'Pushing my body to the limit’: Mountaineer aims for month-long stay at Mexico’s tallest peak

Record ID: 1718275

  • Title: 'Pushing my body to the limit’: Mountaineer aims for month-long stay at Mexico’s tallest peak
  • Date: 31st March 2023
  • Summary: PICO DE ORIZABA, VERACRUZ, MEXICO (MARCH 26, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MEXICAN CLIMBER, PERLA LOPEZ, KNOWN AS "PERLA TIJERINA", SAYING: "The challenge involves loneliness, weather, that lightning will not strike me, that I will not die of hypothermia, that I will not get mountain sickness, that I will not have a heart attack... It involves a lot of things, that I had to check before coming here."
  • Embargoed: 15th April 2023 00:02
  • Keywords: Mexican female climber Mexico Pico de Orizaba Woman of Altitude altitude challenge climber highest peak human story mountains woman
  • Location: PICO DE ORIZABA, VERACRUZ, MEXICO
  • City: PICO DE ORIZABA, VERACRUZ, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Human-Led Quirky,Human-Led Stories,South America / Central America,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA006168930032023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Quality as incoming
    Mexican multi-sport athlete Perla Lopez, known as Perla Tijerina, challenged herself to spend 32 days alone at 18,490 feet (5,636 metres) above sea level, on top of the country's highest mountain.
    Lopez, who wants to become the first woman to achieve a month-long stay on the Pico de Orizaba, in Veracruz state, started her journey on March 20.
    The 31-year-old Mexican woman who said she likes "to push her body to the limit", intends to stay at the peak until April 20, as part of her challenge called ‘Mujer de altura’ (Woman of Altitude).
    The weather and low temperatures are some of the dangers she faces, as well as loneliness or storms.
    Lopez told Reuters she had to run some health tests beforehand to avoid incidents. "That I will not die of hypothermia, that I will not get mountain sickness, that I will not have a heart attack," she explained.
    The young climber was inspired by Spanish mountaineer Fernando Garrido, who spent 62 days on Aconcagua in Argentina at 22,600 feet (6,888 metres) above sea level in 1986.
    To ensure her survival, Lopez has the support of a medical team, as well as a group of fellow mountaineers who make sure to provide her with the necessary elements during her stay.
    Every week, Lopez' support teams Paralelo 19 and Extremers, come up to bring her food and clean clothes, and they take down her garbage and waste so she is not polluting the environment. They help her with the logistics and check on her.
    Lopez, psychologist by profession, started mountaineering five years ago and so far, she has reached 160 different peaks. After this challenge, she plans to travel to Bolivia, Peru, and Chile to continue hiking.
    Pico de Orizaba is a dormant volcano in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is the third-highest mountain in North America.
    (Production: Maria Paula Laguna, Pola Grzanka)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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