Burçak Poçan, née Özoğlu, (1970) is a

mountaineer 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 one of the first

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

women to climb over 8,000 m. Burçak was born on January 4, 1970, 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, mak ...

. Following her graduation from the School of Business Administration at the

Middle East Technical University Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The university emphasizes research and education in engineering a ...

in Ankara with a BA degree, she earned a MA and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

degree in labor economics from the School of Political Sciences at

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vo ...

. Burçak is currently a lecturer at the same university. In 1989, she enlisted in a four-year course for mountaineering during her university time at the Middle East Technical University. She made the first female ascent of the north face of Mount Büyük Demirkazık (3,756 m) in Turkey in 1995. She climbed Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

in 1996 and in the same year climbed

Khan Tengri Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mountaineering ci ...

(7,010 m) in the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

range, a height record at the time for a Turkish woman. In 1997, she climbed

Mount Damavand Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of ...

(5,610 m), the highest peak in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. She became one of the first Turkish women to climb over 8,000 m when she summited

Gasherbrum II Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakista ...

(8,035 m), the 13th highest peak of the world, via west face along with

Eylem Elif Maviş Eylem Elif Maviş, née Koç, (born November 9, 1973) is the first Turkish woman mountaineer to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. Elif was born on in Tokat, Turkey. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in environmental ...

, on July 22, 2005. Burçak took part in the

Petrol Ofisi Petrol Ofisi A.Ş. is a fuel products distribution and lubricants company in Turkey. It is owned by Dutch Vitol Group. Vitol completed its acquisition of Petrol Ofisi from OMV AG in June 2017. Petrol Ofisi had 1900+ fuel stations in 2022 in Turk ...

-sponsored Turkish expedition team to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

in 2006. However, due to throat complaints at 8,600 m, she had to give up the ascent on May 15 and return to advanced base camp for medical aid. She reached the summit on her second attempt on May 24, 2006, along with five other teammates, including two women. Burçak is married to mountaineer

Serhan Poçan Serhan Poçan (1970) is a Turkish mountaineer and a summiter of Mount Everest. He was born on April 11, 1970, in Konya, Turkey. Serhan graduated Middle East Technical University, Ankara with a BS degree in Mathematics. Currently, he is working a ...

, who had climbed Mount Everest on the same day as her.

Awards

* 1996 "Mountaineer of the Year" by the Turkish Mountain Climbing Federation

References

Short biography in Turkish

Story of Mt Everest expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocan, Burcak 1970 births Middle East Technical University alumni Ankara University alumni Living people Sportspeople from Ankara Turkish mountain climbers Turkish summiters of Mount Everest Turkish sportswomen Female climbers