Carla’s father introduced her to the mountains at the age of 4, when he took her to the top of a 14,000-foot volcano near their home in Quito, Ecuador. That trip inspired a passion for high places and set the trajectory of her life. After she started seriously climbing as a teenager, Carla’s love of the mountains took her to the French Alps, where she studied geology and got a masters’ degree in geochemistry. But when she was offered a lucrative job at one of the world’s largest oil-field services companies, she turned it down to pursue a career as a mountain guide. Now a certified member of the Ecuadorian Association of Mountain Guides, she also works with Eddie Bauer teammate Adrian Ballinger’s Alpenglow Expeditions and is on her way to earning her IFMGA certification.

With her big-mountain accomplishments, including summits of three 8000ers without supplemental oxygen, and the south face of Aconcagua, Carla has become a role model for women and girls throughout South America and around the world. She travels internationally, guiding and speaking about her climbing career.

Her ability to maintain peace and open communication amidst the stress of expeditions makes her an extraordinary leader and a highly respected team member. At home in Ecuador, she directs a social project, Mas Allá De Una Cima (“Beyond A Peak”), that helps people with mental disabilities or limited means participate in outdoor activities in the Ecuadorian Andes.