In 1975, Junko Tabei climbed Everest, the first woman to reach its summit. 50 years on, join the Mount Everest Foundation to celebrate her ascent and discover the rarely told stories of extraordinary pioneering women in the Himalayas and beyond.
This celebratory event features speakers who embody the living history of women’s mountaineering today.
- Jo Bradshaw, herself an Everest summiteer, shares with us the societal and cultural barriers that the Japanese climber Junko Tabei determinedly overcame to be the first woman to stand on Everest’s summit.
- Physicist Dr Melanie Windridge explores the science behind climbing Everest and examines how the experience may differ for women compared to men.
- A small exploratory trio, Elizabeth Porter, Dr Caitlin McHale and Martha Gutteridge, take us on a rocky road to the remote Ak-Shyyrak mountain range in Kyrgystan in search of unclimbed peaks.
Hosted by the Mount Everest Foundation which is jointly administered by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club and supports exploratory scientific and mountaineering expeditions worldwide.
- Monday night lecture
Revisiting the Dolgarrog dam disaster after 100 years
On 2 November 1925, a catastrophic flood swept through Dolgarrog village in north Wales, depositing enormous boulders and killing 16 people. In 2025, what have we learnt from this flood disaster?
London and onlineMembers + one guestMonday 10 November 2025 - Monday night lecture
These are a few of our favourite things
Nicholas Crane and experts on the Society's team take us through their hidden highlights of the Collections, showcasing how these can help tell new histories of travel, geography and exploration.
London and onlineMembers + one guestMonday 17 November 2025 - Monday night lecture
Predicting the ocean: a view from the Menai Strait
Britain is surrounded by ocean. But how does it function? Here Professor Tom Rippeth will examine how, over the past 2 millennia, we have pieced together nature's clues to better understand it.
London and onlineMembers + one guestMonday 24 November 2025