"The Red and White flag has been hoisted by the female climbers of the WISSEMU team at the peak of Mount Aconcagua on January 31 at 5:45 a.m. local time," Head of Publication of WISSEMU of the Parahyangan University Alfons Hartanto stated here on Monday.
The three female climbers --- Fransiska Dmitri Inkiriwang (22), Mathilda Dwi Lestari (22), and Dian Indah Carolina (20) --- started their journey to Argentina on January 11, 2016, and arrived at the mountain on January 30.
They began the ascent at 4:30 a.m. local time and reached the peak at 6,962 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l) twelve hours later.
Based on the last communication with the team via a satellite phone, the three are now resting at the Refugio Berlin located at 5,930 m.a.s.l before starting their descent to Mendoza.
"The team will depart from Buenos Aires to Jakarta on February 5, 2016," Alfons remarked.
The climb to Aconcagua was scheduled to begin on January 27 but got delayed as a blizzard had occurred at the peak.
They took the normal route to reach the top of Aconcagua.
The climbers started from the Plaza de Mulaz (4,250 m.a.s.l) on January 20 and reached the next base camp called Plaza Canada (4,900 m.a.s.l) five days later.
The next day, on January 26, the three reached Nido de Condores at 5,400 m.a.s.l. and continued their journey until Refugio Berlin (5,930 m.a.s.l), the last basecamp, before starting the ascent to the peak.
Aconcagua, with its peak at 6,961 m.a.s.l (22,838 feet), is the highest mountain outside Asia and by extension, is the highest point in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. It is located in the Andes mountain range in the Mendoza Province, Argentina, and lies 112 kilometers (70 miles) northwest of its capital, the city of Mendoza.
The peak of Aconcagua is the fourth peak conquered by the WISSEMU team.
Before Aconcagua, they had climbed three mountains across the world: Carstensz Pyramid in Papua, Indonesia, on August 13 2014; Mount Elbrus in Russia on May 15, 2015; and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on May 24, 2015.
The team is expected to climb three other highest peaks in the world: Mount Vinson Massive in Antartica, Denali Kinsley in Alaska, and Everest in Nepal.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
