Ice Climbing in Skirts? For These Bolivian Women, It’s Power.

In a sport of many shoulds and should nots, rules and taboos, the climbing Cholitas of Bolivia could care less what you think. The reason may lie in the word “cholita” itself. It’s originally a derogatory term stemming from the Spanish slur “cholo,” meaning mixed race or Indigenous with defamatory canine undertones. But the Indigenous Aymara women of Bolivia have chosen to reclaim and rebrand the slur. Today, there are skateboarding cholitas, fighting cholitas (wrestlers), and climbing cholitas.

Several years ago, I saw a picture of these women ice climbing in their traditional dress, their bold colors striking against the bluish white of frozen water. Climbing with crampons in a wide pleated skirt seemed like a massive challenge, though they appeared unbothered by their non-technical clothing. Considering my own challenges poking holes in the hems of the ski pants I first climbed in before acquiring gaiters or ice climbing pants, I was duly impressed. And I had questions.

How did these women manage to climb mountains and water ice in those beautiful yet bulky skirts? How did they wear harnesses with their polleras? And what led them to get into climbing in the first place?

My curiosity led me to message a leader in the movement, Cecilia Llusco, on WhatsApp. Llusco doesn’t speak English, so I texted with her using my mediocre Spanish. She told me that she established what was the first of several Cholitas Escaladoras movements in Bolivia. Soon after, I found Manuel Seoane, a Bolivian bilingual photojournalist based in La Paz, about a 45-minute drive from El Alto, where Llusco lives.

In May, Seoane met up with Llusco and a fellow cholita, Natalia Tarqui, to record an interview and film them climbing up the Bolivian peak Huayna Potosi. A decade ago, this peak was Llusco’s first summit. One day, when she can save up enough money, she hopes to finally stage a proper wedding with her husband atop the mountain, surrounded by her cholita companions.

Here, Llusco shared the moment she first began to dream of standing on a summit, the logistics of climbing in a skirt, and how climbing has changed her life for good.

Cecilia Llusco’s Story

I am the founder of the first group of cholita climbers. We are a group of Indigenous Aymara women who wear a pollera (skirt). We founded the Cholita Escaladora in 2015 because there was a lot of femicide and discrimination against women in pollera.

I was born in the Chucura Community in Murillo Province, a tourist destination. I left my hometown a long time ago, but sometimes I visit. When I was eight years old, I went to Huayna Potosi for the first time. I saw a very beautiful mountain that was all white with snow. I said, “Why can’t I climb it? How does it feel to be up there?” It became a dream I had as a child. I worked with my father then, so I did not know anything. It was just a dream.

But then I grew up and I worked as a porter. I met many women along the way working as porters, as cooks. It was not easy for us to climb a mountain. It has always been complicated to get equipment. I would have started climbing earlier, but we did not have the equipment.

In 2015, I said, “Why can’t we women climb to the top of mountains—with our clothes—and share a message of empowerment for women?” 

On Establishing the Group Cholitas Escaladoras 

I founded the group Cholitas with Lidia Huayllas, who is a cook in the tourism industry. We got the women together to share the dream that each one of us had.

We climbed our first mountain on December 17, 2015: Huayna Potosi (6,088m). There were 11 women. It was very beautiful to share this with them. We never imagined that we were going to be on television or in other countries.

When we were at the high camp, we received a lot of criticism from male guides, who questioned us about what we were doing on the mountain. They were saying that because of us, it was not going to snow on the mountain, or that we are going to have accidents because of our skirts.

We have received a lot of criticism and a lot of discrimination. But we have “covered our ears” and moved forward with strength. We reached the top without any problems. As 11 Indigenous women, we reached 6,088 meters. When we crowned the summit, we promised that we will not leave this achievement here. We will continue climbing more mountains. As we have conquered Huayna Potosi, we will continue conquering more mountains.

How and Why Cholitas Climb in Pollera (skirts)

I had the idea of putting the harness on the inside [of the skirts], through the seam. We pull the harness up through the top of the skirt, through the inside. 

To climb an ice wall, the skirt is a bit complicated to use with crampons. We pull the front of the skirt around and over our waist, so that we don’t trip. 

Of course, it was difficult at the beginning for each of us to use the crampons and the skirts, because it is not easy, as many say. But even though it is not easy, nothing is impossible for women. We can achieve anything we set our minds to. We have always managed to do everything with our clothes.

Many people think that we take our skirts off [when we climb] and put them back on at the top, but we don’t. I have been used to it since I was a child. I have already adapted to it. With the crampons, it has been a little difficult, but we have already learned it.

Now as a high mountain guide, I have much more experience moving in the skirt. People want to go climb with the cholitas climbers. For me, it is a pride to wear my dress, and to represent the Indigenous Aymara women and all women.

So we continue to wear our skirts. We don’t want to take them off for any reason. 

When people ask us, “Do you have to take off your skirts to climb Everest?” I say, “We are not going to take off our skirts.” 

[They ask:] “But how are you going to put them on with the down overalls?” We know how to put them on and we will never take off our skirts.

Now we are trained to handle our skirts, because on Illimani and on Huayna [Potosi], we broke many petticoats with the crampons. Suddenly, it would get caught and break. It’s a thin fabric, so it rips easily. I have destroyed two sets of skirts to get to know the mountains in Bolivia. After that, we got better [at climbing in skirts] and now we don’t break the petticoats anymore.

The Gear Crux of the Cholitas

We cholitas have never had equipment, because it is difficult to get it here in Bolivia. We have always rented the boots, the crampons, and the harness. All those things are very important in the mountains for us, but we don’t have the equipment. For myself, I have a helmet, which I got from the film [the 2019 documentary Cholitas]. The rest, we don’t have.

The boots, the crampons, the ice axes, the helmet, and the harness are the most important things that we need. Also the screws, the ATC, the rope—all that we still rent.

The Eight-Mountain Project

We made a project to climb eight mountains of more than 6,000 meters and we committed.

We were thinking about being accompanied by our husbands, since most of them are mountain guides. They also helped us learn. They were the ones who supported us and told us: You are strong and brave women. You can also conquer mountains outside the country and climb the highest mountain in South America. We were already dreaming of leaving the country, but first, we had to climb all the mountains in Bolivia.

Our second mountain was Acotango [6,052m; on the border of Bolivia and Chile]. The third mountain was Illimani [6,402m; Bolivia]. The fourth mountain was Parinacota [6,336m; on the border of Bolivia and Chile]. Then Sajama [6,542m; Bolivia]. Finally, we climbed Aconcagua [6,959m; Argentina] outside the country, which is in the documentary film called Cholitas. For recording or filming any stories, they come from outside the country. It is very sad that in Bolivia, we do not have that support. 

It has been very difficult, but we have broken many barriers and we have become very empowered. Nothing and nobody is going to stop us. We are going to keep going, keep climbing more mountains.

Llusco’s Guiding Work

They [clients] contact me directly through my Instagram and tell me they want to go with me personally. As I do not have equipment, I have to rent for me and for the clients, too. Many of them do have equipment.

In Huayna Potosi or [Pequeño] Alpamayo, I usually guide alone. On Illimani, I need some help, but now I am training myself with some courses in first aid, rescue, and high-altitude mountaineering.

When I go as a guide, I do not miss [the opportunity] to train on the glacier of Huayna Potosi. The ice wall has an inclination of about 100 degrees, and it’s about 30 or 40 meters high.

“Un Sueño Más Grande”

After Aconcagua, we had a bigger dream, which is Mount Everest. That is my big dream. Someday I plan to achieve it with at least one companion, to carry the name of the group. I hope someday I can fulfill my dream. 

Our goal is to climb Everest on the Nepal side in 2026. We will have a crowdfunding account so people can support us there. I have to train constantly to go to the highest mountain in the world. 

This year, I have my climbing dates already planned. I have to climb the French route [up Huayna Potosi], which is the direct route. It has 450 meters of climbing with different techniques. Then I am going to climb the most difficult mountain in Bolivia—Illampu [6,368m]—in the middle of June. It is usually done in seven days, but I will do it in two days.

So that is my dream that I have—let’s say, my project. 

The Next Generation of Cholitas

The new generation for us is a great joy, because the years do not pass in vain. We are getting older, so we are motivating the young girls who are now the new generation. There are also 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds, who are now coming with us and learning from us.

My daughter Camila, for example, I climbed with her when she was 13 years old. Her first mountain was the small Alpamayo [5,425m], which is a little more technical. She had learned with her father before that and now she manages very well. I would say she is better than me.

One day, we were filming with a German channel, and my little girl wanted to go. “I want to know the mountain. I want to see how they climb,” she said. She was curious, the six-year-old girl. So we took her to the glacier. 

I like the young ones to come with us, so that there is a new generation and that we continue to move forward. It would be incredible for us to have a bigger group.

How Climbing Has Changed Llusco’s Life

Among the group of cholitas who have already left the country, we have left our fear on Aconcagua. Now we know how to express ourselves a little bit. Before, we were afraid to express ourselves on television. “I might speak badly,” we thought. But now we are no longer afraid. 

It has also changed our family. Now, for example, in my family I say: “I am traveling. I am going to travel, I am traveling to Spain. I am going.”

Then I went to Aconcagua again. I told my husband: “I am traveling—you have to support me.” Without thinking about it, I signed up for a project for women of the world. So I said, “I have to travel and you stay with the children.” 

Before it was different. It has changed my life and that of each of the cholitas as well. I have seen it, but it has been incredible, for the good of all women. 

Also, because my husband is very good, thanks to him, I’ve learned many things. He understands me, he teaches me. He tells me: “Go on, good luck, enjoy yourself.” And my children also say: “Good luck, mom, good luck. You are going to bring us the medal.” And the medal, for them, is to reach the top of the mountains and to say, “Here I am. I made it.” 

Watch Llusco and Another Cholita Climbing This Past May on Huayna Potosi in Bolivia

You can find more information about Llusco’s goal of climbing Everest in 2026—and how to support her and the Cholitas Escaladoras—here. The Cholitas are also looking for gear sponsors for Everest and other climbing projects.

About the photographer/videographer: Manuel Seoane is a Bolivian freelance photojournalist and hydrologist. His work has reached the final rounds in World Press Photo Contests. Since 2018, he has been part of the National Geographic Explorers program. He is a Reuters and Pulitzer Center fellow who has worked on projects with Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more publications. He studied photojournalism at DMJX in Denmark.