World's highest peaks await Clara<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Clara Sumarwati, 35, never dreamed of becoming a mountain
\nclimber as a child. She would be scared to climb a short tree at
\nher home.<\/p>\n
But mountaineering became her greatest passion as she grew up.
\nIn 1996, she became the first women in Southeast Asia to set foot
\non the peak of 8,848-meter-high Mt. Everest.<\/p>\n
Her name is recorded as the fourth Asian woman and the 39th
\nwoman in the world to have conquered Mt. Everest. The achievement
\nwon her the Nararya Star award from the Indonesian government in
\n1996.<\/p>\n
\"I think I'm still the only ASEAN woman ever to have reached
\nthe peak of Mt. Everest,\" Clara told The Jakarta Post while doing
\nexercise at Kirana Health Club, Radisson Yogya Plaza Hotel.<\/p>\n
Currently, Clara is preparing for a solo climbing expedition
\nto four of the world's highest peaks: Mt. McKinley (or Mt.
\nDenali, as locals call it) in Alaska, Kilimanjaro in South
\nAfrica, Mt. Cook in New Zealand, Mt. Elbrus in Russia, and go on
\nexpedition to Antarctica.<\/p>\n
\"If I have the funds, I would also like to continue the
\nexpedition to Mt. Makalu in Nepal and Mt. Monterosa in
\nSwitzerland,\" said Clara.<\/p>\n
As part of her preparations, she plans to leave for the U.S.
\nin October this year, or between April 2003 and May 2003,
\ndepending on the weather there.<\/p>\n
\"I will take with me three Nepal guides for the expedition. I
\nlike the Nepalese because they do more than just lead the way:
\nThey also help carry the equipment, thus lessening the burden,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Clara will drop by in Massachusetts to shop for equipment and
\njoin a month-long practice at the American Alpine Institute as
\npart of her final preparations, before starting the Rp 1.5
\nbillion (about US$165,000) expedition.<\/p>\n
She started preparing early this year under the supervision of
\nfitness consultant Joko Pekik of Yogyakarta State University
\nsports school. A comprehensive program has been prepared for
\nClara to train partly in Yogyakarta and mostly in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The preparation program includes a three-times-a-week slow
\ncontinuous run for some 10 minutes to 15 minutes; twice-a-week
\nfitness and aerobic exercises, a once-a-month high altitude
\nexercise in Gunung Gede Pangrango, West Java, a once-a-month
\nrock-climbing exercise in Citatah (also West Java),
\nand a strict low-fat diet.<\/p>\n
Clara is required to undergo high-altitude testing at Lakespra
\nSaryanto space institution, Jakarta, every three months and
\nanother test of her maximum oxygen capacity at the Ministry of
\nNational Education in Jakarta, also once every three months.<\/p>\n
\"Rigorous preparation is vital for the expedition. Lack of
\npreparation could result in failure,\" said Clara.<\/p>\n
Born in Yogyakarta in July on 8, 1967, the sixth daughter of
\nthe eight siblings of Marcus Mariun and Ana Suwarti, Clara's
\nchildhood dream was to become a legal expert. But she could not
\nsay no when her elder brother enrolled her to study educational
\npsychology at Atmajaya University in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Then I had wanted to become a guidance and counseling teacher
\nat high school,\" she said.<\/p>\n
But destiny took another turn. After finishing her
\nuniversity studies in 1990, she joined an expedition to Nepal to
\nconquer the peak of Anapurna IV 7,525 meters above sea level.<\/p>\n
Luck was not on her side. She had to stop at Camp 2 (at 7,000
\nmeters above sea level) because the oxygen that the team carried
\nwas insufficient to continue the journey.<\/p>\n
Her climbing spirits were high after she succeeded in
\nconquering Aconcagua in Chile.<\/p>\n
Her second attempt on Mt. Everest ended in failure in 1994 due
\nto bad weather on the southern route (the South Col). She made
\nanother attempt in 1996, this time taking the North Col, where
\nshe sustained minor frostbite in one hand. She made it.<\/p>\n
\"When I realized I'd been frostbitten, I quickly took off the
\nglove, which I later found out had a leak, and put my hand in my
\narmpit before putting on a dry substitute glove,\" Clara recalled.<\/p>\n
Her passion for mountaineering grew out of her curiosity about
\nwhy most climbers failed to reach the world's highest peaks.<\/p>\n
\"I found out later that it was mostly due to their lack of
\npreparation and patience,\" Clara said. The lack of preparation
\nmake the climber vulnerable to \"mountain sickness\".<\/p>\n
\"Patience, too, determines the climber's success. Sometimes, a
\nclimber lacks the patience to wait for good weather to continue
\nthe expedition. If he insists on going ahead in bad weather, he
\nwill likely fail,\" said Clara.<\/p>\n
She has also planned to join the Asian women's team comprising
\nwomen mountain climbers from Indonesia, Japan, India, Nepal,
\nMalaysia and Thailand, for another expedition to Mt. Everest via
\nthe South Col route, which Clara failed to complete in 1994.<\/p>\n
\"I want to make up for my failure in 1994,\" said Clara, who is
\nalso planning to establish the Indonesian Mountaineering
\nAssociation within two years.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/worlds-highest-peaks-await-clara-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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