A 59-year-old Nagoya woman has climbed the 8,201-meter Cho Oyu mountain on the China-Nepal border, her family said Monday.
Eiko HibiThe ascent by Eiko Hibi, a former lecturer at Aichi Gakuin University, makes her the oldest Japanese woman to conquer the peak, the Himalaya Association of Japan said. The previous record holder for Cho Oyu was Junko Tabei, 56, the first woman to climb Mount Everest.
Hibi's husband Goro, 61, received word of his wife's success at around 9 p.m. Sunday from Jun Yasumura, a guide who accompanied her. on the ascent. He said his wife seems to gain great strength from such towering peaks.
"My wife used to be anemic and couldn't even donate blood," he said. "It seems that for some reason, however, she's stronger than other people when she goes to the mountains."
Hibi began climbing in earnest after trekking in the Karakoram range in 1990 and has tackled other famed peaks, including Mont Blanc.
Other female Japanese mountaineers who have conquered peaks over 8,000 meters include Tamae Watanabe, who climbed 8,035-meter Gesherbrum II in 1998 at the age of 59 years, eight months.