Pride for our country means the new milestone for Peruvian climber Flor Cuenca, who has just crowned with great sacrifice and determination the summit of the K2 mountain —the second highest on earth after the Everest and baptized as the Wild Mountain of the Himalayas due to its challenging characteristics.
At an altitude of 8,611 meters, K2 is part of the Karakorum mountain range and belongs to the Himalayan mountain system —on the border between Pakistan and China.
Born in Ancash region, Cuenca has become the first Peruvian citizen to reach the most difficult mountain of the 8,000-altitude-range, without any artificial oxygen.
The mountaineer —also known as Hirkawarmi (Mountain Woman in Quechua language)— added this important achievement to her sporting career on July 28 at 11:45 a.m. (Pakistan time) = 1:45 a.m. (Peru time).
"I feel fine; this has been one of the most difficult journeys I have ever made. We have not yet descended to the base camp; we are just on C2 because we found a sick girl, and we are lifting her down," said the Peruvian in remarks to her family.
Via social media, she lamented that many of her fellow climbers had not been able to return home due to the numerous fatal accidents they must face during these journeys.
"I am very sorry for the other mountaineers (…) who will not go home with us," wrote the Peruvian, who has added her sixth climb to a mountain summit above 8,000 meters high into her résumé.
Sixth triumph
The Ancash-born mountaineer has been carrying out expeditions to the Himalayas financed with her own resources since 2016.
Flor Cuenca made news that year by becoming one of the first Peruvians to climb the Cho Oyu (8,201 meters above sea level) —the sixth highest summit in the world.
In 2017, Cuenca achieved another feat by reaching the top of the emblematic Manaslu (8,163 m.a.s.l.) —the eighth highest mountain around the globe.
In 2019, the climber reached the Broad Peak's summit (8,051 m.a.s.l.) —the twelfth highest mountain on earth.
In 2021, she waved the Peruvian flag on two mountains: The Gasherbrum I (8,068 m.a.s.l.) —the eleventh highest mountain— and the Dhaulagiri I (8,167 m.a.s.l.) —the world's seventh highest peak.
This new achievement increases her fame and recognition at national and international levels —especially since she did so without the support of artificial oxygen, which meant enormous physical and mental efforts.