The two women’s faces were glowing; they radiated a positive aura to everyone in the audience at one of Jakarta’s five-star hotels on Monday (24/7/2017). They never stopped smiling and laughing heartily to the dozens of people in the room.
Such was the expression of utmost happiness from the two hikers from the International Relations department at Parahyangan Catholic University’s School of Social and Political Sciences in Bandung. They are Fransisca Dimitri and Mathilda Dwi Lestari, both 23 and both members of the Nature-Loving Parahyangan Students’ Club (Mahitala) who had just finished their mission to climb their sixth of the world’s seven summits – the highest peaks of the seven continents.
Their sixth summit was Mt. Denali (6,190 meters above sea level) in Alaska, the United States, which they reached on July 2 after hiking the mountain for 16 days. Before reaching Denali’s peak, they had successfully reached five other summits, namely those of Mt. Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) in Indonesia on Aug. 13, 2014; Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia on May 15, 2015; Aconcagua (6,962 meters) in Argentina on Jan. 31, 2016; Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters) in Tanzania on May 24, 2015; and Vinson Massif (4,892 meters) in Antarctica on Jan. 5, 2017.
Now, only one summit is left for them, namely Everest (8,848 meters) in Nepal. They plan to reach the top of the world next year.
This is a prestigious achievement for both students. If they successfully climb their seventh summit next year, they will be the first Indonesian women to have successfully completed the Seven Summit expedition. They will also be the first Southeast Asian women to have reached all seven summits – at least, the Reinhold Messner version.
For both, personally, the mission is a way to make their nation proud. From summit to summit, they put up the Indonesian red-and-white flag and played the angklung (traditional musical instrument).
“Many other hikers were curious about us. They asked questions about Indonesia. We also promoted the wealth of Indonesia’s natural and cultural [resources] to foreigners. This is our way of making Indonesia proud,” said Fransisca, or Deedee as she is affectionately called.
Long preparation
Fransisca and Mathilda decided to tackle the Seven Summit expedition after participating in an expedition to replace cliff ropes (fixed rope) on Carstensz Pyramid in August 2014. After the expedition, one of their seniors at Mahitala proposed to establish a team of women to do a Seven-Summit expedition. Previously, an all-male team from Mahitala had successfully completed a Seven-Summit expedition between 2009 and 2011.
The proposal drew a serious response. Registration was then opened for women interested to join the expedition. Following a strict selection process, three women were chosen, namely Fransisca, Mathilda and Dian Indah Karolina, 22.They were three of the four women participating in the mission to climb Carstensz Pyramid.
Afterward, they carried out a series of preparations. They researched field conditions and settled on the most appropriate days to climb the mountains. The most difficult preparation involved intense, military-style physical preparation and maintenance of nutritional intake.
Their preparation for climbing Denali was the most difficult one. The women needed to bring double weights of 24 kilograms each on their shoulders and pull a 16-kg tire on their waist. They did the training on a 25-kilometer uphill and downhill route through Pasar Kembang in Yogyakarta and Tangkuban Parahu in Bandung and back to Pasar Kembang.
The training went on for eight hours a day on three consecutive days, one month before their departure to Denali.
“The training was done because there was no porter in Denali and we would need to walk for up to 16 hours a day,” Deedee said.
All in all, they trained six days a week for three years.
“Sometimes we were bored from the continuous training. But stayed motivated by reminding ourselves that it is better to be drenched in sweat while training, than to be drenched in blood on the battlefield,” Deedee said.
Mountain sickness
Despite the proper preparations, no one can ever predict the real condition in the field, which is always harder than anything we could have imagined. Temperatures can change quickly and in extremes.
“Usually on top of ice mountains, the weather can be sunny in the morning and cloudy during the day or in the afternoon. Sometimes, storms occur,” said Mathilda, or Hilda to her friends and family.
As a result, mountain climbing can be extremely difficult to do. Furthermore, Mathilda and Fransisca were hit by el viento blanco (white wind). The wind, with a velocity of up to 90 km per hour, is greatly feared by hikers. It can happen suddenly and can last for two or three days. It was what killed two legendary Indonesian hikers Norwan Edwin and Didiek Samsu in April 1992.
It was also because of this wind that they were stuck for three days at base camp. On the fourth day, after the wind died down, they decided to continue their journey extra carefully.
They also faced other obstacles. Nearing the Aconcagua summit, Dian was hit with acute mountain sickness (AMS). She could not communicate properly with others and was rescued off the mountain. She did not continue the expedition.
“The incident discouraged us. But reflected on it; perhaps it was because we did not care for one another enough,” Hilda said.
Their journey to the Seven Summits of the world was not easy. It required a strong will, courage, proper preparation and prime physical condition. More than that, all the preparations would not have had such tremendous results without the support and prayers of those closest to them, including their families and friends.