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News Clippings
Lack of funds, but Tibet
climb is still on
The Straits Times - 12 March 2002
[BACK]
ONE week before
its planned departure, the expedition to conquer Tibet's highest
peak is one man down and $300,000 short of its target.
But the group will proceed with the trip,
said Dr Robert Goh, leader of the Xixabangma expedition, which
will be leaving on Sunday for Nepal.
At a send-off party yesterday, Dr Goh announced
that Outward Bound Singapore trainer Leong Chee Mun, 37, had
bowed out because of work commitments.
'We're deeply disappointed because he was
a good team member,' said Dr Goh, 36, an aeronautical engineer.
'But given good weather, I think we still have an 80-per-cent
chance of success.'
The team now comprises Dr Goh, general
practitioner Mok Ying Jang, 34, and OBS trainer Edwin Siew,
32. They were all part of Singapore's first Everest expedition.
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The mountaineers from NUS
hope to fly to Nepal after their year-end exams in May
for their stint at the base camp, where they will be
spilt into two groups to attaempt two peaks -Tharpa
Chuli and Chulu West.
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They aim to be the first Singaporeans to climb the 8,027m
Xixabangma Alpine-style - with no conventional aids such as
supplementary oxygen, Sherpas, pre-built camps, or pre-laid
ropes. Each man will carry all that he needs in a 35 kg backpack.
So far, the team has raised $350,000, only
about half its target of $685,000.
Earlier, the lack of funds had forced it
to consider buying second-hand equipment. 'But we decided
we could not compromise on our gear, on our safety,' said
Dr Goh
Instead, plans for a book and exhibitions,
which would have cost about $240,000, have been scrapped.
'We had hoped to provide a local reference
for other people,' said Dr Goh.
But the biggest disappointment, he said,
would be if the nine National University of Singapore undergraduates
could not join them at the base camp, where they would learn
how a major expedition is run.
The students, who are part of the Make
It Real! programme to groom young mountaineers, are slated
to climb their first major peak. But they need about $15,000
more. Said Dr Goh: 'It will be such a shame if Singapore cannot
support them.'
The team will stay in Nepal to acclimatise
before heading to the advanced base camp in Tibet, which is
5,800 m above sea level, on April 1. The good weather window
starts around May 10. They will have about 20 days to complete
their climb.
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