PM Lee congratulates Singapore Women's Everest Team

Channel NewsAsia
23 May 2009 0940 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated the members of the Singapore Women's Everest Team on their successful attempt to reach the highest peak in the world.

In a congratulatory message released Saturday, Mr Lee described it as a major milestone for Singaporean women and the local sporting fraternity.

He added he was deeply impressed by their meticulous preparation, determination, courage and tenacity. Mr Lee also noted it took more than five years of hard work, in physical training, team building and fund raising in order for the team to make it to the top of the world's tallest mountain, 8,850 metres above sea level.

Two more members of the NATAS Singapore Women's Everest Team, 39-year-old Joanne Soo and 32-year-old Lee Peh Gee, scaled the summit of Mount Everest on Friday at 7.41am and 8.11am Singapore time respectively. T

he women from the first Singapore team - Jane Lee, Lee Li Hui and Esther Tan - reached the peak on Wednesday and are currently back at Everest Base Camp.

Team leader Jane Lee said: "All of us are very pleased and very happy, and I'm extremely proud of the team. Having stood on the peak of Mt Everest is like a dream come true."

Singapore's first ladies on Everest 2009

TODAY Online.com
Thursday May 21, 2009
By Low Lin Fhoong

ARMED with a banner and placards, Republic Polytechnic students Atiqah Zaini and Renuka Singh were 3,519km away from Nepal, home to the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.

But that didn’t stop the 19-year-olds from sharing the joy - and the thrill - felt by the first Singaporean women to conquer Everest.At 3.45am yesterday (6am, Singapore time), Ms Jane Lee, Ms Esther Tan and Ms Lee Li Hui became the first Singaporean women to summit the 8,850 metre peak, located on the Nepal-China border.

The trio are part of the six-member National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas) Singapore Women’s Everest Team.Ms Lee Li Hui, 27, was the first to reach the summit at 3.45am; followed by Ms Tan, 26, at 3.54am; and team co-leader Jane Lee, 25, at 4.43am.

The three women could not be contacted yesterday as they were still descending the mountain. They were scheduled to reach the Everest base camp tomorrow.

But their trainer, Mr Lim Kim Boon, who is also their base camp manager, offered a glimpse of how the women felt to be on top of the world, literally.“They are very excited except that the scenery is not as good as they had expected. And they all were very, very happy and very thrilled,” Mr Lim told Channel NewsAsia.

News of the three women’s Everest feat spread quickly among the 30-strong Mountaineering Alps Club at Republic Polytechnic, where Ms Jane Lee works as an experiential education officer and Ms Lee Li Hui, an academic associate.

By 1pm, about 80 students and staff had gathered at the Republic Polytechnic Centre to celebrate the women’s triumph.“They’ve made the school proud, and the country proud by being the first women’s team here to summit Everest,” said Ms Singh, who is one of the 10 female members of the mountaineering club started by Ms Jane Lee last September.Added Ms Atiqah, a second-year business computing student: “Jane’s our role model ... I want to be in her shoes one day, and conquer Everest.”

THE LONG JOURNEY

The Everest team left for Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 21. They had spent two months acclimatising and preparing for their summit attempt.It had been a tough journey for the women, who witnessed avalanches on the Khumbu Icefall during their third acclimatisation cycle.

The team were also forced to postpone their first summit attempt on May 11 and 12 due to weather changes. Last Friday, Ms Jane Lee’s team left the Everest Base Camp (5,300m)and began their push for the summit from Camp 4 (7,950m) at about 8.on Tuesday, before reaching the top yesterday morning.

The second team of Joanne Soo and Lee Peh Gee are scheduled to leave Camp 4 tonight for their summit attempt.Co-leader Sim Yi Hui, 27, who is having chest pains, will not be making the attempt.The team’s Everest success comes just five days short of the 11th anniversary of the first Singaporean ascent by Khoo Swee Chiow and Edwin Siew, who planted the flag in 1998.

The women’s triumph has been hailed as “another historic achievement” by their patron, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.“They have once again demonstrated what our people can do against all odds when we set our minds to it ... I hope it will inspire many more Singaporeans to go forth and pursue their passions and achieve their goals,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

At the homes of the three women, the mood was not just one of joy but also relief.Ms Jane Lee’s father, Mr Lee Hua Nam, told 938LIVE: “I was very emotional when I heard the news, because I feel that mountain climbing is too strenuous and difficult… At least (now), she has a good result from it.”Ms Tan’s elder sister, Alice, said: ““My first thought when I heard the news was, thank God! ... We’re all elated and grateful that the training and hard work has paid off.”

The six women are expected to return to Singapore by June 15.

Cellphones to ring on Everest Summit

Nepal Telecom (NT) is planning to expand its cellular mobile service in the Everest region, enabling climbers to make and receive calls at the summit of Mt Everest (8,848m).

The NT plans to install a V-SAT station at Gorak Shep, a plateau near Everest Base Camp, which will be linked to Kathmandu. NT hopes that it will help people make and receive calls from the summit of the tallest peak in the world."

The installation of V-SAT will help bring the majority of the Khumbu region into NT's cellular mobile coverage. It will be completed by July," an official of the NT claimed. NT already has BTS at Lukla and Namchebazaar.

Until now, climbers have been using expensive satellite phones to communicate with their friends and relatives from the summit. The expansion of NT's service is expected to help thousands of trekkers and mountaineers who visit the Everest Region every year.

TAAN news

Dinner with Singapore Women Everest Team in Nepal

A rare kodak moment for Nepal and Singapore Women Everest Team

Everyone enjoying themselves in the traditional Nepalese dinner setting

Two Everest team exchanging mountaineering tips and experience

Deepak with NTB officials

Non-stop conversation among the climbers

Deepak with Kim Boon, the SWET's coach

A toast to Summit Success!

A wonderful demonstration of the Nepalese dance

Dancing with popular Nepalese folklore Resham Firiri

Group photo with NTB officials, Nepalese & Singapore Women Everest Team

The amazing ladies

Joanne, Esther, Lihui, Alice, Deepak, Jane, Yihui, Peigee, Kim Boon

The Singapore Women Everest Team (SWET) made their way to Nepal on 21 March. While in Kathmandu, the team was busy with preparation for their camp supplies and trip arrangements. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) hosted a welcome dinner for the team the next day at Bhojan Ghar, a restaurant which serves traditional Nepalese cuisine with cultural performance. That evening, Deepak and I met up SWET. The six ladies looked good and were looking forward to the dinner. Kim Boon – their beloved coach and the seventh member of the team, was present as well. We had one more Singaporean guest – Tse Liang, an NTU student on internship with The Nepali Times, was invited as well. It felt more like a Singaporean gathering in Kathmandu!

The dinner was really happening. The NTB had invited some mystery guests to the dinner. Guess who turned up? It was the members of the Nepal Women Everest Team who had summited Mt Everest in June 2008. (See previous post)We were honoured to have them join us for dinner. No prizes for guessing what happened next : the ladies from the two teams were happy to meet one another and could not stop talking about their experiences. All of us had a hearty time over dinner and the cultural show was a great hit with everyone. The ladies really had a good time dancing with one another and I guessed it was the first time they had sampled traditional Nepalese cuisine in such an environment. They were always busy with trainings when they were in Nepal previously.

When it was time to leave, there was a hint of nostalgy in the air. Over the dinner, new friendships were forged and the team would be leaving for Everest soon. We ended the session with the essential group photo for momento and had them sent back safely to their hotel.

Click here to track the SWET’s journey to Mount Everest.

Jane, Yihui, Joanne, Lihui, Esther, Pei Gee:
All the very best in your summit bid and most importantly, return safe and sound.

Training Chung Cheng High Yishun at Bt Timah

Taking a water break after 20 mins into the training session

The 2nd water break in the forest trail

Staircase climbing

The Summit!

The guys having fun before heading down from the Summit

The final round of staircase

Just one more...........

It was an exciting morning as we all gathered at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for our training session with Chung Cheng High Yishun. They will be leaving for Nepal on 11 March to trek Ghorepani and do some service learning after their trek. Everyone was in good shape after weeks of training in the school ground. We all did the forest trail and stair climbing and ventured all the way to the summit. Being with the students always reminds me of my own school days. We were not that lucky to have overseas trips and what more trekking in Nepal! It was an ungorgettable experience for me to trek Ghorepani and I hope it will be so too for Chung Cheng. Kudos to the teachers that made all these possible for them!

R&R in Sabah, Borneo

The local coffeeshop which we tried different kinds of noodles

The exterior of the coffeeshop

Chendol at Baba and Nonya

Peranakan food at Baba and Nonya

Zen Garden room exterior

Grounds of Zen Garden Resort, outside Kinabalu Park

Restaurant managed by the Sutera chain in Kinabalu Park

Lounge besides the restaurant

What a gorgeous fried rice

Sumptous lunch in Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu Park as the backdrop (reminds me of the Amazon!)

Stairways into the park and off to Mt Kinabalu

Deepak posing before heading to the Botanical Garden

View of Mt K from Zen Garden Resort

Breakfast at Zen Garden Resort

Finally, we saw the Rafflesia sign along the road

On the way to the Rafflesia spot

The Rafflesia bud

Not allowed to climb in so...

We were away in Sabah over the Chinese New Year. it was the first time Deepak was visiting Sabah as a tourist and not a trip leader for our annual Mt Kinabalu expedition with schools and organisations. This photo series is a makan showcase more than anything else.

You can view the main album here.

Briefing for Ghorepani Trek at Chung Cheng Yishun

Teachers, parents and students settle down for briefing

Everyone watching the video clip

Deepak begins his presentation of Nepal

Deepak and I were at Chung Cheng High Yishun last Saturday to brief all parents, teachers and students on their 11 days trip to Nepal. It was really nice to see many parents turned up for the briefing. Except for one parent who had been to India, none of the parents had been to Nepal or the Himalaya. We also met up with the VP Mr Toh who was jovial and told us that he had been to Nepal once many years back. The school is very supportive of the trip, their teachers and students.

We played a video clip for parents to have an overview followed by a detailed day to day run down of the trip. We also touched on the relevant travel information when visiting Nepal and advised the students on their trekking gear. Everyone was very attentive to us during the entire briefing. We believe the video and past experiences of various schools did alleviate many doubts and concerns of parents.

Deepak is always cautious to set the expectations of everyone heading to Nepal, to make them understand that they should have no expectations of a third world country and that they are there to learn and not enjoy.

We are looking forward to our Bt Timah triaining session with the kids and of course, to a successful trek in Nepal!