UNS — In celebrating Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta 45th Anniversary, Student Association (UKM) Garba Wira Bhuana held a rock-climbing expedition. The expedition was held to reach 45 top rock-climbing tracks in Gunung Sewu karst, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta as a gift for UNS 45th Anniversary on 11 March 2021.
The expedition runs for six months with two main expeditors; Bagas Emon from Public Relation Program Vocational School (SV) and Adi Dwi from History Education Program Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) UNS. Bagas and Adi received a mission to complete rock-climbing tracks in the Gunung Sewu karst area.
“In total, there are 45 tracks that we completed. These tracks are Tebing Parangndog, Tebing Siung, Tebing Bedoyo, Tebing Songtawing, Tebing Goa Cerme, and other cliffs in Nglanggeran ancient volcano,” Bagas stated.
The mission handed to Bagas and Adi as expeditors is not an easy task. In achieving the mission, challenges came to them, exhaustion, bleeding hands, and hardened skin because they used their hands as support in climbing the cliff stones. However, that condition does not reduce their spirit in completing the expedition. The challenges strengthened their confidence to complete the task.
“One of the obstacles is dislocation, so we need to wait for the recovery process to complete. Even though we had routine training in Solo, when we go and climb the track, it wasn’t always going smoothly to get to the top. We had fall and rise, we need terrain orientation, and think what techniques should be used in making a decision,” he explained.
In the six months expedition, the third-semester students need to manage their time between learning and expedition. They once spent a night on a tent in the Tebing Parangndog basecamp back yard before continuing their expedition.
The completion of 45 rock-climbing tracks representing UNS 45th Anniversary is a proud achievement for UKM Garba Wira Bhuana UNS. Currently, more people paid attention to extreme sport, which is often reported on television. Indonesia has large potential regions to be used as rock-climbing tracks.
Gunung Sewu is selected as an expedition site because it is close to cultural and tourism spots. Its cliffs are located alongside popular tourism sites enabling them to test the community’s interest in rock-climbing sport and their interest in the local culture.
“Happy 45th Anniversary to UNS. Students will always be proud of their alma mater and will continue providing proud achievements. Hidup mahasiswa. Salam lestari! (Go, Student. Long live Conservation!)” Bagas said, concluding the interview. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
