Planning for the 2007 trip

I had enjoyed long holidays during Year 2005. Year 2006 was a year of work and many races. Being deprived from nature, snow, high altitude and a good holiday. I wanted an uncommon holiday that can stretch up to a month. The holiday should be challenging and something I should have some difficulty accomplishing.

Wee Lee at high camp, over seeing Chulu East at 6500m asl

Since June 2003, I have never breathed the air above 6000m asl (above sea level). The decision was made during late 2006 - a high altitude (above 7000m) mountaineering trip. Many peaks were considered. Below are some of them…

Personally, I favor the simpler 7000er. The peak should have minimum avalanche risk and the mountain gradient not exceeding 60degree. Finally, we zoomed down to three peaks.
>>> Lhakpa Ri at Tibet, an easy 7000m peak next to Everest. The gradient varies from 20-48degree.
>>> Dhaulagiri VII at Nepal, one of the routes at northern flank is about 35degree. This peak is less explored. Snowfall is less during autumn season.
>>> Muztagh Ata at XinJiang. There are two routes to summit. Muztagh is described at one of the easiest peak above 7000m. The gradient is around 35degree below 7400m and 15-20degree above 7400m.

The price for individual peaks was considered with 3-5climbers in mind. Dhaulagiri VII was the first peak removed from the list. The total cost for climbing this peak is more than S$8500/climber. The main contributing factor for the exorbitant price is the climbing permit at USD3000/team. Lhakpa Ri can be done at around USD4200 – 4500 (excluding airfare) depending approach route to the mountain, Kathmandu or Chengdu. Muztagh Ata is most attractive in term of price. According to my China counterpart, the climb would cost S$4000. All costs would be covered from Khasgar onward. However, the journey to Khasgar is furthest and the estimated cost for flight was at S$1400.

During the early stage, I only know Linda Tan was extremely interested to climb a 7000er. She has been super helpful and very motivated. We started looking for teammates. We then invited a few friends who have done mountains higher that 6000m asl. Most of them have problem obtaining one month leave from their boss or love one. Initially, the team is formed with JiaYing, Joyce, Linda, Michael and me. As time passes, Michael and JiaYing realized they were unable to commit. Phei Sunn came in later.

During March, we were searching for possible agent. Summit Climb, San Au Xue Shan and Singapore Adventure Club are our possible choice. Sa Au was chosen as my team mates and I have good experience working with them previously. Linda did most of the coordinations after we decided on San Au Xue Shan.

Alan, Micheal and me did Au Tai Na at Hei Shui during Dec 2005 with San Au Xue Shan

Physical fitness is the hallmark for all outdoor activities, the team engaged into a series of trainings which include runs, long walk (6-8hours) with load, stair climbing on HDB and Bukit Timah nature reserve. We were training an average of three or four sessions a week. Personally, I also planned for a trip to Mount Kinabalu as part of my training before Muztagh Ata.

I was out stationed most of the time from April till May. I spent a total of three weeks at Korea and another three weeks at Munich, Germany. Training was very much disturbed then. There were little training when I was at Korea, and I can only do run when I was at Germany. Apart from work commitment, a fair bit of time was devoted to training.

Mount Kinabalu was the main highlight of my training. While Kinabalu is one of the highest pinnacles at South East Asia, it is lower than Muztagh base camp. I have Trun Wee, Yew Mun, Chwee Ling, Kar Eng, Lauryn, JiaYing and his GF for the trip. There are not many changes on terrain since I first trek the peak with Chee Yuan and his wife during June 2001. However the price and number of people climbing the mountain increased tremendously after the mountain was adopted by UNESCO during late 2001. Any booking should be done at least 4-6months prior to the climb date.

Mount Kinabalu via Mersilau Trail

Summit Shots of loving husbands and wives....

Apart from physical training, logistic is also another main concern. Thanks to Linda’s coordination, we paid little for the required equipment from NUS. I am impressed by her capability to pick 4 pair of boots, 4 set of snow shoes, some booties and mitten all by herself. She made things easy for the team. We only need to pick up what we need from her place.