Fallen heroes remembered on 10th anniversary of deaths

Fallen heroes remembered on 10th anniversary of deaths

The country was saddened in mid-April 1992 by the loss of two
of its best mountain climbers, Norman Edwin and Didiek Samsu
Wahyu Triachdi. National and international media devoted
extensive coverage to the deaths of the duo.

Leading members of the University of Indonesia's Mapala UI
sports nature club, the men died trying to climb the 6,959-meter
Mt. Aconcagua (locally called Kon Kawa) in Chili. Often termed
"the Devil's Mountain" because of unpredictable weather and snow
storms that can last for days in the area, Aconcagua was among
the destinations on the Seven Summit expedition of Mapala UI.

Known for his power and speed, Norman, a member of Mapala UI
since 1977 who had extensive experience and education in caving,
mountain climbing, sailing, rafting and rescue efforts from Irian
Jaya, Kalimantan to Africa, Canada, Russia and the Himalayas, led
the Aconcagua expedition with Didiek as his deputy, Rudy "Becak"
Nurcahyo, Mohamad Fayez and Dian Hapsari, the only woman climber
in the group.

Before the trip, few would have doubted that Norman, who
worked a journalist for Kompas daily, would make it home,
considering his escape from many dangerous experiences during his
15 years of nature sport experience.

The body of Didiek, who worked for the now defunct Jakarta
Jakarta magazine, was found first around March 23 to March 24,
1992, after other climbers reported last seeing Norman, 37, and
Didiek, 31, together at an altitude of 6,400 meters, only a few
hundred meters from the summit.

It was said that they were both were very ill: Norman had just
lost parts of his fingers due to frostbite, and Didiek had eye
problems (it was probably snow blindness, a temporary loss of
vision due to rays of the sun at high altitude, as it is believed
his goggles were damaged).

Norman's body was found several days after and both bodies
were evacuated to Jakarta on April 21, 1992. Media reports months
later cited poor equipment as the cause of the accidents.

Before the Aconcagua incident, Mapala UI had managed to scale
four mountains of the seven: Cartenz Pyramid (4,884 meters) in
Irian Jaya; McKinley (6,194 meters) in Alaska, United States;
Kilimanjaro (5,894 meters) in Tanzania; and Elbrus (5,633 meters)
in the former Soviet Union.

The next year after the tragedy, Mapala UI's Tantyo Bangun and
Ripto Mulyono completed the unfinished expedition and scaled
Aconcagua. In 1994, the group changed the title of the expedition
into the University of Indonesia Expedition and tried csacle
Vinson Massif (4,887 meters) in the South Pole and Everest in the
Himalayas, but failed.

Mapala UI is lifetime membership for students, and therefore
any qualified individual in the group can join the expedition
long after they have graduated.

"We would love to continue to the last two destinations in the
seven summit expedition. In 1997, Mapala UI joined the National
Mt. Everest expedition in collaboration with Kopassus (the Army's
Special Force) and Wanadri, and the Indonesian team managed to
reach the peak of Everest and the sumitters were both soldiers,
Asmujiono and Misirin," said Rudy "Becak" Nurcahyo, member of
Indonesian National Team to Everest who lost parts of his fingers
due to frostbite in Aconcagua expedition.

"But, after 1997, the economic crisis hit the country and with
the rough reforms period which followed soon after..
automatically there has been no extensive mountain expedition

"Well, at least we have tried the best possible thing ...
Norman and Didiek will be smiling up there."

For Norman's wife Karina Arifin and now 17-year-old daughter
Melati, there will always be the memories of their warm and
eccentric loved one. Norman would bring Melati along on outdoor
activities, including a trip to Irian Jaya, when she was still
small.

"Norman had a progressive view compared to those climbers in
the 1970s and 1980s. He respected women, and he believed that
women can do a better job than men, because women are more
thorough and concerned for safety, such as in caving," recalled
Karina, also a nature-sport activist who returned from Australia
last year and lectures at the archeology department in the
University of Indonesia.

"Norman said that women nature activists are relatively calm
and could handle an emergency situation quite well compare to men
and they do not easily panic. He was funny and full of life. He's
also very close to Didiek.

Karina was on the same team with Norman that climbed Irian
Jaya's Cartenz expedition in 1981.

Karina, who is still striving to finish her doctorate from
Australian National University and had to return to Indonesia
after her scholarship ran out, expressed support for daughter
Melati, who is now also interested in outdoor activities such as
wall climbing.

"Melati is so much like her father. In her teens, she seems
mature and wise. One thing that I've learned is that the most
important thing in high-risk nature sport is that we aren't out
there to conquer the wild. We are there to conquer ourselves, our
ego and learn our limitations.

"Climbing Everest, for instance, needs a relatively mature
climber with wisdom and experience. Every climber has to know
when to push forward and when to stop and return for safety.

"Never do it because you want to get famous... This trait is
what I feel is happening also in Mapala UI. Some of them are in
it for the fame, not because of pure dedication."

Melati who is completing her final year of high school at
Dickson College in Canberra, Australia, recounted the fun she had
rafting with her father.

"We shouted 'Bonus!!' everytime we were about to pass a huge
river stream.. I love sports and now I'm studying karate and wall
climbing. Dad inspired me with courage, and that we mustn't have
doubts about trying high-risk sports.

"I'm proud to have him as my dad, even though it was for a
very short time," Melati said in a phone interview from Canberra.

Besides sports, Melati is very fond of films, and has made
several. She hopes to study at either the Jakarta Institute of
Art of UI, with future hopes to become a journalist.

Becak and Ripto remembered the lessons they learned from their
friends and climbing partners Norman and Didiek.

"Both Norman and Didiek were lucky that they had a job that
suited their craze for climbing and outdoor sports. Their
extraordinary achievement and determination are the legacies and
inspirations to other Indonesian climbers... not to mention
their humor and bravery to risk their lives for other climbers,"
Ripto said. (Edith Hartanto)