Indonesians reach Mt. Everest peak

Two Indonesian mountain climbers reached the top of Mt. Everest from Tibet on Saturday and placed the Indonesian flag at its peak.

The journey was the finish line of a two-year Seven Summits Expedition by a team of Indonesians intent on climbing seven of the world’s tallest mountains.

The climbers, Iwan Irawan and Nurhuda, are members of the Nature Lovers Society (Wanadri), an Indonesian mountaineering group.

With the new inclusion of Mt. Everest, the climbers have conquered all seven of the world’s tallest summits.

Iwan was the first to reach the peak of the 8,848-meter mountain, followed by Nurhuda and a Swedish hiker named Peter. Others who followed were three local Sherpa guides, Chirring, Tashi and Lakpa.

“Alhamdulillah [Praise God]. Allahu Akbar [God is great]. The red and white flag is waving on Mt. Everest through the north track,” said Ipong Witono, who headed the Seven Summits Expedition, in a short text message as quoted by Antara news agency.

“Thanks for the prayers, the cooperation and the guidance. Hopefully another team would reach the summit from the southern route on Sunday. Hopefully all of them will always have God’s blessing so that they can return home safely."

The south route Ipong was referring to was one of the routes which Indonesian climbers Ardeshir Yaftebbidan and Fadjri Al Luthfi were taking through Nepal to climb the mountain.

The Wanadri team, which began the expedition in April 2010, had previously climbed the 4,884-meter (above sea level) Cartensz Pyramid, or the Ndugu-Ndugu summit, in Papua, Indonesia; the 5,895-meter Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; the 5,642-meter Mt. Elbrus in Russia; the 6,962-meter Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina; the 6,194-meter Mt. McKinley in the United States; and the 4,897-meter Vinson Massif summit in Antarctica.

Text Taken From: http://thejakartapost.com