INTRODUCTION : Casey Beal & Todd Antony
PHOTOS : Todd Antony
These are the Cholitas Escaladoras or “Climbing Cholitas,” a group of five Aymara Indigenous women in Bolivia who are breaking stereotypes and shifting perceptions. In January 2019 they summited the 6,962 m peak of Mount Aconcagua, in Argentina, the highest mountain outside of Asia. They did so while eschewing typical climbing clothing in favour of their vibrant, billowing Andean skirts and using their traditional shawls, rather than backpacks, to carry equipment. But they decided on new hiking boots to climb the windswept slopes.
These things aren’t mismatched, despite the image we’re conditioned to expect of alpine adventurers. When these Aymara women summited one of the world’s tallest mountains wearing their culture’s traditional clothing and high-tech climbing gear, they rose above notions about what a climber looks like.
The Cholitas’ expedition to Aconcagua smashed the boundaries of expectations that we place upon women and Indigenous people. It’s a powerful reminder that “traditional” or Indigenous cultures don’t just exist in the past: they often point to better futures and new ways of looking at the present.
“We have been discriminated against for being Aymara, and for being women. Here, women are always cooking or washing. But women can also climb. On the mountain I have no thoughts; I just feel free.” —Lidia Huayllas
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Born in New Zealand and based in London, Todd Antony is a multi-award-winning photographer. His projects over the last few years have taken him to all corners of the globe as he seeks out little-known groups and subcultures. He has been working as a photographer for 16 years.
Lidia Huayllas’s quote was taken from the documentary Cholitas, directed by Jaime Murciego and Pablo Iraburu.
