Mt. Everest 2005: The Singapore Premier Taxi Everest Expedition without oxygen: Successful acclimatisation climb to Camp 2

©EverestNews.com

Update from the three man expedition without oxygen (Climbers Robert Goh, Lim Kim Boon and Edwin Siew)

Update: The team returned to base Camo after a successful acclimatisation climb to Camp 2. The winds were howling when they left BC on April 11 to spend the night at Camp 1. It looked as though their plan to ascend to Camp 2 the next day at 6am
would be scuttled because of the 100kph winds, but cool heads ruled.

At 10am, when winds died down a little, Robert decided they could brave the winds and move to Camp 2. This was preferable to staying at Camp 1 doing nothing.

The gamble paid off as the team had a relatively easy climb over a fairly gradual slope. The team reached Camp 2 and turned round and headed back to Base Camp, pleased with the highly successful climb.

They found that they were able to acclimatize well, suffering from no more than the slightest headache. Ed is especially pleased with his unhurried ascent to allow for his usual slow acclimatisation in the early stages. He feels confident and looks forward to the next acclimatisation phase. "If I can eat well and sleep well in Camp 3, I will be fine," he said.

Kim Boon, for whom this was the first time on the Khumbu Icefall, said this was the biggest icefall he had encountered in his life, with broken ice towers and endless deep crevasses. "It's one of the most dangerous areas," he said. "It's best to move as fast as possible." He was especially impressed with the work of the ice doctors who had  marked out the route with precision and thought.

He found the location of Camp 2 amazing, nestled in a cwm, surrounded on three sides by high mountains. "This is still new to me," he added. "Everything here is huge. And it's a long way to the top."

The next few days will be spent resting and eating to recover from the climb. And waiting for the start of the next acclimatisation.

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