Gülnur Tumbat (born 1975) is a Turkish female academic in marketing as well as amateur
mountain climber
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
and
ultramarathon runner. Currently, she lives in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
Early years
Gülnur Tumbat was born to a teacher father and a seamstress mother as the youngest of three daughters in
Denizli in 1975.
After finishing high school, she studied Environmental Engineering at the
Middle East Technical University (METU) in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
with a master's degree in the same field. She further received a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Business Administration from
Bilkent University
Bilkent University ( tr, Bilkent Üniversitesi) is a private university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by Prof. İhsan Doğramacı in 1984, with the aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. It is constan ...
. Then, Tumbat obtained a
PhD degree in Marketing in the United States.
Since 2005, she has been serving as a professor in the Marketing Faculty at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...
.
Sports
Mountain climbing
Tumbat began mountain climbing at age 17 in the
Mountaineering & Winter Sports Club of the METU.
She was on the top of more than 30 high-elevation mountains in Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Nepal, Argentina, and the US so far.
Her doctoral thesis was on the subject of marketing and consuming risk.
To study the subject, she joined a group of mountain climbers at the main camp at
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
in 2004.
Her goal is to be the first Turk and Turkish woman to climb the "Eight Summits",
an extension of the
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits a ...
with addition of
Mount Carstensz in the
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
continent. The first Turkish seven summiter is
Nasuh Mahruki. Only twelve women in the world have completed the ascent to the "Eight Summits" to date.
Gülnur Tumbat climbed the
McKinley (6,194 m),
Aconcagua
Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summi ...
(6,959 m),
Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
(5,895 m),
Elbrus (5,642 m), and Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m).
She notes that her most challenging ascent was to Aconcagua, the highest point in South America, where she climbed solo and without the assistance of a professional mountain guide or a team.
In April 2014, her attempt to climb
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
failed as the ascent to the summit was officially barred after a major avalanche killed more than ten mountaineers at 5,800 m elevation.
She was not hurt by the accident.
In July 2015, she ascended
Carstensz Pyramid
Puncak Jaya (; literally "Glorious Peak") or Carstensz Pyramid, Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz () on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth. The mountain is located in the Sudi ...
(4,884 m),
completing her fifth summit of the "Eight Highest Peaks", in a group of six mountaineers from South Korea, Australia, France and Sweden.
On May 21, 2018 she became the first Turkish woman to summit Mount Everest from the Nepal side, known in Nepali as Sagarmāthā and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, the Earth's highest mountain. To this day she has completed 6 of the 7 summits (with Carstenz) with the exception of Antarctica's highest, Mount Vinson.
Endurance sports
Tumbat has done some triathlons such as
Marin County Triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
and
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
Triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
.
She has also been taking part in multiple adventure races such as Gold Rush 30-hour Adventure Racing
and
ultramarathon competitions in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, where she lives. Her achievements are:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tumbat, Gulnur
1975 births
Living people
People from Denizli
Middle East Technical University alumni
Bilkent University alumni
San Francisco State University alumni
San Francisco State University faculty
Marketing women
Turkish expatriates in the United States
Turkish mountain climbers
Turkish female long-distance runners
Turkish ultramarathon runners
Female ultramarathon runners