“Do not give up. Keep on your quest."

Junko Tabei  

 

     

For International Women’s Day 2024, I painted a portrait of Junko Tabei, an inspiring Japanese mountaineer, environmentalist, author, and, with a team of incredible women, the first woman to summit Mount Everest. Throughout her life, she showed relentless determination, from figuring out how to fund her climbs to eventually creating history. Despite being knocked unconscious by an avalanche on her way to the summit, the thought of giving up never crossed her mind. She had a tremendous strength of spirit that she brought to all her climbs, 

 

Tabei illustrates the power of believing in your abilities and is the epitome of what IWD and Women’s History Month is all about, as she said, “There was never a question in my mind that I wanted to climb that mountain, no matter what other people said.”

 

The eBay auction for the portrait of Junko Tabei is live now. It will end on March 17, so don’t forget to bid!

 

Since Tabei sadly passed away from stomach cancer in 2016, 100% of the funds from this auction, excluding shipping and auction costs, will go towards the Fred Hutch Cancer Center to provide patient-centered care and accelerate research in the latest cancer treatment options worldwide. If you are interested in company matching the final auction amount, please reach out!

 

In recognition of Junko Tabei’s impact and legacy, let’s all remember that no mountain is too high to climb when you believe in your strength, stay true to your path, and help lift up the people around you.