KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (NNN-BERNAMA) — A 16-year old student has set her heart on conquering Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest peak in the European continent and becoming the youngest person from Southeastern Asia to do so.
Sara Sofea Muhammad Illaham from Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuala Selangor was selected to participate in an expedition scheduled to start on Aug 9, organised by the Jelajah Alpine Malaysia Club in collaboration with the Sports, Co-curriculum and Arts Division, Ministry of Education.
The director of the division Zainal Abas said in a statement today that the expedition is expected to take nine days, depending on the weather conditions.
He said, the girl from Subang, Selangor, will be accompanied by five other climbers in her attempt to reach Mount Elbrus’s peak which is at 5,642 metres.
“The climb up Elbrus, ranked among the seven highest peaks in the world, is also part of the 2020 Merdeka Youth Expedition mission,” he said.
He added that the mission is also aimed at raising funds for the international ‘Climb for Peace’ which is a humanitarian mission by Aman Palestine to build wells and send aid to war victims.
Meanwhile, in the same statement, Sara Sofea believed that the two years of training under the guidance of two experienced coaches will help her to scale the summit of Mount Elbrus.
“I hope the weather is good and I also hope that Malaysians will pray for my success to reach the top of Elbrus,” she said.
Mount Elbrus is a dormant volcano in the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia near the border with Georgia. It is part of the seven mountains in seven continents dubbed the ‘Seven Summits’.
–NNN-BERNAMA
