Mt. Everest 2005: The Singapore Premier Taxi Everest Expedition: At the bottom of the Geneva Spur

Robert Goh (left) and Edwin at the bottom of the Geneva Spur

Update: Edwin and Robert spend a harrowing night sleeping at Camp 3 (7,300m) without oxygen. The winds were raging at 70 knots (120kph), threatening to flatten the tents, and making a racket flapping the tent fabric so loudly that they could not even hear the walkie transmissions.

Bleary eyed this morning, and tired from not having slept a wink, the two guys and their Sirdar Kami set off at 6.30am for Camp 4 (8,000m). It was a torturous struggle.

The westerly winds came straight at the climbers, causing wind burns. The winds also picked up sharp snow crystals which pelted their faces with tiny painful cuts.

“The winds were whipping our faces,” said Edwin. “Although I wore a balaclava which covered my whole face except my eyes, and I had goggles on, I still suffered wind burns on my left cheek. The winds felt like I was being slapped in the face constantly.”

Said Robert: “It was an exhausting climb because every step took us higher into thinner air. What seemed like a short traverse to the yellow band, but took us almost four hours. Our slow pace was due to lack of sleep as well as the increasingly thin air. It was the first time this season we were at that altitude.”

He added: “We were feeling OK and strong. We could go up higher, but we were just slow.”

At the bottom of the Geneva Spur, at 7,600m, the men turned back because they needed to return to Camp 2. “We didn’t want to spend another night sleeping at Camp 3 which would do our bodies more damage,” explained Robert.

“After this final acclimatisation cycle, we are doing well compared to those climbing with oxygen,” he said. “Kami said that with this speed, we would reach the summit – slow but constant.

“We are optimistic, but we know it will be a mighty hard push for us both because of the long hours needed to get to and back from the summit. It is expected to be a 24-hour slog.”

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