Pasang Lhamu Sherpa defied societal norms to climb Mount Everest: Nepal ‘needed a hero’
The first Nepali woman to summit the world’s tallest mountain
Rafia Zakaria – April 22
On Oct. 5, 1990, French mountaineer Christine Janin became the first French woman to summit the peak of Mount Everest. She climbed the Earth’s highest mountain with a team composed of mostly French women, which was one reason Pasang Lhamu Sherpa stood out.