Wikipedia

Flor Cuenca

Flor "Hirkawarmi" Cuenca is a Peruvian mountaineer. She is the first Peruvian woman to have reached the summit of 11 eight-thousanders without the use of supplemental oxygen.[1] She is also the first Peruvian to have climbed Gasherbrum I (8068 m), K2 (8611 m) and Kanchenjunga (8586 m).[2]

Graciela Flor Cuenca Blas
Born1977
Chuspin, Peru
Occupation(s)Mountaineer, tour guide, Spanish teacher
Known forSummitting 11 eight-thousanders

Background

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Flor Cuenca was born in Chuspín, Casca District. She is the third of 14 children, born into a farming family, where she had to climb 1,000m to tend her family's sheep.[3][4] Growing up in the Ancash region of the Andes, she made her first summit of 4,500m at "7 or 8" years old.[5]

She moved to Lima to train as a tourist guide at the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Eleazar Guzmán Barrón in Huaraz, as she felt it would be the right career to help her stay close to the mountains.[1] In 2006, she moved to Europe on a student visa to learn German.[6][5] She decided to stay in Germany as she could earn enough income to self-fund her expeditions, which was not possible in Peru.[5] Since 2008, she has been living in Karlsruhe, Germany, and is a member of the German Alpine Club.[7][8]

She is also known as "Hirkawarmi", which is Ancash Quechua for "mountain woman".[9]

Mountaineering

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Flor is known for her lean expeditions, self-funded, without sherpas, sponsorship and without supplemental oxygen.[10][11]

She is critical of large expeditions that leave garbage, waste, old tents and used O2 canisters across the Himalayas and Karakoram, and has sought to bring attention to the issue.[4]

Summits of eight-thousanders

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Summit Country Altitude Year Notes
Cho Oyu Tibet / Nepal 8201 m 2016 First 8 thousander[12]
Manaslu Nepal 8163 m 2017
Broad Peak Pakistan / China 8051 m 2019 [2]
Gasherbrum Pakistan / China 8068 m 2021 First Peruvian ascent[3] summit on Peru's bicentennial[13]
Dhaulagiri Nepal 8167 m 2021 [3][10]
K2 Pakistan / China 8611 m 2022 First Peruvian ascent[14][15]
Kanchenjunga India / Nepal 8586 m 2023 First Peruvain ascent[14][16]
Nanga Parbat Pakistan 8125 m 2023 [17][18]
Gasherbrum II Pakistan / China 8035 m 2023 [19]
Annapurna Nepal 8091 m 2024 [20][21]
Makalu Tíbet / Nepal 8485 m 2024 [20][22]

She started the project "Hijas de la Montaña" in an effort to lead the first Peruvian female expedition in the Himalayas.[23][24] The project, aims to send five women from the Peruvian Andes, including Flor, to climb Manaslu and advocate for environmental sustainability and gender equality.[25] The project plans to bring more than 100 kg of trash down from base camp during the expedition.[26]

In 2023, she was named to the Forbes 50 Most Powerful Women in Peru List.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Peruano, LO NUESTRO Sumplemento del Diario Oficial El. "LO NUESTRO | Diario Oficial El Peruano". elperuano.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  2. ^ a b Noticias, Áncash (2023-05-30). "Montañista ancashina Flor Cuenca logró coronar el Himalaya - Ancash Noticias Ancash Noticias". Ancash Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  3. ^ a b c Rojas, Jacinto (2021-10-07). "Ancashina Flor Cuenca Blas, logra otra hazaña en el Himalaya". Bolognesi Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  4. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2022-08-09). "Climber Appalled by K2 Conditions, Calls it a 'Pigsty' » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  5. ^ a b c Espiritu, Mary Sue (2023-09-30). "La ancashina que conquista las cimas del mundo: "No tuve apoyo, no les era interesante lo que hacía"". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  6. ^ Peruano, LO NUESTRO Sumplemento del Diario Oficial El. "LO NUESTRO | Diario Oficial El Peruano". elperuano.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  7. ^ "Zehnthaus Jockgrim: Peruanische Extrembergsteigerin zu Gast". Wochenblatt Reporter (in German). 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  8. ^ "Bergsteigerin aus Karlsruhe hat nächsten Achttausender im Visier". Badische Neueste Nachrichten (in German). 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  9. ^ Benavides, Angela (2023-08-07). "Last Thoughts on the Gasherbrums » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  10. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2021-10-09). "In Her Own Words: Flor Cuenca's No-O2 Summit of Dhaulagiri » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  11. ^ teamviajeros (2023-10-23). "La lucha de Flor Cuenca, la ancashina que conquista las cimas del Perú y el mundo". Solo Para Viajeros (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  12. ^ "Flor cuenca logra su 3er 8mil". FEDPE. 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  13. ^ "Flor Cuenca, conquista una de las cimas más altas de mundo". Huachos.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  14. ^ a b Aponte, Sebastián (2023-05-31). "¡Vale un Perú!: Montañista ancashina llegó al pico de la tercera cumbre más alta del mundo". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  15. ^ PERÚ, Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA (2022-07-30). "Peruvian reaches world second-highest mountain's summit, without extra oxygen". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  16. ^ "Missing German climber's body found near Kanchenjunga in Nepal". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  17. ^ Benavides, Angela (2023-07-10). "The Inside Story of Nanga Parbat's Summit Chaos » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  18. ^ Benavides, Angela (2023-07-10). "The Inside Story of Nanga Parbat's Summit Chaos » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  19. ^ Benavides, Angela (2023-08-07). "Last Thoughts on the Gasherbrums » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  20. ^ a b Minaya, Olga (2024-05-15). "Ancashina Flor Cuenca conquista su onceava cumbre en el Himalaya - Ancash Noticias Ancash Noticias". Ancash Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  21. ^ Redazione (2024-04-15). "Allie Pepper e Flor Cuenca in vetta all'Annapurna senza ossigeno". Montagna.TV (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  22. ^ Nestler, Stefan (2024-05-07). "Mount Everest: First summit success of the season reported from the Tibetan north side". Adventure Mountain. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  23. ^ TROME.COM, NOTICIAS (2024-05-21). "Montañista Flor Cuenca corona cumbres del Himalaya sin oxígeno artificial busca conquistar 14 montañas más altas del mundo a más de 8 mil metros | ancashina primera peruana en lograr 14 ochomiles | Makalu en Himalaya quinta cumbre más alta del mundo | cuántas cumbres coronó Flor Cuenca| Hijas de la Montaña expedición femenina peruana en Himalaya | IMP | ACTUALIDAD". Trome.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  24. ^ "La peruana Flor Cuenca busca mujeres para llevarlas a las cumbres más altas". www.cospanama.com (in Spanish). 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  25. ^ PERU21, NOTICIAS (2024-05-20). "La montañista peruana Flor Cuenca conquista su octava cumbre en el Himalaya | montañista | Himalaya | Makalu | | DEPORTES". Peru21 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Hijas de la Montaña". daughtersofthemountain.org. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  27. ^ TROME.COM, NOTICIAS (2023-08-21). "Mujeres peruanas poderosas: Forbes lista de 50 mujeres más poderosas del Perú, su poder influye en ciencia, deportes, negocios, sector público, música, ambientalismo | Aracely Quispe, Pía León, Kimberly García, Gladys Tejeda, Ana María Brescia, Cintya Añaños, Milena Warthon, Gianella Neyra | IMP | ACTUALIDAD". Trome.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-08.
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