Reflexiones de alta montaña: lecciones aprendidas al observar el retroceso glaciar en el norte de los Andes

Abstract

Since my early childhood in the 1990s, I heard about climate change, but it was during my college years in the late 2000s that I learned more deeply about the subject. However, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my path would lead me to witness its devastating effects so closely. This article brings together reflections from multiple trips and field expeditions to four glaciers in the northern Andes, but focuses on my experience on the Humboldt Peak glacier in Venezuela. These reflections are a critical look from the perspective of a lichen ecologist in training, but above all, from a Latin American woman who grew up in the lowlands, unaware of the wonders of our Andean mountain range. These reflections were also informed by conversations with a multitude of friends, scientists, and local communities with whom I have been fortunate enough to visit these places.