Team Lombok returns from Mount Rinjani
They say it’s not the destination but the journey itself that counts. Last week, Team Lombok – a group of Honeycombers readers and six local women from Lombok, set off to climb Indonesia’s second highest Volcano, Mount Rinjani. Some peaked. Everyone journeyed. One of our writers, Wan Yin, joined the climb and lived to tell the tale.
The idea of doing this climb was that it would challenge us and would promote leadership, empathy and cultural exchange with our Indonesian neighbours. The motivations of the climbers were diverse; some wanting to get out of their comfort zones, others wanting to contribute something positive to one community of women and towards lasting social change.
Ten of us, ranging in age from 23 to 49 years took off from Singapore on a flight to Lombok not really knowing what was in store.
It turned out this was a wonderful and transformative experience. The team was amazing and sharing a journey like this is a truly unique opportunity for bonding and self realization. It was harder than most of us expected to be honest. The trek itself was arduous, and the physicality of the task eventually took its toll on many of us, but we persevered and pushed on as a team to make it to base camp – a mind-blowingly scenic campsite in the clouds.
Due to the tough nature of the climb, only three of us attempted the summit climb at dawn the next morning. With a terrain of mainly gravel and volcanic ash, the summit route was really tough – but we were treated to an unbeatable view of the island and its mesmerising sunrise. This is as close to Euphoria as it gets.
Aside from experiencing the majestic beauty of Rinjani, it was a meaningful time spent interacting with the six lovely and inspiring Indonesian ladies that partnered us on the climb. We visited Sembalun Village’s Community Development Centre (CDC) – for which we had successfully raised over $15,000 to sponsor the climb for the local women and fund a series of educational and micro-entrepreneurial activities for women and girls in the village.
Some not-so-positive outtakes were the congestion on the mountain (because we clashed with an Indonesian week-long holiday) and the trash problem on the mountain. We strongly advocate hiking out what you hike in, and being responsible for your own rubbish. It is fair to say you feel conflicted about humanity on a journey like this when you are surrounded by such natural beauty and then see how we repay the privilege.
All up, we really did have a blast and want to thank Chloe and the Peaks Foundation for their support and preparation for the journey!
Peaks Foundation is a US registered non-profit that organises unique mountain based challenges and inspiring events to promote and empower women and girls. Since January 2007, Peaks Foundation has distributed over USD $1 million in funding to female-focused initiatives in the regions in which their challenges are held.