You are heading towards your final destination. You can almost see it. In fact, you are halfway there. Yet, the journey still seems so far and difficult. Somehow, everything around you seems to be preventing you from reaching there.
Your inner voice is already telling you to quit. Do you give in? Or do you keep going? This was something sixteen year old, Sara Sofea had to battle for nine days as she conquered Mount Elbrus, Russia.
As part of a collaborative effort, Sara was chosen to be a part of an expedition. The expedition was a partnership between the Jelajah Alpine Malaysia club and the Ministry of Education.
Sara holds on to our Malaysian flag at the peak of Mount Elbrus
Source: Sinar Harian
As a matter of fact, Sara’s climb was an important puzzle of the 2020 Merdeka Youth Expedition mission to hoist the Jalur Gemilang in line with the 62nd National Day.
The rocky journey first began on the 9th of August on a Thursday morning. The Form Four student from Sekolah Menengah Sains, Kuala Selangor started out with the high-altitude adjustment process in Mount Cheget and Pushtakov Rock.
“She began scaling the peak of Mount Elbrus on Thursday morning and took nearly 12 hours”, said the Malaysian Education Ministry in a statement.
Despite the hostile weather, Sara kept her fighting spirit alive and powered through the journey. At one point, Sara recalls clearly suffering from acute mountain sickness and the lack of oxygen.
Sara with members of the Education Ministry.
Source: Sinar Harian
Her efforts paid off as she is now officially the youngest climber from South East Asia to conquer Mount Elbrus!
Sara completed her journey at the peak of 5,624 meters on August 15th at 4.25pm. This remarkable accomplishment has been recognised by Abdul Halim Olimezov, the president of Russia’s Mountaineering, Rock Climbing & Sports Tourism. Her coach and father, Muhammad Illaham Ishak who was present throughout the journey was equally proud of his daughter.
Well done, Sara! You have done the nation proud and truly a source of inspiration for others youngsters out there.
* Featured image sourced from Utusan Online
