In this day and age, someone’s claim to climbing the Everest could be easily proven or disproven by photos. For Clara Sumarwati’s thirty year old claim, it’s not so easy!
Have you ever heard of a mountain climbing record that is so hotly debated to be just an elaborate lie? This is Clara Sumarwati‘s story, the Indonesian woman who claims to be the first Southeast Asian woman to summit Mount Everest. Her status has been both praised and questioned for nearly three decades! Way before her stay in Prof Dr Soerojo Mental Hospital in Magelang.
Clara’s Bold Claim
Clara Sumarwati, born on July 6, 1967, in Yogyakarta, claims she reached the summit of Mount Everest on September 26, 1996. This makes her not only the first Indonesian, but also the first Southeast Asian woman to achieve this monumental feat. Talk about setting the bar high!
Clara was the sixth of eight children- families used to be a lot bigger back then. She initially dreamed of becoming a lawyer. However, life had other plans when her brother enrolled her in the Psychology department of Atmajaya University in Jakarta. During her university years, the 2nd Dan black belt holder was active in the Resimen Mahasiswa (a para-military organization). She graduated with plans to become a high school counselor, but apparently, the mountains’ calling were louder.
Her climbing journey began in 1987 during her university years, and by the early 1990s, she was already eyeing the world’s tallest peak. In 1993, Clara and three other Indonesian women also managed to summit Aconcagua Mountain (6,961m) in the Andes mountain range. Amazingly, she made her first attempt on Everest in 1994- reaching the 8,200 meter South Col Camp Four before being forced back by harsh weather and avalanches on the Nepalese route.
Summiting Mt. Everest
Clara made another attempt to summit the Everest in September 1996. Accompanied by twelve Sherpas and an Indonesian Army special forces soldier, Clara tackled Everest from the challenging northern route (North Col). She claimed that her party was sponsored 70 million IDR by the 50th Indonesian Independence Committee, Minister of State Secretary Moerdiono.
Only five out of the twelve sherpas climbed up to the summit with Clara. Her companions were Kaji Sherpa, Gyalzen Sherpa, Ang Gyalzen Sherpa, Dawa Tshering Sherpa, and Chuwang Nima Sherpa. An Indonesian special forces soldier, Gibang Basuki, also went with the group- though he did not reach the summit. Sherpa Kaji, the leader of the group, later on broke the world record by scaling the Everest in 20 hours and 24 minutes. They navigated 90-degree ladder climbs and constant avalanche threats.
According to her account, she successfully reached the summit on September 26, 1996. The weather was very extreme, she recalled, and the snow storm was so big that Clara did not manage to take any pictures. She recounted that taking the time to snap a photo could have killed her.
She was even registered with the Everest Summiteer Association as the first Indonesian to conquer Mount Everest in 1997.
The Clara Sumarwati Controversy Unfolds ๐
Here’s where our story takes a dramatic turn. Clara’s monumental achievement was met with skepticism rather than celebration in Indonesia. The main issue? A lack of concrete proof, particularly the absence of photos showing her at the summit with the Indonesian flag.
The mountaineering community and Indonesian public began questioning her claim, and the problem became that “she couldn’t prove it, so no one’s really sure how to figure out who gets the title.”
The controversy boils down to documentation. In an era before smartphones and social media, proof of summit achievements relied heavily on photographs. Critics pointed to the absence of photos showing Clara at the summit, particularly the iconic shot with a flag at the triangular summit marker that typically serves as definitive proof.
Clara steadfastly held on the her claim and explained that both of her cameras were frozen and therefore, inoperable. Other than terrible visibility, the snow storm brought down the temperatures to -40 to -60 Celcius- extreme temperatures in which cameras and other electronics can seize up. After attempting to take the momentous picture for 10 minutes, with Kaji sherpa helping to warm the cameras with his own body temperature, she finally gave up.
“It’s okay, we can be your witness.” said the sherpas to help calm Clara down. She finally managed to snap some pictures after climbing down from the summit. Once the weather cleared up, a sherpa took a photo of Clara holding the red-and-white Indonesian flag. This picture would later be published all over Indonesian media.
Tragic Visit to a Mental Hospital
Perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of this story is what happened next. Clara fell into a deep depression, with multiple hospitalizations at Mental Hospital Prof Dr Soerojo in Magelang. Doubts of her Everest achievement caused her to spiral, and those close to her did not believe her claim due to lack of proof.
She was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 1997, just a year after her extraordinary climbing feat. During her hospitalizations, she would frequently tell the medical staff about her Everest achievement. Sadly, the medical staff dismissed her glorious stories as delusions.
“The fact that her own family members do not believe that she summited the mountain made us doubt the story even more.” said Medical Director of the hospital, Bella Patriajaya.
After two weeks of treatment, Clara’s condition had improved. Sadly, Patriajaya expressed that Clara’s family refused to pick her up because they feared her outbursts. They sent a formal letter to communicate their refusal, complete with letter of reference from their neighborhood (RT and RW of Minggiran, Sleman) that also tragically refused her return.
International Recognition vs. Domestic Doubt ๐
Interestingly, while Clara’s achievement wasn’t widely accepted in Indonesia, she gained recognition internationally. She received a certificate from Tibet China Mountaineering Association, a Naraya Star from then-president Soeharto, and mentioned in published books such as Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey (G. Kropp & D. Lagercrantz, 1997), Everest (Walt Unsworth, 1999) and Everest: Expedition to the Ultimate (Reinhold Messner, 1999). Her name was recorded in The Himalayan Database as well, which records successful summits of Mt. Everest.
This disconnect between international acknowledgment and domestic skepticism adds another layer to this controversy.
Clara Sumarwati wrote a book in 2019, titled “Indonesia Menjejak Everest – Membuka Dokumen Sejarah” (Indonesia Conquers Everest – Uncovering Historical Documents). The 450-page book was released on 26 September, 2019, on the 23rd anniversary of her epic summit.
“What did I do wrong? Why am I being wasted and not acknowledged?” the mountaineer lamented.
In this book, statements from witnesses Kaji Sherpa, Gibang Basuki, and Elizabeth Hawley all supported that Clara Sumarwati summited the Everest on 26 September, 1996.
Final Thoughts
Clara Sumarwati’s tale isn’t just about mountaineering – it’s about belief, proof, recognition, and the sometimes harsh reality faced by pioneers. In a world where every step can be tracked and every moment photographed, her story from the pre-digital age reminds us of a time when extraordinary achievements could disappear into thin air without proper documentation.
It is heartbreaking that even her closest people, her family, doubted her achievement. With the release of her book and further support from her expedition team, hopefully Clara Sumarwati can live peacefully with the acknowledgement she deserves.
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