One Giant Leap

After weeks of anticipation, we were greeted by members of the NATAS-SWET Support Trek on 14 April. They were in good condition, having made their way from Gorak Shep (5,150m) to Kalapattar (5,500m) before coming to Everest Base Camp. Back in Singapore, we had given them a trek briefing at Campers Corner which helped prepare them for this journey. Having trained hard for about 2 months, they reaped the fruits of their labor when they finally made it to EBC. We were especially proud that ALL of them made to EBC, which is highly commendable.

The NATAS-SWET Support Trek not only aims to let the participants be a part of our journey, it also exposes them to a slice of life in the Himalayas. They had the unique opportunity to spend one night at EBC itself which is something not all EBC trekkers get to experience.

When they arrived, all the trekkers were in cheery moods, and we were especially touched by their thoughtfulness – they actually brought us Singaporean goodies such as BBQ pork, chocolates, ikan bilis, etc. These are all food we sorely miss! We’ll be treasuring these goodies over the next few weeks here.

The trekkers’ arrival coincided with our rest day before we head up to Camp 1 and 2 for our acclimatization cycle, which would bring us away from EBC for 5 nights in a row. The morning after they’ve arrived, we departed for Camp 1 while Kim Boon, our Base Camp Manager, showed them around our campsite and also the rest of the Base Camp.

We are proud of each member of our support trek:

Jack Chen (Trek Leader)
Leo Yunn Wenn
Norman Hodapp
Silke Hodapp
Yeo Seow Thong
Klaus Kaiser
Lee Chay Hwa Joanne
Goh Kim Yong
Aaron Lim Boon Teck

Besides our EBC trekkers, others from Singapore also dropped by our campsite when they came to EBC. We’re encouraged by the visits from Albert King, Calvin Tay, Soho, Wong Yew Hong, Ang Kin Peng, Wong Yew Choon, Agnes and Rin Leow. The team would like to thank their efforts in coming to visit us and cheer us on!

As we stay at Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,300m, it’s amazing that we are able to keep in touch with sponsors, family and friends in Singapore. Thanks to SingTel, our link back home remains strong via internet connection and satellite phone communication.

Before we came here, helpful SingTel staff spent a day with us to explain how to use the Immarsat BGAN Wideye Saber 1 system which allows us to get online via satellite connection. This means we’re able to access the internet right here from Everest Base Camp! The BGAN system proved to be very easy to use, and every morning, we spend less than 5mins setting it up before internet connection is ready.

Another great thing about the BGAN system is that it consumes very little power. With the limited amount of sunlight we get here (since weather is always erratic), it is still sufficient as a power source for the system to work.

Iridium satellite phones are another means of communication we rely on for connection back home. Hearing voices from back home proves to be a real source of support for us here at Everest Base Camp, and it’s also a great source of comfort for our families and friends.

The winds howled at 5am, the time we were supposed to wake up to get ready for our first practice climb on the Khumbu Icefall. Amidst the cold winds, we peeled ourselves out of our sleeping bags and strapped on our boots and backpacks. After a quick breakfast, we started out in the greyish darkness of dawn, towards the infamous Khumbu Icefall.

The Khumbu Icefall is the first section of the Everest climb, where large blocks of ice form an ever-moving glacier (see video). This proves to be one of the trickiest bits of the climb before climbers even reach Camp 1 (6,100m). Before our summit bid, we would’ve climbed through the Khumbu Icefall at least 5 times for acclimatization purposes.

With the sun’s rays hidden, we moved in the cold of the dawn, feeling like tiny ants among these giant ice blocks. We chose to climb through the Icefall before the sun rose because the heat from the sun would cause the ice blocks to melt and shift, therefore posing a potential hazard to our movements.

The route seemed never-ending. Every ice block we overcome leads to another, and about an hour into the climb, we got to the fixed rope section where we clipped on our ascending devices and continued climbing. We navigated through horizontal and vertical ladders to cross crevasses, as well as front-pointed up certain sections with our crampons. After close to 3 hours, we reached our goal for the day, and decided to turn back towards Base Camp before the heat turned up.

We will be heading up towards Camp 1 when the Icefall is ready approximately a week from now. Currently, the Ice Doctors (local experts on the Icefall) are fixing the complete route up to Camp 1 and they’re in the midst of finding the safest way up. Meantime, we’ll be occupied with technical practices and acclimatization walks while we wait with bated breath for the climb ahead.

Just as we were finishing our lunch today, there was a knock on our dining tent door. To our pleasant surprise, we found ourselves face to face with students and teachers from Christ Church Secondary School! They had come a long way, beginning their journey from Gorak Shep to visit us. The students and teachers were in good spirits as we hosted them in our dining tent. This journey was meant to inspire and instill confidence in the students and as a gesture of encouragement to the team.

We were immensely touched and inspired by their visit. Each of the students adopted a member of the team as a mentor, and we were presented with littles notes they wrote for us throughout their journey here. We were very encouraged by this and impressed by the strength and perseverance they have displayed in making their way here. Their notes were written on song sheets which contained songs we’ve learnt as students in Singapore. They said that this was their little way of reminding us of Singapore, but to us, their presence has already brought ‘home’ to us, right here in the Himalayas.

It’s been 3 days since we’ve arrived at EBC. At a height of 5,300m, it is higher than the summits of most mountains in the European Alps. We are glad that we are settling down comfortably and have managed to carve out a cosy corner which we will call ‘home’ for the next 2 months.

The ‘Puja’ ceremony was conducted on the second day of our arrival and it is a religious ritual performed by a lama and the Sherpas to ensure safe passage up Everest. As a gesture of respect, we also participated in the ceremony which included food offerings and prayers.

The weather patterns here are expectedly extreme. We usually have bright sunshine in the mornings until about 3pm when snow starts falling, bringing temperatures down to about -15 degree Celsius. Our tents will be snowed in and we usually huddle in the dining tent for warmth. Thanks to SingTel, we have successfully set up a communications platform which we are currently using to bring you updates from base camp.

We will be staying here for the next couple of days before we head up for our next acclimatization cycle where we will spend a day at Camp 1 (6,100m).

We’re currently at Everest Base Camp (5300m) as we bring you this update. After close to 5 years of preparation, we’re finally here!

First off, let’s conclude on the Lobuche climb we mentioned in our last update. We reached Lobuche high camp (5,200m) in good shape on 2^nd April, stayed for a night and set off for our summit push the next day at 5am in the darkness. The first part of the climb was mainly on rocks and boulders and it wasn’t long before the sun’s rays hit us. Although we were glad for the warmth, the heat proved to be draining as well and we had to stop halfway to remove our outer layers of clothing. To make our way to the summit, we had to rope up for safety reasons, as well as clear multiple steep and icy sections with the use of fixed ropes. After about 6 hours of climbing, all of us finally reached the summit (6,000m) around 10.30am.

The Lobuche climb completes the first phase of our acclimatization and we look forward to the next acclimatization cycle up on Everest.

We arrived at Dingboche yesterday and we’ll be heading for Loboche Base Camp tomorrow. The weather has been kind to us, safe from the snowfall last night. Along the way, we met a Korean team and also volunteer doctors en route to the Himalayan Rescue Association clinic.

We’ll be climbing Loboche East Peak for acclimatization before we hit Everest Base Camp. We’ll be climbing to an altitude of about 6000m, so that by the time we arrive at Everest Base Camp (5600m), our bodies would be better adjusted to the altitude.

We hope to update you again from Everest Base Camp!

On our last day in Kathmandu, we woke up bright and early at 4am to catch the first domestic flight to Lukla (2820m).  The plane landed us on the highest and shortest runway in the world and once we got off the aircraft, we wolfed down our breakfasts, strapped on our backpacks and began the 5-hour trek in to Chumoa.

We rested for the night at Chumoa and set off the following day for Namche, where we are now. The trek to Namche began on mostly flat terrain along the riverbed and also across several suspension bridges. However, once we’re near Namche, the uphill terrain began. Up and up we went for close to 1.5hours before we reached our campsite which is situated at the top of Namche, at 3450m. The moment we stepped into our dining area, it started snowing!

We’re staying one more day at Namche, so that our bodies can get used to the increase in altitude. It’s important to stay active at altitude so that our bodies produce more red blood cells to cope with the less amount of oxygen in the air we breathe. So today, we went on an acclimatization hike up towards Everest View Hotel. The weather wasn’t so kind to us today, it started snowing heavily 10mins after we set off, and the snow didn’t let up all through the journey. An hour into the hike, we were at an altitude of 3677m before we decided to return to our campsite.

We’re headed for Deboche (3770m) tomorrow where we’ll spend another day for an acclimatization hike. Hope to update you more then!

THANK YOU for the resounding send-off at the airport! Our patron, sponsors, family and friends have moved us to tears with their well wishes. It’s great to know that with the highest mountain in the world ahead of us, we’re backed by tremendous support.

We’ve landed safe and are settled into Hotel Tibet in Kathmandu. Our major concern about logistics was solved as all our 33 duffels have arrived safely, thanks to SilkAir. We spent the first 2 days sorting out our gear and settling the admin with our guiding company. Packing our gear and personal essentials into separate duffel bags was no easy task!

It rained the day we arrived and that was a great thing because it washed away the city’s layers of dust. Showers of blessings indeed! In order to prevent catching a cough from the dust, we resorted to walking around the city with surgical masks on. Yes we look ridiculous, but it’s worth it to keep the cough at bay!

We were also hosted for dinner by the Nepal Tourism Board and the All Nepali Women’s Team, which summitted Everest last year. We had a great time chatting over dinner about their climb and exchanged tips about our past mountaineering experiences. It’s a rare chance to meet another all-women’s team so we really treasured this opportunity.

We’re headed for Lukla on a domestic flight the day after (24 March), and will be trekking in to Everest Base Camp from there. Along the way, we will do an acclimatization climb at Loboche East Peak, and we hope to update you from Loboche Base Camp next!

After more than 1700 days of waiting, we only have one day left to go to the greatest climb of our lives—Mount Everest.

This week has been a whirlwind of activities, with us busy with errands such as packing up our expedition food, final shopping for personal items, tying up all loose ends with regards to our administrative details, doing media interviews, and of course, more packing and weighing and labelling. In fact, we were just at the airport last night, checking in all our gear ahead of our flight tomorrow. Our combined weight came up to a staggering total of 650kg! Fortunately for us, the kind folks at Silkair are taking care of our flight to Kathmandu, so we are cleared.

 
Amidst the craziness of this week, we also found time to have a farewell lunch hosted by our title sponsor, NATAS, at a swanky restaurant at SAFRA Mount Faber. It was truly heartening to see the executive committee of NATAS turn up in full force to celebrate the happy occasion of our climb’s commencement. We’ve indeed been very fortunate to have such enthusiastic and supportive sponsors! We hear that a whole contingent of NATAS staff will be coming to the airport to see us off tomorrow!

The past couple of days, many people have been asking us how we’re feeling right now, if we’re excited, scared, happy or apprehensive. There’s no easy way to describe the entire range of emotions we’re feeling right now. We are after all, climbing the tallest mountain in the world, and it’s going to be a challenging climb ahead, so excitement and a little healthy dose of circumspection co-exist. More importantly though, what stands out is simply how right this feels. After more than 1700 days of rigorous training and practice climbs, and with the blessings of all our sponsors and supporters, we’re finally on our way.

With less than 24 hours to the greatest adventure of our lives, we’re counting the seconds.