Black Diamond Global Athlete

ESTEBAN 'TOPO' MENA

Passionate mountaineer. Topo discovered climbing in the Andes of Ecuador where he was born. At age 14 as a disciplinary measure in school he was punished by having to participate in the activities organized by the school´s mountaineering club. The punishment quickly became an obsession, and all the struggles in the big mountains transformed into the masters that have shaped Topo´s life. Since the beginning of his career, high altitude has set the pulse of his path in the sport. Certified Internationally as a Mountain Guide, Topo has led expeditions to the highest summits; in his personal climbing life he has participated in grade VI first ascents in the Himalayas and in the Tien Shan, unsupported ascents without supplementary oxygen of 8000m peaks (including Mount Everest in 2013 at age 23 during his first expedition to the mountain), and numerous ascents pursuing difficulty or speed in his beloved Andes, or in the Himalayas, Karakorum, Alps, Tien Shan, Pamirs and Antarctica.