Oldest M’sian mountaineer heads to Everest base camp today

KUALA LUMPUR: James Lee Chong Meng, the oldest Malaysian attempting to conquer Mount Everest will trek today to Kala Patthar in Nepal, 5,545m above sea level to reach the base camp.

The 69-year-old mountaineer said he and his team members arrived in Gorakshep (5,164m) at 12.30pm yesterday from Lobuche.

Lee said they expected to proceed to the base camp at 5,380m above sea level at noon.

“We started our trek from Luboche at 10am and will be overnight here (Gorakshep) before trekking to Kala Patthar tomorrow.

“Weather less windy and temperature was about 8°C to 10°C,” he was speaking to Bernama, the Malaysian National News Agency, a media partner of Lim’s mission to reach the world’s highest peak.

Lee said two climbers, Eugene Kwan Jyh Sin, 47, and Teng Hee Weng, 48, who were accompanying him to the base camp experienced acute mountain sickness (AMS) and were being monitored.

AMS is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude.

“Other climbers are keeping fine and I slowly have overcome chesty ‘cold air’ feeling and presence,” said Lee.

Lee and his team arrived in Kathmandu on April 1.

With Lee, Kwan and Teng are Chong Nyuk Kooi, 49, Berdych Tan Teck Chai and Jack Oh Jin Heng, both 32.

They are escorting Lee to the Everest Base Camp before he continues his climb to the top of the summit in the expedition organised by the Lions Club of Port Dickson Pantai.

In May last year, Lee had to call off the last stage of his climb to the Mount Everest peak when he reached Camp III at a height of 7,200m due to bad weather. Mount Everest is 8,848m high. - Bernama