Four Indigenous Bolivian women who have climbed some of Latin America’s tallest peaks have their sights set on the world's highest, Mount Everest. 

La Paz

Four Indigenous Bolivian women, previously successful in climbing some of Latin America's highest mountains, are now aiming to conquer Mount Everest. They are renowned for scaling peaks while traditionally dressed in skirts, a cultural symbol. This ambition represents not only a personal challenge but also a significant milestone in the portrayal and capabilities of Indigenous women in high-altitude mountaineering.



Bolivia's cholita climbers look to conquer Everest in skirts

These indigenous women in Bolivia have their sights set on the world's highest peak. They say they've already conquered some of Latin America's toughest mountains and hope Everest is next. They could become the first Bolivian women to accomplish the feat. Elena Kispe Tinkuta imagines arriving there donning her traditional skirt or pollera. I want to be the first pollera woman to arrive at the Everest summit because I want to wave our pollera and the Bolivian flag. Tinkuta's home is in Bolivia's high-altitude city of El Alto. She weaves her own alpaca blankets for climbing and says she's long been drawn to the challenge of it. I liked the mountain. I had the curiosity to climb a summit and now I know how it was and how it felt and I liked it. From then on I have been driven to do so. Tinkuta is an Aymara indigenous woman. She and her sisters work as mountain guides. They climb in their iconic layered skirts while also using helmets and crampons for safety. Tinkuta's sister Julia says there's something otherworldly about reaching the top of local mountain Huayna Potosi. When I arrived at the summit I feel like I was in the air, like being in heaven. I saw a plane flying near me. From the mountain I saw the lights of the city of La Paz shining like stars. I thought at that moment that I am never going to stop climbing. The women say they've already conquered Argentina's Aconcagua. It's the highest peak in the Americas, clocking in at nearly 23,000 feet. Also checked off their list, the world's highest volcano, Ojos del Salado, on the Chile-Argentina border. But Everest is over 29,000 feet tall on the other side of the globe. And the group thinks they'll need half a million dollars to accomplish their goal. They're seeking donations from companies and tourists they work with as guides. The Himalayan Sherpas have also long guided foreign climbers. And Tinkuta says she feels an affinity with them. I would like to see the Sherpas and tell our stories and anecdotes in the mountain. I always say I would like to be there to meet their animals, the yaks. The Sherpas are almost the same as us.

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