Students Fransiska “Deedee” Dimitri Inkiriwang and Mathilda “Hilda” Dwi Lestari hoisted the national flag on the peak of Mount Everest, 8,848 meters above sea level, on Thursday morning.

The two climbers, both members of the Women of Indonesia’s Seven Summits Expedition Mahitala Unpar (WISSEMU), reached the peak at 5:50 a.m. local time.

“Thank God, the summit! Today, May 17, 2018, at 5:50 a.m. Sang Saka Merah Putih (Red and White National Flag) was hoisted on the peak of Mount Everest. Indonesian flags [have reached] seven of the world’s highest points. We present this achievement for national unity. It is for you, Indonesia. Thank you very much, Unpar, Mahitala, Bank BRI, Multikarya Asia Pasifik Raya,” said Hilda via text message.

 

DALAM HITUNGAN MENIT SRIKANDI AKAN MEMULAI PENDAKIAN! Tepat pada pukul 23.30 waktu Nepal, @mathilda_dwi dan @frandimitri akan memulai langkahnya dari C3 menuju puncak Everest. Langkah pertama dari ketinggian 8.225 menuju 8.848!! Memulai perjalanan dari tahun 2014 dengan puncak tertinggi di Indonesia, Carsztenz Pyramid, dua mahasiswi ini akan menutup rangkaian Seven Summits pada hari ini menuju puncak tertinggi di Himalaya dan tertinggi di dunia, EVEREST!! Semoga langkah, nafas, dan punggung kalian selalu dikuatkan! Tuhan bersama kalian, DOA YANG TAK PERNAH PUTUS DARI INDONESIA!🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🔜 __ Ekspedisi ini didukung oleh Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) @bankbri_id, Multikarya Asia Pasifik Raya (MKAPR) dan Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (UNPAR) @unparofficial. __ __ #WISSEMUGOESTOEVEREST #wesupportwissemu #Mahitala #women #pendakiwanita #7summits #pendakicantik #mountaineer #everest #Indonesia #unpar #PakJokowi #pendakigunung #expedition #7summitsindonesia #pencintalam #ina7summits #wissemu #instapendaki #girlswhoclimb #adventure #mountaineering

A post shared by WISSEMU 🇮🇩 (@ina7summits) on May 16, 2018 at 10:40am PDT

Deedee and Hilda began climbing Mount Everest from Camp 3 (8,225 m above sea level), and during the 6.5-hour journey, they had to fight through strong winds and extreme weather at -25° C.

The achievement completes their mission to hoist the national flag on the tallest mountains of each of the seven continents. Their first trek took place in April 2014 on Cartenz Pyramid peak (4,884 m above sea level).

Read also: Two female Bandung students to conquer Mount Everest

Prior to conquering Mt. Everest, Deedee and Hilda had also climbed Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m), Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 m), Mt. Aconcagua (6,962 m) and Mt. Vinson Massif (4,892 m). In July 2017, they climbed Mt. Denali (6,190 m) in Alaska.

Deedee and Hilda, who are currently students at Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung, departed from Indonesia to climb Mt. Everest on March 29.

After hoisting the flag on Mt. Everest, the two climbers will need to return to the starting point, which takes around nine to 11 hours.

The two students made history as the first Indonesian female team that has climbed the seven summits.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo congratulated the two students via his official Twitter account.

Indonesia berbangga atas prestasi Fransiska Dimitri dan Mathilda Dwi Lestari yang telah berhasil mengibarkan Bendera Merah Putih di puncak Gunung Everest. Dua srikandi yang telah menaklukkan 7 puncak dunia. Luar biasa -Jkw

— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) May 17, 2018

“Indonesia is proud [to see] Fransiska Dimitri and Mathilda Dwi Lestari’s achievement in hoisting the Red and White national flag on the peak of Mt. Everest. Two srikandi (women warriors) that conquered the seven summits. Amazing,” said Jokowi. (jes/wng)