All-woman mountain climbing team returns from Russia
SEPANG: After being hit by severe weather at Mount Elbrus in Russia, six Malaysian hikers are relieved to have made it home safely.
And to cap their achievement, team captain Ummu Farah Haidar Zulkifli made it to the peak of the mountain, where she put up the Jalur Gemilang.
Her five other mates in the all-girl squad were not able to catch up with her as she soldiered on despite strong winds and temperatures hitting -15°C.
“Even though the rest of my team weren’t able to go on, I kept on and carried their prayers and spirit with me,” she told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after the team landed here yesterday.
It took Ummu Farah about nine hours to reach the top, which is slower than usual, due to the extreme weather.
It was also the team’s second attempt as they could not complete the hike on Aug 31 when the weather was even worse.
At the airport, the six were received by Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin and National Adventure Association president Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Mohd Yunus.
Mount Elbrus made the news when a mudslide hit a village near the mountain.
While the incident occurred far away from where the hikers were, the mudslide caused a delay in transporting the hikers out of the mountain.
Organised by the National Adventure Association and Puteri Umno, the Kembara Srikandi Prihatin expedition began on Aug 23.
The others on the team were Renee Aziz Ahmad, Nurul Huda Samsuddin, Nir Azmin Adnan, Fazilah Abd Manan and Fairul Asmaini Mohd Pilus.
Mohd Khalid said the expedition, which is also organised as part of the Negaraku campaign, will be held annually.