By Dawn Yip

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Linda Tan, with Mount Everest in the background. (Photo courtesy of Linda Tan)

Camp 4, Mount Everest, 25 May 2008 – Linda Tan has delayed her summit attempt by one day, and is now aiming to reach the world’s highest peak tomorrow 26 May, about noon Singapore time.

28-year-old Linda Tan, who will be Singapore’s first woman to conquer Everest if the attempt is successful, arrived late last night at Camp 4, about 8,000 metres above sea level. Camp 4 is the last stop for climbers who are heading for the summit at 8,850m.

Climbers usually begin their summit push at about 8pm, so that they can arrive at the summit before sunrise, ahead of the early morning pickup in wind speeds. But speaking via satellite phone to her friend Tay Chee Meng, Linda said she was too exhausted from the climb up to Camp 4, and has decided to rest a day using oxygen.

Chee Meng told Red Sports that some of the climbing ropes on the journey up had been iced out, rendering her ascending device less effective, and forcing Linda to use a lot more manual effort. "She told me she did a lot of chin-ups from Camp 2 to Camp 3," said Chee Meng.

So she was already fatigued when she reached Camp 3, and therefore took "longer than expected" to get to Camp 4. Under good conditions, the climb from Camp 3 to Camp 4 can take as little as 6 hours whereas Linda took about 10 hours.

There is further pressure on Linda because she now has only one attempt at the summit instead of two. "She has 7 bottles of oxygen. One bottle will last you about 6 to 8 hours, depending on the flow rate. She needs at least 3 to 4 bottles to do the summit. By using oxygen now, that means she won't have another summit chance," said Chee Meng. It is also imperative that she recovers her strength today so that she can make good time. If she takes too long and windspeeds pick up before they summit, the climb will be called off “regardless of how near or far they are.”

Describing Linda's emotional status, Chee Meng said she sounded "anxious and disappointed that she can't do it today." But this much we know: Linda Tan is the first Singaporean woman to have made it this far, and that is an achievement.

Red Sports continues to keep vigil and will bring you news as soon as we get it. Godspeed, Linda.

Click here to read previous Red Sports stories about Linda Tan’s Everest journey.