Mt. Everest 2005: The Singapore Premier Taxi Everest Expedition without oxygen: The team began their second acclimatization cycle

Update from the three man expedition without oxygen (Climbers Robert Goh, Lim Kim Boon and Edwin Siew)

Update: 23 April: The team began their second acclimatization cycle on 21 April, moving up to Camp 2 on a warm and sunny day.

After resting a day at Camp 2, Robert and Edwin climbed to Camp 3, a gruelling 7-hour journey over hard, blue ice. "It was much tougher than in 1998," said Robert, recalling his previous Everest attempt. "That time, there were many groups before us, so there were already steps cut into the ice. This time, we were one of the first and the route was new."

Said Edwin: "With every step, we had to make sure our crampons were biting into the ice, which can be very slippery. Covering the ice was a thin layer of snow, which masked the condition of the ice below. We had to be sure we were stepping firmly into the ice and not just on soft snow."

The journey was made more dangerous by the threat of falling serac. A falling piece of ice in fact hit the head of Pemba Dorje, one of our Sherpas, who fortunately sustained only a minor head injury, but serious enough to make him descend to base camp for treatment.

After their successful ascent to Camp 3, Edwin and Robert returned to Camp 2 for a day's rest. They are confident in their plan to go up again on 25 April to sleep in Camp 3 without oxygen, to prepare for their eventual no-oxygen summit attempt.

Kim Boon meanwhile is suffering from a mild case of AMS. After ascending from Camp 2 to the start of the Lhotse Face, he was forced to turn around and is descending to Base Camp to recover. Once he is well, he will decide on an alternative acclimatization cycle in preparation for the summit bid.

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