Lack of funds forces Adelinah to hold back on Everest dream

 By Olivia Miwil - April 20, 2022 @ 9:39am

Kota Belud Ultra trail runner Adelinah Lintanga at the peak of Mount Kinabalu in February as part of her training to conquer the peak of Mount Everest. - Pic courtesy of Adelinah Lintanga.

KOTA KINABALU: Despite all the preparations made, insufficient funds have set Adelinah Lintanga back from becoming the first Sabahan to conquer the world's tallest mountain.

The 37-year-old ultra-trail runner from Kota Belud was supposed to complete the quest next month together with Malaysian Ravichandran Tharumalingam, who had conquered Mount Everest twice.

Adelinah said she was supposed to leave for Nepal on March 25 together with three other climbers, one from Sarawak and two from the peninsula, led by Ravichandran under the 60-day "Program Keluarga Malaysia-Everest Expedition 2022".

"Since my participation was quite the last minute, I could not get enough sponsorship in time to go with them.

"Ravichandran is already there (on Everest) as he had planned for his funds for a long time.

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"The other two men from Kuala Lumpur are also with him," she said, adding that the Sarawak representative Fazilah Shahren also shared the same fate as hers.

Adelinah, also fondly known as Narna, has been receiving several sponsorships including from the Sabah government, politicians, government-linked and sports-related companies among others since February.

However, she said she was still short about RM140,000 for the estimated cost of the RM250,000 expedition.

"I am slightly disappointed as I was excited for the opportunity. But, there must be a reason that it happened. I just have to stay positive.

"I will continue to do the training and hopefully will be able to do it at the Everest base camp," she said, adding that her Sabah-based manager would try to seek more funding for next year's expedition.

In February, Adelinah expressed confidence to be able to reach the mountain peak as she had participated in several events including the Malaysia Mountain Trail Festival.

The quest is also her dream to scale higher after her run in the 2017 Royal Penguin Ultra Marathon.

Ravichandran had also said that Adelinah, among many shortlisted candidates, made the cut to be part of the team as she had been at an altitude of 5,000 metres in Nepal and could run comfortably.