Story by Dawn Yip
Mount Everest towers over the world at 8850m, and Linda Tan has already made it to Camp 1 at about 6,100m above sea level.
Friends who spoke with Linda told Red Sports that over the weekend, Linda took over 10 hours to travel from Mount Everest Base Camp (5,000m) up to Camp 1 where she stayed the night. She returned to Base Camp on Sunday 20 April, part of the acclimatisation process to get mountaineers to gradually adjust to higher altitudes.
Her journey up Everest is also taking place from the Nepal-facing side, which goes through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. "It's large floating chunks of ice that are constantly in motion," explains Tay Chee Meng, an engineer and one of a handful of people that Linda is in touch with. "They have to clear it fast. So she has already crossed it."
A natural befriender according to her friends, Linda has also found time to renew ties with her former Nepali guides, and has made new friends. "Yesterday she was invited to dinner with some Korean climbers," said Chee Meng. Linda is even acting as an informal translator for a Taiwanese climber who doesn't speak much English.
Based on Linda's original climb itinerary, she would have made her way to Camps 2 (6,500m), 3 (7,300m) and 4 (8,000m) before a summit attempt was made on 15 or 16 May.
But the plan may now have to change, and not due to weather conditions.
The Olympic torch is due at the summit of Everest in late April, but the Chinese government is giving the torch team a wide buffer until 10 May. And with the troubled journey of the torch thus far, China has forbidden other climbers from advancing beyond Camp 2 until the Chinese torch team have cleared the summit. Telecommunications on Everest have also been severely curtailed, and Linda has therefore had very restricted external contact, a situation that is expected to continue until the torch has completed its summit.
Still, Linda is in good spirits, says Chee Meng. "She's quite positive and still quite focused on her climb.” Red Sports will continue to bring you updates as we get them. In the meantime, join us in cheering Linda on!
You can read Red Sports’ two-part interview with Linda Tan at these links:
The Red Sports Interview – Journey to Everest: Linda’s Story (Part 1)
The Red Sports Interview – Journey to Everest: Linda’s Story (Part 2)
Rare, gutsy Singaporean – this lady Linda Tan.
Our thoughts are with you. All the very best!
Wei Hong and Chee Meng, thanks for clarifying and I’ve amended the story to reflect the facts better.
It is very true that South East ridge is the preferred route for most climbers. Despite the danger of Khumbu icefall, there are other favourable factors which contribute to the success of climbing via this side. The weather is normally less harsh, the camp sites are lower… etc.
As of now, no Singaporean has successfully climbed the North East route.
For the benefit of many others, there are 15routes to Everest summit. South WEST is known to be very difficult. For more info…
http://www.everestnews.com/history/routes.htm
Linda’s orginal plan is to do the North East route which was first summit by the Chinese in 1960 (7 years after Tenzing and Hillary claim Everest from the South). Her plan was disturbed by the civil unrest at Tibet.
As of now… Linda is probably the first Singapore lady who has reached Everest C1, South East route. The preparation of climbing an 8000er is extraordinary. May she continue to do well. 🙂
Actually, from what i read of everest expeditions, the south side is the side most preferred by climbers despite the khumbu icefall and is statistically the side with the most number of climbers and has the highest success rate.