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Singaporean
Shishapangma 2002
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Update:
Thursday, May 16th At 1.35pm Singapore time, (11.20am
Nepalese time), the Singapore Xixabangma team
summitted the mountain after ascending in alpine
style! Robert Goh and Edwin Siew reached the Central
Summit. This makes them the first South-east Asian
team to summit an 8000er in alpine style. They are
also the only team this season to climb Xixabangma in
this manner. Said team leader Robert: "We are
absolutely over the moon!
Update
4/23/2002: They are now at Advanced Base Camp. The
three climbers are in the midst of their
acclimatization climbs. They will be making their
summit bid some time in early or mid May, and the
climb will be in Alpine Style.
Update
5/15/2002: Wednesday, May 15 The weather today is
brilliant! Half a dozen or more climbers can be
seen climbing conventional style and heading for the
central summit this morning at about 8am. Two
days ago 2 Finns and an
Austrian summitted. Yesterday's bad weather saw no one
summiting. Our guys reached 6800m last night after a
7-hour climb. They were moving faster than the
previous day, which is a good sign. We couldn't talk
to them this morning because the walkie
talkie connection was bad as they were on the other
side of the ridge. But from last night's conversation,
they are likely to move from 6800m to about 7300m
today. This will be a most grueling climb which will
take them up a 70-degree ice slope. With the 35-kg
weighing them down, this will be one of the toughest
stretches of their climb. Meanwhile, four Make-It-Real
students have arrived at Advanced base Camo, together
with their instructor. This is the first time they are
experiencing not only such a high altitude, but also
base camp life. They are here for four days, meeting
climbers from the other camps, learning about
cooperation among the different camps and the
communication needs, and generally what makes a base
camp tick. Another four students are now on their way
to climb a modest mountain in Nepal.
Tuesday
May 14: This morning, they started to move higher up,
aiming to stop for the night at about 6800m. Because
of their heavy ruck sack of about 35kg, they will be
moving at half their normal climbing speed. Today's
leg will this take about 10 hours. We are a little
concerned here because this morning, the mountain is
shrouded in thick clouds. In a walkie talkie call, the
guys reported very low visibility and it's very cold.
The only consolation is that Met Services of Singapore
has reported low wind speeds up till Friday. This is
good news because that means, if necessary, they can
afford to delay their summit assault by a day.
THE
SINGAPORE XIXABANGMA EXPEDITION 2002: AN ALPINE CLIMB
Four
Singaporean mountaineers will be climbing Xixabangma
(Shishapangma) in Spring 2002 - in alpine style.
The
team is planning to take the Northern Route which was
established by the Chinese in 1964. The climb will
gain the North-East Ridge of Central Summit to an
altitude of 7,700m. A ground decision (based on local
conditions) would be made to either take an avalanche
prone traverse towards the Main Summit (original
Chinese route) or to continue along the ridge towards
the Central Summit and then traverse a corniced ridge
that leads South-East towards the Main Summit.
If
they succeed, they will be the first South-east Asian
team to summit a 8000er alpine style. Although all
four men had climber to beyond 7000 meter without
oxygen, none had attempted an alpine climb of an
8,000er. And starting with the lowest of the 14
8,000er, they feel, is the way to go.
Key
objectives in their latest expedition to climb
Xixabangma alpine style are: to raise the standard of
mountaineering in Singapore; to help groom the
next generation of mountaineers.
As
such, the team has organized a programme for
undergraduates from the National University of
Singapore to help them realize their dream of becoming
mountaineers. The students have been training with the
main team. In December, they will be sent to New
Zealand for a technical mountaineering course. And in
March 2002 a select group will join the main team at
the Xixabangma Advanced Base Camp.
THE
TEAM: The foursome were members of the First Singapore
Everest Expedition in 1998. Three of them were with
the Singapore Antarctica Expedition 2000 which saw one
group skiing to South Pole and another summiting Mount
Vinson.
They
are:
Dr
Robert Goh Ee Kiat (Leader),
Occupation: Aeronautical Engineer
Co-leader of Antarctica 2000 (skied to South Pole)
Climber and Treasurer in Everest Expedition 1998
(reached south summit
8750m)
First Singapore alpine ascent of Dhaulagiri VII
(7246m)
Singapore Zanskar Expedition
Singapore Cho Oyu Expedition
Mount Cook (NZ)
Great End, Scarfell Pike, Ben Nevis and other Scottish
climbs
Numerous Himalayas, European and NZ alps
Dr Mok Ying Jang (Co-leader, Medical Officer),
Occupation: Medical Practitioner
Leader of Mt Vinson Expedition (Antarctica 2000)
Climber and doctor, Everest Expedition 1998
Singapore Zanskar Expedition
Singapore Cho Oyu Expedition
Pioneer rock climber in Singapore
Numerous experience in Himalayas, European and NZ alps
Mr Edwin Siew Cheok Wai (Member)
Outward Bound School Instructor
Climber, Everest Expedition 1998 (First Singapore
mountaineer to summit)
Co-Leader of Mt Vinson Expedition (Antarctica 2000)
Singapore Cho Oyu Expedition
Numerous experience in Himalayas, European and NZ alps
Mr Leong Chee Mun (Members)
Outward Bound School Instructor
Climber, Everest Expedition 1998
Singapore Cho Oyu Expedition
Triathlete (international)
Marathoner
Hong Kong 100km Trail Walker team 1999 & 2000
(member of SAF)
Trained as a physical education instructor
Numerous experience in Himalayas, European and NZ alps
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