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)