RI woman the first SE Asian to conquer Mount Everest

RI woman the first SE Asian to conquer Mount Everest

JAKARTA (JP): Clara Sumarwati became the first Indonesian, and
the first Southeast Asian, to reach the 8,848-meter summit of Mt.
Everest when she planted the Indonesian flag into the snow-capped
peak on Sept. 26.

"We have succeeded in conquering Everest! My dream has come
true. I am very, very happy!" Clara was quoted by her sister
Florentina Sumarwantini as saying through a borrowed radiophone,
which transmitted the good news by satellite the following day.

"Clara told me she was on the way down. She plans to reach
Camp One on Oct. 11," Florentina told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The proud sister added that Clara, who was accompanied by an
officer of the Army's special force, Gibang Basuki, reached the
peak together with the Africa Group, from whom she borrowed the
radiophone. It was not clear whether the group came from Africa
or whether Africa was just the name of the group.

Florentina was unable to say when Clara would return to
Indonesia. "She hasn't told me when she would return home,"
Florentina said.

Clara started climbing Everest on Aug. 12 after securing
financial support from the State Secretariat and the National
Sports Council. She obtained a permit from the China
Mountaineering Association to attempt the North Face and was
helped by seven Serpas during the climbing.

It was Clara's second time climbing Everest. She visited the
mountain's 8,200-meter South Col Camp Four in 1994. At that time
she could not advance to the peak because of rough weather and
avalanches on the Nepalese route.

Clara, who was born in Yogyakarta on July 28, 1967, is a
seasoned mountain climber. She reached the 7,525-meter zenith of
Nepal's Anapurna Four in 1990 and the 6,959-meter peak of
Argentina's Aconcagua in 1992. (arf)