KABARDINO-BALKARIA, RUSSIA: Despite bad weather, a member of the Srikandi Prihatin Expedition (KSP) reached the summit of 5,642m high Mount Elbrus in Russia, and flew the Jalur Gemilang at its peak.
KSP programme director, Ummu Farah Haidar Zulkifli, 30, reached Europe's highest peak together with six other climbers at about 12.15pm Russian local time (GMT+3).
The National Adventure Association (NAA) said in a statement the success of the expedition was all the more meaningful in conjunction with the 60th National Day celebrations.
Organised by NAA, the expedition is supported by Puteri Umno with Harian Metro as the official media.
The Mount Elbrus expedition is conducted in conjunction with the Negaraku campaign, an initiative under the Prime Minister's Office which is aimed at cultivating patriotism, love and loyalty among Malaysians.
NAA deputy president and programme coordinator Ahmad Fakhri Abu Samah said the other six climbers who reached the peak were from climbing outfit Team ONE. They were also participants of the Negaraku campaign.
Ahmad Fakhri said the climbers had attempted to reach the summit of Mount Elbrus on August 31 but were forced to turn around due to bad weather.
"The KSP team made a second attempt to scale the peak at 2am on Saturday (September 2) despite strong winds and temperature dropping to -15 degrees Celsius.
"As they reached the altitude between 5,000 meters and 5,150 meters, five climbers from KSP were unable to continue due to extreme cold.
"However, Ummu Farah managed to overcome the obstacle and continue to summit the peak," he said.
The other members of the KSP are cancer survivor Rene'e Aziz Ahmad, 56, Puteri Umno members Nurul Huda Samsuddin, 31, Nir Azmin Adnan, 34, Fazilah Abd Manan, 41, and the writer, 35, who is a Harian Metro journalist.
Ahmad Fakhri pointed out that in attempting to summit the peak, several factors and challenges faced by the team had to be taken into account.
The concerns included cyclones, snowstorms and the recent natural disaster which which affected the areas around Mount Elbrus, cutting off food supply and electricity.
He added that all climbers managed to reach Barrels Huts Base Camp at about 4.15pm.
About an hour later, they were transported down to Terskol Village through Azau on an army truck.
"It is learned that all foreign visitors including 16 Malaysian climbers will be transported out of Terskol using air transport provided by the Russian authorities to safety today (Sunday)," he said.
At least 215 tourists, including more than 100 foreigners, have been evacuated from the mountainous Elbrus area of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic in the Russian Caucasus following a mudslide which washed out roads connecting the area to other parts of the region.
According to Russian media quoting Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, the mudflow struck early on Friday near the villages of Elbrus and Upper Baksan in the southwest of the republic, trapping more than 7,000 people in the area.