| James Kon |
A TEAM of Brunei mountaineers recently achieved a special feat when they managed to climb to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) lying 4,120m above sea level, not once but twice within 24 hours, to capture both the beautiful sunset and sunrise.
With time to spare, the team also headed to Mount Himchuli (6,441m).
Relaying their stories and challenges to the Weekend Bulletin following the two-week expedition (May 5-19) was team leader Shukri Zain also known as Bono.
The team comprised Pengiran Sulaiman bin Pengiran Metali as sweeper, Reduan Hussin as frontman, Romie K who carried logistics for the trip, Zulamri Emran whose role was to record the expedition while Ravi who did two solo expedition to Mount Everest acted as the director and guide.
Recalling the climb to ABC, Shukri Zain said, “It was in October 2015 when I was attending a basic mountaineering course in Selangor I met Ravi where I learned that he was organising an expedition to Annapurna Base Camp. Without hesitation, I told him I wanted to go and promote the expedition through social media.
Team leader, Shukri Zain also known as Bono, at Poon Hill en route to Annapurna Base Camp. PHOTOS: JAMES KON
“Then through Facebook, interested individuals came together and the team for the expedition was formed.”
“Before hiking to Everest Base Camp (EBC) which we hope to do in 2017, it’s a norm to first set foot in Annapurna Base Camp. Everest Base Camp lies at an elevation of 5,380m,” he explained the reason for choosing Annapurna Base Camp.
In terms of preparation, he said that “each individual did their own preparation for the climb where some members trained at local sites while others did their training in mountains in Indonesia and Malaysia”.
“On May 12, we reached Annapurna Base Camp to view the sunset via Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700m), and then on the morning of May 13 we returned to Annapurna Base Camp for sunrise. The team continued its hike to Mount Himchuli, however, due to poor visibility, we only managed to climb up to 6,000m.”
The Brunei team at Annapurna Base Camp
He said this is an achievement “because the team conquered Annapurna Base Camp twice and then managed to climb Mount Himchuli in a single expedition”.
Recalling the memorable events during the climb, he said “The people were so nice and the sceneries were amazing. We were able to catch sunrise and sunset in one trip.”
On the trail, the Brunei team rendered help to other mountaineers by giving them proper mountaineering techniques and provided medical aid to a local hiker who was injured, Bono shared.
Bono is hoping to reach EBC next year and then train to climb various mountains before taking on Mount Everest in 2019 which is his ultimate goal.
He extended invitation to adventurous Bruneians to join in the coming expeditions.
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