Passion at the Peak of Burni Telong: Mountain Climbing |

The peak of Mount Burni Telong without fog.

History happened at Burni Telong, a tourist mountain with a height of 2,624 meters above sea level (masl) located in Bener Meriah, Aceh, Indonesia. The hard struggle of the impromptu and elderly climbers who had never climbed a mountain before—some of whom had never exercised in the past year—finally became a passion when they were at the peak of Burni Telong surrounded by fog.

This may be trivial for professional climbers, even for members of the Malikussaleh University Student Activity Unit Nature Lovers (Umpal), the peak of Burni Telong felt light.

They were already trained and experienced in climbing mountains, besides their physical strength still supported them. It is not surprising that Saifullah, a mountain climber, goes back and forth from the Rangers Post to the Shelter 3 to 6 times carrying a load containing drinks and food for amateur climbers.

The summit of Mount Burni Telong from a nearby village. A beautiful view shrouded in mist.

Meanwhile, Reky Afisa, one of the tough women who are members of the nature lovers, crossed the slopes with light steps, while the lecturers behind her were panting with chests that were almost burning because their hearts were racing so fast.

Preparations had been made for several weeks before facing the real terrain. The amateur climbers consisting of lecturers and education staff, devoured several hills in Lhokseumawe City.

However, the condition of the terrain in Burni Telong was very different from the hill that was used as the training location. The temperature was more pleasant in Burni Telong because it was around 18 degrees Celsius. Compare that to the temperature at our training location which reached 34 degrees Celsius.

Rest and stay overnight at Shelter Tiga.

We arrived at the Ranger Post located in Rembune Village, Timang Gajah District, Bener Meriah Regency. I have posted photos near the Ranger Post. Here, all climbers must report and be registered, in addition to paying some money.

Then, at around 14.00 WIB, you start climbing after getting directions from nature-loving students. In essence, each group of amateur climbers will be accompanied by one nature-loving student.

The sun was still shining fiercely at 14.00 when we started climbing. The climbing route to Burni Telong is always uphill from the first step.

Along the climb to Shelter One, the left and right are full of beautiful views of coffee plantations. Mini coffee trees, about one meter high, look very beautiful. The aroma of fresh coffee fruit plus the surrounding scenery should dispel fatigue. But, for amateur climbers like us, the fatigue that hit us made the beauty of nature disappear. Several lecturers started throwing in towels, they decided to give up before reaching Shelter One.

At Shelter Two, we rested again. Fresh natural drinking water is available here. The white and clear water flows between the tree roots. Many climbers take the water and drink it without boiling it. I also had time to drink it, it tasted fresh but the aroma was strong with the aroma of trees.

The climb became steeper until we reached Shelter Three. We arrived at around 17.00 WIB. Students had set up many tents there because we would be staying at Shelter Three. The climb to the peak of Burni Telong would start at 03.00 am so that we could watch the sunrise at the top of the mountain.

We should have been able to rest comfortably to gather our energy. The students also suggested that we sleep so we could stay fit during the climb. But because it was our first time climbing, we couldn't sleep.

At 03.00, the cold air pierced our bones. We woke up and prepared to climb. Not all climbers got flashlights, so those who didn't have flashlights on their heads had to follow other climbers.

It turned out that the terrain we had gone through was not that difficult. Arriving at the Cave of Regret, we faced the real test. The steepness of the climb was almost 95 degrees. Climbers were equipped with ropes to climb about 10 meters. Many amateur climbers stopped here.

I chose to continue the journey. Exercising at the gym was very helpful for holding our weight. After arriving at the Cave of Regret, the climbing path continued to climb and was rocky.

We couldn't see the natural beauty of the surroundings. When we went down, we realized that there were many edelweiss around. However, they couldn't be picked.

Arriving at the peak, it was drizzling so I was shivering with cold. Waiting for two hours there, it turned out that we couldn't enjoy the sunrise because it was covered in fog. Until I came down, thick fog still covered. But we felt the passion at the top of Burni Telong.[]

The peak of Mount Burni Telong is covered in thick fog.