(Picture: Luggage Check-In)

Singapore (highest point: 163m)

After more than 1700 days of waiting, we only have one day left to go to the greatest climb of our lives—Mount Everest.

This week has been a whirlwind of activities, with us busy with errands such as packing up our expedition food, final shopping for personal items, tying up all loose ends with regards to our administrative details, doing media interviews, and of course, more packing and weighing and labelling. In fact, we were just at the airport last night, checking in all our gear ahead of our flight tomorrow. Our combined weight came up to a staggering total of 650kg! Fortunately for us, the kind folks at Silkair are taking care of our flight to Kathmandu, so we are cleared.

Loads of Baggages

Amidst the craziness of this week, we also found time to have a farewell lunch hosted by our title sponsor, NATAS, at a swanky restaurant at SAFRA Mount Faber. It was truly heartening to see the executive committee of NATAS turn up in full force to celebrate the happy occasion of our climb’s commencement. We’ve indeed been very fortunate to have such enthusiastic and supportive sponsors! We hear that a whole contingent of NATAS staff will be coming to the airport to see us off tomorrow!

NATAS SWET Lunch

The past couple of days, many people have been asking us how we’re feeling right now, if we’re excited, scared, happy or apprehensive. There’s no easy way to describe the entire range of emotions we’re feeling right now. We are after all, climbing the tallest mountain in the world, and it’s going to be a challenging climb ahead, so excitement and a little healthy dose of circumspection co-exist. More importantly though, what stands out is simply how right this feels. After more than 1700 days of rigorous training and practice climbs, and with the blessings of all our sponsors and supporters, we’re finally on our way.

With less than 24 hours to the greatest adventure of our lives, we’re counting the seconds.