Sixty-seven years ago, in 1959, a French mountaineer named Claude Kogan embarked on an ambitious and unprecedented journey to the Cho Oyu, one of the world's highest mountains. At a time when Himalayan expeditions were largely dominated by men, Kogan had the determination to lead the first all-female attempt to climb an 8,000-meter peak. This bold endeavor aimed to prove that such feats could be accomplished without male participation, challenging the prevailing norms of the era. Claude Kogan, then 40, had already built an impressive climbing record. In 1952, she scaled the Salcantay in the Peruvian Andes, and in 1953, she reached the Nun Kun (7,135 meters) with Swiss climber Pierre Vittoz. Her journey into mountaineering had begun in 1954, when she joined Swiss climber Raymond Lambert on an attempt to reach the summit of Everest, just a year before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay achieved the first successful ascent. Although the Austrians Herbert Tichy and his team would eventually be the first to reach the Cho Oyu's summit, Kogan's ascent to a high point on the mountain earned her the nickname "the world's highest woman." Despite her achievements, Kogan's plan to lead an all-female expedition to the Cho Oyu faced skepticism and resistance. French mountaineering leader Lucien Devies remarked that if the team succeeded, it would confirm his belief that the Cho Oyu was a "cow mountain," meaning it was easier to climb than others. The French Mountain Federation was not supportive, and Kogan had to fight to secure funding and support. Sponsors demanded success, and the pressure weighed heavily on her. Her team included twelve women, among them Jeanne Franco, the wife of a French climber, and Loulou Boulaz, a Swiss climber known for her own high-altitude achievements. Despite challenges with acclimatization and illness, the group reached Camp 4 at 7,100 meters on October 1, 1959. On October 3, a heavy layer of snow covered the mountain, and an avalanche struck. Kogan, Claudine Van der Straten, and their sherpa Ang Norbu were never seen again. Their disappearance remains a mystery, with speculation pointing to altitude sickness and exhaustion as possible factors. In the years that followed, it was not until 1974 that women finally reached the summit of an 8,000-meter peak, when a Japanese expedition climbed Manaslu. While that achievement was celebrated, many acknowledge that Kogan's pioneering efforts on the Cho Oyu had already opened the door for future generations of female climbers.