Flor "Hirkawarmi" Cuenca is a Peruvian climber. She is the first Peruvian woman to have reached the summit of 11
eight-thousanders
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defi ...
without supplemental oxygen.
She is the first Peruvian to have climbed
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I, originally surveyed as K5, and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located between Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan and Tashkurgan in the Xi ...
(8068 m),
K2 (8611 m) and
Kanchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...
(8586 m).
Background
Flor Cuenca was born in Chuspín,
Casca District. She is the third of 14 children, born into a farming family, where she had to climb 1,000m to tend her family's sheep.
Growing up in the
Ancash
Ancash (; ) is a department and region in western Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, an ...
region of the Andes, she made her first summit of 4,500m at "7 or 8" years old.
She moved to Lima to train as a tourist guide at the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Eleazar Guzmán Barrón in
Huaraz
Huaraz () (from Quechua: ''Waraq'' or ''Warash'', "''dawn''"), formerly designated as San Sebastián de Huaraz, is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Ancash Region (State of Ancash) and the seat of government of Huaraz Province. The urb ...
, as she felt it would be the right career to help her stay close to the mountains.
In 2006, she moved to Europe on a student visa to learn German.
She decided to stay in Germany as she could earn enough income to self-fund her expeditions, which was not possible in Peru.
Since 2008, she has been living in
Karlsruhe, Germany
Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
, and is a member of the
German Alpine Club
The German Alpine Club (, DAV for short) is the world's largest climbing association and the eighth-largest sporting association in Germany. It is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the competent body for sport and competiti ...
.
She is also known as "Hirkawarmi", which is
Ancash Quechua
Ancash Quechua ( , or less often ), also Huaylay or Waylay in linguistic terminology, is a Quechua variety spoken in the Peruvian department of Ancash by approximately 1,000,000 people. Like Wanka Quechua, it belongs to Quechua I (according to ...
for "mountain woman".
Mountaineering
Flor is known for her lean expeditions, self-funded, without sherpas, sponsorship and without supplemental oxygen.
She is critical of large expeditions that leave garbage, waste, old tents and used O2 canisters across the Himalayas and
Karakoram
The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...
, and has sought to bring attention to the issue.
In 2025, when two Nepali sherpas were killed in an avalanche while ferrying oxygen containers on Annapurna, Cuenca was openly critical of conditions that the sherpas were working in, which cost their lives. Writing on Instagram, she said, "In every expedition in the Himalaya, in every accident, there are always the Sherpas who pay with their lives… They die serving people, opening routes, and carrying equipment up and down for tourists. If we go back in history, many have also died due to the negligence, stubbornness, or selfishness of their clients."
Summits of eight-thousanders
She started the project "
Hijas de la Montaña'" in an effort to lead the first Peruvian female expedition in the Himalayas. The project, aims to send five women from the
Peruvian Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
, including Flor, to climb
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 ...
and advocate for environmental sustainability and gender equality. The project plans to bring more than 100 kg of trash down from base camp during the expedition.
In 2023, she was named to the
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
50 Most Powerful Women in Peru List.
See also
*
Luis Stitzinger
*
Silvia Vásquez-Lavado
References
{{Authority control
Peruvian mountain climbers
Summiters of K2
Summiters of Broad Peak
1977 births
Living people
Peruvian female climbers