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🌍 Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future: Why Women’s Stories in Adventure Matter

  • xtinecruzat
  • 4 days ago
  • 3 min read

Renata Chlumska - Adventure athlete who became the first Swedish and Czech woman to climb Mount Everest and in 2005 did a circumnavigate of the lower 48 States of the United States by her own power.

There are moments when a conversation becomes more than just shared words — it becomes a powerful reminder of why stories matter. This latest episode of the Tough Girl Podcast is one of those moments.


I had the honour of speaking with three incredible women — journalist and writer Rosemary Brown, mountaineer and motivational speaker Jo Bradshaw, and record-breaking adventurer Tori James — all united by a shared mission: to honour the legacy of Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mt. Everest, and to shine a light on the many women whose adventurous feats have gone untold.


This wasn’t just a conversation about climbing mountains. It was about what happens when women are written out of history — and how powerful it is when we choose to write them back in.



✨ The Power of Remembering


In 1975, Junko Tabei became the first woman to stand on the summit of Mount Everest. But how many people know her name?


Despite being the first woman to reach the world’s highest peak, Junko’s story is still largely unknown. That silence — that gap in collective memory — is what inspired the creation of the First Females Podcast, launched by Tori James to mark the 50th anniversary of Junko’s climb.


Tori, Jo, and Rosemary spoke about the importance of representation and how vital it is to remember and celebrate the women who came before us. Because when their stories are told, they remind us what’s possible — and when they’re not, we lose more than just history. We lose inspiration. We lose identity.



🏔️ More Than a Mountain


For Rosemary, saying yes to joining an all-female expedition to Yala Peak in Nepal — the same mountain Junko Tabei climbed in 1977 — wasn’t about conquest or comparison. It was about connection. At over 70 years old, Rosemary's decision to trek and summit was deeply personal. Every step became an act of honouring the past, showing up for herself, and acknowledging that adventure belongs to every generation.


Jo Bradshaw, who has completed the Seven Summits, shared what it means to do adventures as a way to show women we are doing it, not just that we can. Her journey — from surviving the Everest earthquake in 2015 to summiting the next year — is a story of resilience, courage, and reframing what’s possible.


And Tori, as a mother, speaker, and mountaineer, reflected on her Everest climb in 2007 — and how, back then, she had no idea who Junko was. That’s the gap she’s now working to close with her podcast: giving voice to the 900+ women from around the world who have summited Everest in the years since Junko’s historic ascent.



🌄 What We Learned


Here are just a few of the many lessons that resonated from this powerful conversation:


  • Stories shape legacy. If we don’t tell women’s stories, they vanish. It’s time to bring those names, faces, and feats back into the light.

  • You don’t need to climb Everest to honour a mountain. Whether it’s Milk Hill, Moel Famau, or your local park, climbing your own "summit" in Junko’s honour is enough.

  • Adventure is not a competition — it’s a community. The Yala Peak expedition brought 13 women together to support, encourage, and lift one another. That kind of unity is adventure at its best.

  • “Life is not a rehearsal. This is it.” Rosemary’s words are a call to action for anyone waiting for the “perfect” moment. Start where you are. Say yes.

  • Representation matters. Seeing women like you — older, younger, from all backgrounds — taking on challenges helps you believe you can do it, too.



💬 Final Thoughts


There was something deeply moving about this episode. It wasn’t just about peaks and paths — it was about purpose.


Junko Tabei didn’t climb Everest for glory. She climbed because she loved mountains. Because she wanted to prove that women could. Because, as she famously said at the top, “Here is the summit — I don’t have to climb anymore,” not because the journey was over, but because she had proven her point: women belong in the mountains too.


This episode is a tribute to her. It’s a call to remember, to recognise, and to record the lives of women whose stories deserve to be heard. And it’s a reminder to keep asking the question:


Who are the Junko Tabeis of today — and how can we make sure the world remembers them?



🎧 Listen to the episode now on the Tough Girl Podcast


📅 Join the #MyJunkoJourney on 16th May 2025 and beyond — climb your summit, share your story, and honour Junko’s legacy in your own way.




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