Woman spends 32 days living on top of a volcano in a bid to empower females

22 April 2023 , 14:02

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The 31-year-old achieved the feat on Pico de Orizaba (Image: Jam Press/@perlatijerina_)

A mountaineer has spent 32 days living on top of a volcano in Mexico to help empower women and called the challenge "magical."

Perla Tijerina set herself the personal challenge of spending over a month at altitudes of up to 5,636m and documented it on social media using phone batteries and solar chargers brought to the peak by other mountaineers.

The 31-year-old achieved the feat on Pico de Orizaba - Mexico's highest mountain and active stratovolcano and took breathtaking images of the snowy summit and bright starry nights.

She also filmed the difficulties she encountered cooking food and weathering a strong storm in her tent one night.

Perla on previous expeditions. (Jam Press/@perlatijerina_)

Before climbing to the summit, she spent a week acclimatising to altitudes (Jam Press/@perlatijerina_)

Perla said: "I've been with nature, with God, with myself. This place is magical."

Before climbing to the summit, she spent a week acclimatising to altitudes of between 3,000 and 5,000 metres.

Perla told Jam Press: "I like to test my mental strength. It led me to carry out this great challenge, which I've named the 'tall woman'.
"I want to be an inspiration for all those women who are looking for a motivation that encourages them to continue making an effort, to be constant, and to never give up despite the obstacles."

She added: "I am never alone, I have too many books to read, and I meditate.

"I have the bible that I read at all times to keep me spiritually and mentally strong."

Perla said she is currently planning expeditions to Chile, Peru and Bolivia for later this year.

Her dream is to climb one of the world's 14 mountains that are taller than 8,000 metres without any additional oxygen.

She said her "biggest dream" is to climb Pakistan's K2, the planet's second-highest mountain.

Mountaineering records are dominated by climbers who were the fastest or first to scale a peak, but records of spending long periods of time at high altitudes are rare.

Spanish mountaineer, Fernando Garrido is the record holder, with 62 days spent on top of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in Latin America, back in 1986.

Rachel Hagan