Junko Tabei read by Kit Deslauriers

Once upon a time there was a girl who climbed to the very top of the world. Her name was Junko Tabei. In fourth grade, her teacher Watanabe-Sensei takes her class on a trip to a mountain. It’s bigger than any Junko’s ever seen, and she’s determined to make it to the top. After the trip, Junko becomes a mountaineer in body and spirit. She climbs snowy mountains, rocky mountains, and even faraway mountains outside of her home country of Japan. She joins climbing clubs and befriends fellow climbers as passionate as she is. Then, Junko meets her biggest challenge yet: the tallest mountain in the world. About the Narrator: Kit DesLauriers is the first person to ski the Seven Summits and the first woman to ski Everest. She is a two-time World Freeskiing Women’s Champion, earned a 2015 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Award, and was elected into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. Credits: The podcast is a production of Rebel Girls and Boom Integrated, a division of John Marshall Media. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Our Executive Producers are Elena Favilli and Joy Fowlkes. This season was produced by John Marshall Cheary, Sarah Storm, and Robin Lai. This episode was written by Joy Fowlkes and edited by Pam Gruber. Maithy Vu proofread. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi who has also sound designed this episode. Mattia Marcelli is the sound mixer.