Two Female Students Hoist National Flag on Mt. Everest, Conquer Seven Summits
Students Fransiska “Deedee” “Hilda” Dwi Lestari hoisted the national flag on the peak of Mount Everest, 8,848 meters above sea level, on Thursday morning.
The two climbers, both members of the Women of Indonesia’s Seven Summits Expedition Mahitala Unpar (WISSEMU), reached the peak at 5:50 a.m. local time.
“Thank God, the summit! Today, May 17, 2018, at 5:50 a.m. Sang Saka Merah Putih (Red and White National Flag) was hoisted on the peak of Mount Everest. Indonesian flags [have reached] seven of the world’s highest points. We present this achievement for national unity. It is for you, Indonesia. Thank you very much, Unpar, Mahitala, Bank BRI, Multikarya Asia Pasifik Raya,” said Hilda via text message.
Deedee and Hilda began climbing Mount Everest from Camp 3 (8,225 m above sea level), and during the 6.5-hour journey, they had to fight through strong winds and extreme weather at -25° C.
The achievement completes their mission to hoist the national flag on the tallest mountains of each of the seven continents. Their first trek took place in April 2014 on Cartenz Pyramid peak (4,884 m above sea level).
Prior to conquering Mt. Everest, Deedee and Hilda had also climbed Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m), Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 m), Mt. Aconcagua (6,962 m) and Mt. Vinson Massif (4,892 m). In July 2017, they climbed Mt. Denali (6,190 m) in Alaska.
Deedee and Hilda, who are currently students at Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, departed from Indonesia to climb Mt. Everest on March 29.
After hoisting the flag on Mt. Everest, the two climbers will need to return to the starting point, which takes around nine to 11 hours.
The two students made history as the first Indonesian female team that has climbed the seven summits.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo congratulated the two students via his official Twitter account.
“Indonesia is proud [to see] Fransiska Dimitri and Mathilda Dwi Lestari’s achievement in hoisting the Red and White national flag on the peak of Mt. Everest. Two srikandi (women warriors) that conquered the seven summits. Amazing,” said Jokowi.
Courtesy : The Jakarta Post
Photo : detikNews
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