The Kinabalu

VietNamNet Bridge – The participants in the TV reality show “Conquering Mount Everest” of national VTV3 channel Tuesday have completed preparations for their ascent of the second mountain in the training stage, the 4,095m Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia.

On October 27, while waiting for the transit flight to Malaysia at Bangkok Airport, the group met with a new member, coach Lekpak Sherpa, 26, who has reached the peak of Mount Everest three times.

After arriving in Kuala Lumpur Airport, they had to keep awake the whole night at the airport to wait for their flight to Sabah state, where lies Kinabalu mountain.

They arrived in Sabah in the morning on October 28 and had to wait in the hall of a hotel named Bevery till 12pm to get rooms. At 1pm, they met with VTV staffs who came from Hong Kong with equipment necessary for mountain climbing.

In the first trip conquering Fansipan, Vietnamese mountain climbers didn’t need special clothes and equipment. This time, after 12 hours going shopping at five shops selling equipment for mountain climbers, VTV staffs brought necessary stuffs for the athletes for their journey up Kinabalu.

Except for experts, this was the first time Vietnamese members in this group saw equipment for professional mountain climbers.

On October 29, climbers were asked to play a game to test their adaptability to the new environment on the campus of the Malaysia Museum.

“You cannot conquer Mount Everest with only physical strength,” emphasised the Sherpa coach in the training. He said that the three most important things that climbers must have are correct behaviour, physical strength and communication skills.

“Maintaining psychological balance and team-work skills are extremely important for the conquering of Mount Everest. The spiritual factor always plays the key role if you want to stand on the World’s Roof,” he added.

These hard-working days are the tests of the adaptability, the spiritual strength and the unity of the Vietnamese athletes.

On October 30, they toured Kinabalu National Park. Today, October 31, they begin to conquer Kinabalu.

(Source: The Thao)