Bidmytrip

From Everest to Carstensz Pyramid, Junko Tabei became the first woman to complete a journey across the highest peaks on every continent.

On June 28, 1992, the Japanese climber reached Carstensz Pyramid / Puncak Jaya in the Papua region of Indonesia. The ascent finished her continental high-point challenge and made her the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.

This was another landmark in a career already shaped by her historic Everest summit in 1975. Seventeen years earlier, Tabei had become the first woman to stand on the world’s highest mountain, giving her a place in climbing history long before her Seven Summits finish.

THE FINAL MOUNTAIN

Carstensz was a fitting finish because it demanded a different skill set from the big snow and ice peaks. The mountain is a steep limestone summit, known for exposed rock climbing, technical sections, and difficult access through one of the world’s most remote mountain regions.

For Tabei, it was not simply the last name on a list. It was the point where years of expeditions, different climates, long travel, and the varied demands of the Seven Summits finally came together.

WHY IT MATTERED

The achievement connected two major milestones in women’s mountaineering: Everest in 1975 and the full continental challenge in 1992. It turned Tabei’s story from a single historic summit into a wider global legacy.

Tabei’s name remains larger than any one mountain. Her climbs challenged old limits, widened expectations, and confirmed her as one of the defining climbers of her era.

At 6,250 meters, a remote Himalayan peak has been climbed for the first recorded time.

Lumbo Himal, located in Nepal’s remote Gorkha district near the Ganesh Himal range and the northern edge of the Manaslu Conservation Area, has recorded its first known summit. The ascent was completed on June 22, 2026, by a four-member team of Nepali guides and an American climber.

THE SUMMIT TEAM

The climb was organized by Himalaya Summit Club. The team included Nepali guides Tul Singh Gurung, Sujal Gurung, and Aash Bahadur Gurung, along with American climber Eric Mathew Soo.

They established base camp at 4,150 meters and high camp at 5,049 meters before the summit push. The mountain sits in an isolated valley, away from popular trekking routes, tea houses, villages, and established climbing infrastructure.

THE SOUTHWEST FACE ROUTE

The team climbed Lumbo Himal by its southwest face. The route included loose rocky ridges, mixed rock and ice, exposed traverses, crevasses, and steep snow and ice sections reaching up to 85 degrees.

Around 400 meters of fixed rope were placed on the technical rock section where extra protection was needed. The summit push began at 4:00 a.m. on June 22. After about 12 hours of climbing, the team reached the summit around 4:00 p.m. and returned to high camp around midnight.

MORE THAN A TREKKING PEAK

Tul Singh Gurung described Lumbo Himal as a technical alpine climb, not a trekking peak. He said the team graded the southwest face route D+ on the French alpine scale, making it suitable only for experienced mountaineers.

The ascent also shows how Nepal’s lesser-known Himalayan valleys still hold serious unexplored climbing potential.

From Chamonix to the summit of Mont Blanc, Iris Pessey set a new women’s fastest known time for the ascent in 5h 02m, then paraglided back to complete the full route in 5h 34m.

Set on June 18, 2026, the record saw the French endurance athlete start from the church in Chamonix at 3:30am and climb toward the 4,807-meter summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps. Her route climbed through the historic Grands Mulets side of Mont Blanc before reaching the Bosses Ridge and continuing to the summit.

THE CLIMB

The route covered approximately 16 kilometers with around 3,800 meters of positive elevation gain. Pessey also carried a specially designed pack with safety equipment, an ultralight Ozone paraglider, and a harness for the flight back down to Chamonix.

She reached the summit in 5h 02m, improving the previous women’s ascent mark set by Hillary Gerardi in 2023 by around 10 minutes. Gerardi had reached the summit in 5h 12m before completing the return to Chamonix on foot in 7h 25m.

THE FLIGHT DOWN

After reaching the summit, Pessey launched her paraglider and flew back into the Chamonix valley. She returned to the church 32 minutes after summiting, completing the full Chamonix-to-summit-to-Chamonix route in 5h 34m.

Because descent styles and mountain conditions can differ, Mont Blanc speed records are not always direct comparisons. Still, Pessey’s climb-and-flight performance stands as a major new benchmark for women’s speed climbing on Mont Blanc.