First woman conquers Mt. Ayanganna
Kaieteur News
June 18, 2004
ON May 25 last, Woman Second Lieutenant (W/Lt) Samantha Chung of the Second Battalion Reserve, became the first female officer of the Guyana Defence Force to reach the peak of Mount Ayanganna.
W/Lt Chung accomplished this feat even as she was the only female of a 12-member Guyana Defence Force patrol, which ascended the mountain to hoist the Golden Arrowhead, as is customary for the independence celebrations.
This patrol comprised three officers and nine other ranks.
After being inserted by helicopter on Saturday May 22, the team began the arduous climb on Sunday May 23, to the 6,700-foot peak.
The challenges Chung encountered were numerous. The first was that she had to petition to be a member of the patrol. Then there were the fitness training in preparation for the climb, and the actual climb.
The climb proved to her male counterparts and to herself that she had the determination to reach the peak.