First woman atop Everest Junko Tabei of Japan dies aged 77

Junko Tabei. Pic/AFP

Tokyo: The first woman to conquer Mount Everest, Junko Tabei of Japan, died aged 77, media reported on Saturday. Tabei died of peritoneal cancer on Thursday at a hospital in Saitama.

She completed the first conquest of Mount Everest by a woman in 1975, accomplishing the feat via the southeast ridge route. She went on to conquer soaring peaks in several continents heralding the era of women climbers.