First woman atop Everest dies

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, north of Tokyo, Japan´s public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News said, quoting her family.

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 -- Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount McKinley in the United States and the Vinson Massif in Antarctica -- heralding the era of women climbers.

Even after reaching the world´s highest peak, the Fukushima native continued climbing mountains at home and abroad.

In an interview with AFP in 2003, she said: "I don´t have the desire to climb Everest again any more. If I had enough time and money to do so, I would rather climb other mountains that I have not attempted before."

Her last challenge was made in July when she climbed Mount Fuji, central Japan, with high school students, according to NHK.