August 18, 2025 | 08:48 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Trango Tower Red and White Expedition Team (EMPTT) 2025 made history by becoming the first Asian team to reach the summit of the Nameless Tower (6,251 m above sea level). They achieved this by conquering the most difficult route, Eternal Flame, within the Trango Towers complex in Pakistan.
On August 11, 2025, the accomplishment was completed, marking the beginning of Indonesia's 80th Independence Day celebration. The red and white flag waved at the highest peak of one of the world's most dangerous cliffs.
The team consisted of six Indonesian climbers from the Big Wall Expedition (IBEX) who successfully climbed the legendary "Eternal Flame" route, which is considered the most technically difficult. Until now, only a few climbers from Europe and America have managed to complete this route.
The expedition team spent a total of 28 days, from July 18 to August 15, 2025. To reach the cliff with a 1,100-meter vertical wall, the climbers required extremely high technical skills while carrying all necessary supplies, including water, food, and climbing equipment.
They underwent additional acclimatization and rearranged their climbing strategies as some team members experienced severe headaches due to the reduced oxygen levels.
The IBEX Chair, Freden Sembiring, described this acclimatization moment as one of the most impressive moments because it took more than just three days. "It involved moving logistics of about 300 kg, shifted by six people from the main base camp to the climbing base camp, with an elevation movement from 4200 masl to 5200 masl, over rocky and very steep terrain," he said, as quoted from a statement shared with the media on Sunday, August 17, 2025.
Furthermore, heavy rain occurred on several days, posing a major obstacle to the ascent. They had to halt the climb several times to wait for better weather conditions.
Another critical moment occurred when Nazib Fadlulah was hit by falling rocks while ascending. This incident compelled the team to conduct a complex vertical rescue operation on the vertical wall, located over 500 meters from the base of the cliff. The team stopped the climb for two full days to perform the medical evacuation and ensure Nazib's condition was stable before continuing the expedition. He was eventually brought back to Skardu for medical treatment, accompanied by Iqbal and Asep Tatang.
As the climbing duration extended, the remaining three climbers, Freden Sembiring, Ikbal K Fasya, and Deden Wahyudin, had to conserve their diminishing supplies to reach the summit of Nameless, Trango Tower.
Athlete Team:
Freden Sembiring (IBEX Chairman & EMPTT 2025 Chairman)
Deden Wahyudin (Professional rock climber and guide at Carstenz)
Nazib Fadlulah (Sports science expert and rock climbing engineer)
Ikbal K. Fasya (Highly skilled technical climbing athlete who has successfully reached the summit of El Capitan, Yosemite)
Asep Tatang (Athlete specialized in ice climbing)
Iqbal Ramadhan (Climbing athlete with big wall expedition experience in almost all provinces of Indonesia)
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