is the example for the next generation.

607
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:30,479
Speaker 2: We have to show women, young women what's possible and

608
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 2: then they can do it. Then everyone's just doing it

609
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:33,600
Speaker 2: for each other.

610
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:36,480
Speaker 1: Podcasting that's our So we're showing.

611
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,400
Speaker 2: Them podcasting and this podcasting is the same as mountaineering.

612
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:46,000
Speaker 1: This is stolen valorioe. Yeah, and I'm proud of it.

613
00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am too. Well, that's a solo story.

614
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 1: Great job. That was definitely one for the books. Thank you,

615
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:54,360
Speaker 1: Thank you guys so much for listening.

616
00:31:55,240 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 2: Do not give up. No, keep on your quests. Yeah,

617
00:31:58,000 --> 00:31:59,800
Speaker 2: stay sexy and don't get murdered.

618
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,800
Speaker 1: Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

619
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,080
Speaker 2: This has been an exactly right production.

620
00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,000
Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer

621
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 1: is Tessa Hughes.

622
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:17,800
Speaker 2: Our editor is Aristotle lass Vedo.

623
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: This episode was mixed by Leona Squalocci.

624
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,840
Speaker 2: Our researchers are Mayor McGlashan and Ali Elkin.

625
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,200
Speaker 1: Email your hometowns to My Favorite Murder at gmail dot com.

626
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,520
Speaker 2: And follow the show on Instagram at my Favorite Murder.

627
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,400
Speaker 1: Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

628
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 1: Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

629
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,800
Speaker 2: And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix.

630
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,000
Speaker 1: And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and

631
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,520
Speaker 1: the remind Me buttons. That's the best way you can

632
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 1: support our show.

633
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:42,160
Speaker 2: Goodbye,