After eight days hiking, over 12 hours struggling with huge snow blocks and climbing on ice walls in minus 25oC weather, four Vietnamese men planted a Vietnamese flag on the 6,160m Island Peak of the Himalayas at 1.47pm (Vietnam time) on March 5.
According to Sherpa mountaineers, Island Peak is a technical mountain where mountaineers can use all mountaineering techniques. Island Peak has a similar temperature and topography to Everest. Vietnamese mountaineers and Sherpa guides flew from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Luckla (2,800 height). They then hiked for eight days to Island Peak Base Camp. At 2am, March 5, they began to conquer Island Peak.
The five Vietnamese mountaineers took nearly 9 hours to reach the crampons point and five more hours to reach Island Peak. One Vietnamese mountaineer got altitude sickness and gave up the trip so only four climbers were the winners.
This is the fourth time the Vietnamese flag has been planted on an international high mountain, alongside Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina, Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia, and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. It is also the last practice before the four Vietnamese climbers try to conquer Mount Everest.
The four Vietnamese mountaineers include Nguyen Mau Linh, who is a boxer and spent three years in the army; Le Ba Cong, a former football player from Gia Lai province; Bui Van Ngoi and Phan Thanh Nhien from the University of Sports and Physical Training 2.
They passed thousands of competitors to be the final ones who will attempt to conquer Everest in a reality show called Conquering Mount Everest, held by the Vietnam Television (VTV) and Lasta.
The prize for the first Vietnamese people to reach the peak of Everest is VND100 million ($6,200) each. This reality show started in November 2007, from Monday to Saturday on VTV2 channel, and will end in June 2008.
The year-long television programme consists of two phases: the first phase allowed contestants to hone their skills by climbing smaller peaks (the four above peaks), while the second phase will focus on the Everest expedition.
The Sherpas, an ethnic group residing in the Himalayas, will train and assist the Vietnamese climbers during their Everest climb. In addition to the Sherpas, two cameramen are accompanying them. They are a Thai who climbed to Camp Four, the closet additional camp to Everest's summit besides the base camp that provides food and shelter to climbers on this mountain, and an American journalist from National Geographic who conquered Everest once before.
Phase one began at Mount Fansipan in Vietnam, which stands at 3,144 m, with 12 contestants. Next, contestants headed to Malaysia to climb Mount Gunung Kinabalu, which stands at 4,101m. Two contestants were eliminated after the climb in Malaysia.
The remaining ten contestants climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which stands at 5,895m, and five were left for Island Peak in Nepal, which stands at 6,189m.
The four remaining contestants have returned to Vietnam and will train for two months before beginning the second phase of the programme, the journey to conquer the roof of the world, from April to June 2008.
According to Sherpa mountaineers, Island Peak is a technical mountain where mountaineers can use all mountaineering techniques. Island Peak has a similar temperature and topography to Everest. Vietnamese mountaineers and Sherpa guides flew from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Luckla (2,800 height). They then hiked for eight days to Island Peak Base Camp. At 2am, March 5, they began to conquer Island Peak.
The five Vietnamese mountaineers took nearly 9 hours to reach the crampons point and five more hours to reach Island Peak. One Vietnamese mountaineer got altitude sickness and gave up the trip so only four climbers were the winners.
This is the fourth time the Vietnamese flag has been planted on an international high mountain, alongside Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina, Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia, and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. It is also the last practice before the four Vietnamese climbers try to conquer Mount Everest.
The four Vietnamese mountaineers include Nguyen Mau Linh, who is a boxer and spent three years in the army; Le Ba Cong, a former football player from Gia Lai province; Bui Van Ngoi and Phan Thanh Nhien from the University of Sports and Physical Training 2.
They passed thousands of competitors to be the final ones who will attempt to conquer Everest in a reality show called Conquering Mount Everest, held by the Vietnam Television (VTV) and Lasta.
The prize for the first Vietnamese people to reach the peak of Everest is VND100 million ($6,200) each. This reality show started in November 2007, from Monday to Saturday on VTV2 channel, and will end in June 2008.
The year-long television programme consists of two phases: the first phase allowed contestants to hone their skills by climbing smaller peaks (the four above peaks), while the second phase will focus on the Everest expedition.
The Sherpas, an ethnic group residing in the Himalayas, will train and assist the Vietnamese climbers during their Everest climb. In addition to the Sherpas, two cameramen are accompanying them. They are a Thai who climbed to Camp Four, the closet additional camp to Everest's summit besides the base camp that provides food and shelter to climbers on this mountain, and an American journalist from National Geographic who conquered Everest once before.
Phase one began at Mount Fansipan in Vietnam, which stands at 3,144 m, with 12 contestants. Next, contestants headed to Malaysia to climb Mount Gunung Kinabalu, which stands at 4,101m. Two contestants were eliminated after the climb in Malaysia.
The remaining ten contestants climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which stands at 5,895m, and five were left for Island Peak in Nepal, which stands at 6,189m.
The four remaining contestants have returned to Vietnam and will train for two months before beginning the second phase of the programme, the journey to conquer the roof of the world, from April to June 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment