Carla Pérez (born 28 December 1982) is an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

climber. In 2019 she became the first woman to successfully summit both

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

and K2 in the same year (in 1995

Alison Hargreaves Alison Jane Hargreaves (17 February 1962 – 13 August 1995) was a British mountaineer. Her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest alone, without supplementary oxygen or support from a Sherpa team, in 1995. She soloed all the great nort ...

reached both summits unsupported and without supplemental oxygen but died descending K2), and the first woman from the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

to summit K2 without supplemental oxygen.

Early life

When Pérez was four years old her father took her to a 14,000-foot volcano near their home at

Quito, Ecuador Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

, which inspired her to become a

mountain climber Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

Notable climbs

Manaslu

In 2012, Pérez reached the summit of

Manaslu Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...

without supplemental oxygen.

Cho Oyu

In 2014, Pérez completed a solo ascent of

Cho Oyu Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...

without supplemental oxygen.

Broad Peak

In 2015, Pérez reached the summit of

Broad Peak Broad Peak (; ) is one of the eight-thousanders, and is located in the Karakoram range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China. It is the 12th highest mountain in the world with elevation above sea level. The first ascent of t ...

without supplemental oxygen.

Mount Everest

Pérez has spent time on

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

as both a mountain guide and a climber. In 2016, she became the first woman from

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen. In 2019, she successfully guided clients to the summit via the northeast ridge.

K2

In 2019, Pérez became the first woman from the Americas to reach the summit of K2 without supplemental oxygen. In so doing, she became the second woman to reach the summit of

and K2 in the same year. Alison Hargreaves being the first, in 1995 who climbed unsupported and without supplemental oxygen but tragically died in a storm during descent.

Dhaulagiri

In 2021, Pérez climbed on

Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapur ...

but was not able to reach the summit.

Makalu

In 2022, Pérez reached the summit of

Makalu Makalu (; ) is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolat ...

without supplemental oxygen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez, Carla 1982 births Living people Ecuadorian mountain climbers Summiters of Mount Everest Ecuadorian female climbers