Five young Guyanese recently climbed to the top of Mount Roraima, using the Venezuelan side.

On March 27, Stuart Hughes, Alison Gaskin, Susan Allsopp, Orin Hinds and Julian McEwan had the pleasure of being in three countries at one time.

The trip, organised by Hughes, was difficult but rewarding the climbers said.

Setting out on March 23, they flew to Lethem from Ogle, where they were checked out of the country. They encountered a little disappointment there as the immigration office at Lethem is housed in an old bombed out building which has no flag of Guyana on its flagpole. Crossing the Takutu river, they made their way to Bon Fim, Brazil.

The five expediters then moved on to Boa Vista. Noting that no one is allowed to do the excursion unless there is a guide accompanying them, they said they picked up their guide and porter in San Francisco - a village in Venezuela - and continued to Santa Elena de Uairen.

From Santa Elena they went to Peraitepuy in the Gran Sabana, on to Rio Cuquenan and then to the Campamento Base (Base Camp) which is at the foot of the mountain.

Explaining that they never expected the steep climb, the group said they had to brace themselves for it. “Approaching the mountain, one would think that it is flat-surfaced, but there is a steep climb, with nothing to hold onto,” Allsopp.

When they got to the top of the mountain all the hotels (the rock campsites) were taken and they had to camp out on the helicopter pad. Climbing Mt Roraima is very popular in Venezuela, especially during Holy Week. There were a lot of people on the mountain - roughly around 200 - when the Guyanese did their climb.

At the top of the mountain is very cold and the Guyanese were in their tents by 1815 hrs. They noted that there were only four hours of sunshine on top of the mountain, where they spent a day discovering the secrets of the Crystal Valley.

Eventually the group completed the quest to Triple Point, where they saw the plaque on the Guyana side of the monument still missing and the words “Zone en Remacion” (area to be re-claimed) carved in the stone where the plaque used to be. But all in all the outing was gratifying. For Allsopp it was a childhood dream come true.