Mexican mountaineer sets Guinness Record after conquering world’s highest peaks and summits

Viridiana Álvarez, a 39-year-old mountaineer from the metropolis of Aguascalientes, was honored with a Guinness World Record connected Monday for becoming the archetypal pistillate to acme each of the world’s 14 peaks supra 8,000 meters and the Seven Summits, the highest mountains connected each continent.

Álvarez, who began her decade-long quest successful January 2015, completed her last ascent connected Oct. 12, 2024, scaling the Indonesian upland known arsenic Carstensz Pyramid and Puncak Jaya.

“I’m precise excited to person this grounds due to the fact that it’s impervious erstwhile again that dreams bash travel true,” she said astatine the Mexico City ceremony, noting she started mountaineering astatine 30 contempt her landlocked location state having nary mountains.

Two years ago, Álvarez was honored for becoming the archetypal pistillate successful the Americas to ascent the world’s 5 highest mountains: Mount Everest, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu.

Three years earlier that, she received a Guinness World Record by scaling the 3 tallest peaks — Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga — successful the shortest clip connected record: 1 twelvemonth and 364 days. Her class was for females who utilized supplementary oxygen.

She is besides the archetypal Latin American to ascent K2, the second-highest upland successful the satellite and regarded arsenic the deadliest, with astir 1 idiosyncratic dying connected the upland for each 4 who scope the summit.

In 2022, she became the archetypal Mexican pistillate inducted into mountaineering’s Hall of Fame.

At Monday’s ceremonial successful Mexico City, Guinness typical Alfredo Arista praised the trailblazer for her “effort, sacrifice and passion,” calling the accomplishment “no casual feat.”

Álvarez, whose acquisition includes the Women’s Leadership Program astatine Yale University’s postgraduate concern school, described the peaks of Everest, K2 and Annapurna arsenic “special” owed to their carnal and affectional challenges. She astir died portion climbing K2.

Álvarez discontinue her bureau occupation — she had worked 10 years successful the automotive and manufacturing industries — to prosecute mountaineering. She present serves arsenic a nationalist talker who promotes messages astir breaking paradigms, particularly to youth, and presides implicit Líderes de Altura (Height Leaders), a nonprofit that focuses connected societal causes and assemblage improvement.

Álvarez began her travel by reaching the acme of 8,848-meter Mount Everest (Asia) connected May 16, 2017 — her archetypal of the Seven Summits. The others: Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Elbrus (Europe), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Carstensz (Oceania) and Mount Vinson (Antarctica).

“She’s proven that quality limits are made to beryllium surpassed,” said Arista.

With reports from Milenio, La Jornada, Guinness World Records and El Sol del Centro