EVEREST AGAIN

MISI PERDANA de' EVEREST 2011

7 to tackle Everest the hard way

FROM NSTP

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven Malaysians will climb Mount Everest next year, using the most difficult route. "This will be Malaysia's first attempt to climb Mount Everest through Tibet.

"We will have to endure rough terrain and strong winds. There will be many obstacles but we are ready for it," said the National Adventure Association president, Datuk Khalid Yunus at the soft launch of Perdana de' Everest Mission at Hotel Istana here yesterday.

The event was launched by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the prime minister.

Perdana de' Everest is the association's second attempt to conquer Mount Everest. Its first was the Merdeka de' Everest in 2007.

Khalid, at 66, will lead the expedition for the second time. He said the team was formed after the last expedition and they have been training for three years.

"We undergo intensive training at Institute Sukan Negara four times a week.

"We were also required to climb various mountains in Malaysia as part of our training.

"So far, we have climbed Gunung Nua, Gunung Kinabalu, Gunung Rajah and Trans Titiwangsa.

"To adjust to high altitudes, we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and in March, we will head to New Zealand for alpine training."

The estimated cost of the Everest expedition is RM2.5 million and the team is expected to make the climb in May.

"We will be in Tibet two months earlier to adjust ourselves to the weather and altitude. We hope to be able to climb in May as planned, but it all depends on the weather."

Khalid hopes to reach the peak this time around. He was not able to do so in 2007 as he suffered from a bout of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

"Every climber wants to reach the peak. They have no choice but to go down when they suffer from AMS. I am prepared for it this time," he said.Good Luck guy's