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As the world celebrates the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the first ascent of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May 29, 1953, former Japanese summiteers including Ms. Junko Tabei, the first woman to set foot on the peak of Sagarmatha in 1975, celebrated the golden jubilee by participating in the commemorative event. Furthermore, Miura expedition's astounding achievement of world records added grace to this golden jubilee.
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Ms. Tabei was felicitated and specially honored along with Sir Hillary as the two key figures on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Celebration. In this historic event, Nepalese people recalled her brilliant success in scaling Sagarmatha 28 years ago.
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 His Majesty King Gyanendra
greeting Ms. Tabei at the BICC |
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In the symposium on Mountaineering and Development held on May 29, she presented detailed facts that gave a clear picture of the deteriorating environmental situation in Sagarmatha due to the increasing number of climbers in the recent years. Emphasizing the need to safeguard the environment in Sagarmatha region, she stated, "In order to help solve the problem, the government and mountaineers have to work together to maintain the precious environment on high mountains. Besides this, there needs to be more restrictions on the number of expeditions."
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Ms. Tabei was awarded the highest Nepali decoration, Gorkha-Dakshin-Bahu, for her achievement as the first woman to conquer Sagarmatha in 1975. Consequently, she felt some obligation to repay this honor by helping the people in the Himalayan region to protect their beautiful homeland. Realizing the importance of preserving this environment, she has established an NGO named the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan together with her fellow mountaineers to carry out environmental preservation programs. In 1994, the organization built a garbage incinerator in Lukla. Subsequently, in 1996, apple trees were planted in Chopulun village to improve the villagers' livelihood. Her fervent desire is that these trees would grow as a symbol of friendship and peaceful development of the village.
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 Ms. Tabei planting a sapling
at the International
Mountaineers Memorial
Park in Kakani |
Mr. Yuichiro Miura (70), internationally well known as "the man who skied down Sagarmatha", his son Mr. Gota Miura (33), Free Style Ski Olympian and Mr. Noriyuki Muraguchi (46), alpine photographer, successfully scaled the world's highest summit on May 22 at 12:10 pm. He is not only the oldest man to reach the top, but with Gota, is a member of the first successful father and son duo to climb Sagarmatha.
Although the challenge for the summit began on May 11, the expedition was interrupted by gusts of wind blowing more than 30 meters per second, forcing the team to remain at Camp 2 (6500m) for 5 days. Although the attempt to the summit resumed on the 17th, the team was again stopped by strong winds and heavy fog, forcing them to stay at Camp 4 (7900m) for 2 days, and at Camp 5 (8400m) for another 2 days. Eventually, Miura and his team's incredible endurance won over the unpredictable Sagarmatha weather, and the summit was conquered in fabulous conditions.
Having accomplished such outstanding success, Mr. Miura remarked, "Ever since I skied down Everest 33 years ago, I promised to myself that I would one day stand at the summit of Mt. Everest. It has finally come true after training for 5 years; moreover I was able to break the world record of being the oldest man to reach the summit. I learned that humans can achieve any dream as long as they continue to challenge and not give up."
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