by Suryani from Solo
My name is Suryani and currently I am still studying at the Faculty of Letters, Sebelas Maret University, Solo. Here, I want to share my unforgettable story once I did climbing.
Frankly, there is no mountain I have conquered. But it was a half mountain climbing that had given me a wonderful and super-exciting experience.
It was in 1999 at the Islamic New Year Eve or in Javanese we call it Malam Satu Suro. Many Javanese people, especially the old ones, believe that it is one of the most special nights in a year so it should be spent a special way as well. However, they do it in various ways. Some keep awake for the whole night, some spend it by joining the traditional celebration at town, etc. Another activity commonly done is climbing ‘Mountain Lawu’, a mountain situated east of Solo.
It was about 4pm when my friends and I arrived at the Base Camp named ‘Cemara Kandang’. I was really surprised to see so many people at the place, not only youths but also people above forty. I did not know the exact numbers. But I thought it was hundreds.
Basically, they came there with various purposes. Some, especially the old ones wanted to get the blessing of ‘the night’. Many youths did it for fun, and some did it for other purposes. I myself was part of medical team under the Voluntary Corps (Korp Sukarela), an activity unit in my university of which the activities are similar to Red Cross.
Unfortunately not so long after our arrival, rain fell. We had to cram in with others to find shelter due to the heavy rain. Since climbing was not allowed by the rescue team, we spent no less that 6 hours in extremely cold air until about 10pm when the rain was less heavy and we could finally start climbing.
For me, the journey was not easy at all because of the wet, slippery and keep ascending path. Moreover, flashlights were the only source of light we had. There were basically three posts before the top and our team would be in the 2nd.
About two and a half hours of tiring some hiking, we finally reached the 2nd post. Two friends of ours had been waiting there with a small First Aid Kit including sticks and rope to make the emergency ‘tandu’. HT (Handy Talkie) was the only communication tools enabling us to communicate with other teams.
At midnight we enjoyed the view at that place; campers, the exhausted climbers, and interestingly, a ‘warung’ (traditional food stall). On the one hand, I wondered how there could be a ‘warung’ at such a height. The owner must have worked hard to bring the fresh water, the cooking utensils, and the other stuff. On the other hand, it made us feel better for we did not need to worry about the food stock. There was ‘a service’, anyway!
Unfortunately rain started falling again and we crammed in our small tent. Suddenly a 17-year-old boy came and informed us that his girlfriend was in terrible condition at the path before the third post. He further explained that he was with 5 other teenagers, two of whom were girls. Worrying about the bad conditions, he decided to call for help to the previous post.
Then four members from our team rushed to the spot along with sticks and a sarong to make a ‘tandu’ in case the victim was too weak to walk. A sarong was preferred for there was not enough time to prepare the real ‘tandu’. It was true. About 45 minutes afterwards, they came back carrying the sick girl.
We quickly put her in the tent and gave necessary treatment. The symptoms showed that she underwent stomach cramp due to the extreme cold air. She was moaning from pain all the time. My friend and I tried to warm her with the small lamp we brought and gave her medicine. She finally got better and could sleep. Two other cases followed. One was with a broken leg and another was the same as before, stomach cramp. All those things had kept us awake until 9am the next day when the rain was still pouring down.
Despite the rain, the scenery was amazing. When I looked down, nothing but foggy white could be seen. The cool view along with the cold air made me as if I had been beyond the sky to see the cloud beneath.
One hour later the rain stopped. The second post started being busy by people coming down from the third post (only some from the top) and others who were trying to get the higher level.
Some people dropped in our camp to rest and ask for First Aid Kit. Besides that people also stopped to visit the ‘warung’. It was fun to meet people from many places. They were not only places in Central Java but also from East and West Java who specially came for ‘Malam Satu Suro’ at Mountain Lawu.
At midday, we decided to get down to the base camp. However, there was a girl with broken leg. What could we do? Once again, our ‘sarong tandu’ was the precious device used to bring her down.
Yeah, that's my climbing! No top was conquered!! It was not a big deal anyway. To me personally it is one of the most incredible experiences I'll always remember for the rest of my life.
My name is Suryani and currently I am still studying at the Faculty of Letters, Sebelas Maret University, Solo. Here, I want to share my unforgettable story once I did climbing.
Frankly, there is no mountain I have conquered. But it was a half mountain climbing that had given me a wonderful and super-exciting experience.
It was in 1999 at the Islamic New Year Eve or in Javanese we call it Malam Satu Suro. Many Javanese people, especially the old ones, believe that it is one of the most special nights in a year so it should be spent a special way as well. However, they do it in various ways. Some keep awake for the whole night, some spend it by joining the traditional celebration at town, etc. Another activity commonly done is climbing ‘Mountain Lawu’, a mountain situated east of Solo.
It was about 4pm when my friends and I arrived at the Base Camp named ‘Cemara Kandang’. I was really surprised to see so many people at the place, not only youths but also people above forty. I did not know the exact numbers. But I thought it was hundreds.
Basically, they came there with various purposes. Some, especially the old ones wanted to get the blessing of ‘the night’. Many youths did it for fun, and some did it for other purposes. I myself was part of medical team under the Voluntary Corps (Korp Sukarela), an activity unit in my university of which the activities are similar to Red Cross.
Unfortunately not so long after our arrival, rain fell. We had to cram in with others to find shelter due to the heavy rain. Since climbing was not allowed by the rescue team, we spent no less that 6 hours in extremely cold air until about 10pm when the rain was less heavy and we could finally start climbing.
For me, the journey was not easy at all because of the wet, slippery and keep ascending path. Moreover, flashlights were the only source of light we had. There were basically three posts before the top and our team would be in the 2nd.
About two and a half hours of tiring some hiking, we finally reached the 2nd post. Two friends of ours had been waiting there with a small First Aid Kit including sticks and rope to make the emergency ‘tandu’. HT (Handy Talkie) was the only communication tools enabling us to communicate with other teams.
At midnight we enjoyed the view at that place; campers, the exhausted climbers, and interestingly, a ‘warung’ (traditional food stall). On the one hand, I wondered how there could be a ‘warung’ at such a height. The owner must have worked hard to bring the fresh water, the cooking utensils, and the other stuff. On the other hand, it made us feel better for we did not need to worry about the food stock. There was ‘a service’, anyway!
Unfortunately rain started falling again and we crammed in our small tent. Suddenly a 17-year-old boy came and informed us that his girlfriend was in terrible condition at the path before the third post. He further explained that he was with 5 other teenagers, two of whom were girls. Worrying about the bad conditions, he decided to call for help to the previous post.
Then four members from our team rushed to the spot along with sticks and a sarong to make a ‘tandu’ in case the victim was too weak to walk. A sarong was preferred for there was not enough time to prepare the real ‘tandu’. It was true. About 45 minutes afterwards, they came back carrying the sick girl.
We quickly put her in the tent and gave necessary treatment. The symptoms showed that she underwent stomach cramp due to the extreme cold air. She was moaning from pain all the time. My friend and I tried to warm her with the small lamp we brought and gave her medicine. She finally got better and could sleep. Two other cases followed. One was with a broken leg and another was the same as before, stomach cramp. All those things had kept us awake until 9am the next day when the rain was still pouring down.
Despite the rain, the scenery was amazing. When I looked down, nothing but foggy white could be seen. The cool view along with the cold air made me as if I had been beyond the sky to see the cloud beneath.
One hour later the rain stopped. The second post started being busy by people coming down from the third post (only some from the top) and others who were trying to get the higher level.
Some people dropped in our camp to rest and ask for First Aid Kit. Besides that people also stopped to visit the ‘warung’. It was fun to meet people from many places. They were not only places in Central Java but also from East and West Java who specially came for ‘Malam Satu Suro’ at Mountain Lawu.
At midday, we decided to get down to the base camp. However, there was a girl with broken leg. What could we do? Once again, our ‘sarong tandu’ was the precious device used to bring her down.
Yeah, that's my climbing! No top was conquered!! It was not a big deal anyway. To me personally it is one of the most incredible experiences I'll always remember for the rest of my life.