Rebecca Stephens (climber)
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Stephens MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 3 October 1961) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, mountaineer, and television presenter. She was the first British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

.

Stephens originally trained as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and pursued that career for some ten years, becoming deputy editor of the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

magazine Resident Abroad.

Always an enthusiastic skier
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

, in 1989 Stephens took up the sport of climbing accidentally when as a journalist she accompanied an expedition attempting the North East Ridge of Mount Everest. In 1993 she was herself part of a later Mount Everest expedition which reached the summit of ther mountain on 17 May, becoming the first British woman to do so. On 22 November 1994 she became the third woman, and the first British woman, to climb the seven continental summits of the Carstensz Pyramid in Australasia. On 3rd February 1996 she became the fourth woman, and the second British woman (two months behind Ginette Harrison
Ginette Harrison
Ginette Harrison was a professional climber of British origin. She also lived in Australia and the United States....

) to climb all seven continental summits of Kosciuszko in mainland Australia.

She was appointed an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 in 1994.

She was a presenter on BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

's science series Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...

from 1994 to 1996.

In addition to her mountaineering exploits, Stephens has sailed the Southern Seas to the South Magnetic Pole
South Magnetic Pole
The Earth's South Magnetic Pole is the wandering point on the Earth's surface where the geomagnetic field lines are directed vertically upwards...

 and Antarctica and crossed the South Atlantic island of South Georgia. With the polar explorers Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...

 and Mike Stroud, she competed in an eight-day Eco-Challenge, which consisted of running, biking and canoeing across the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...

.

Selected publications

  • Rebecca Stephens, Buying a Home Abroad
  • Rebecca Stephens, On Top of the World (London: Macmillan, 1994)
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