55 year-old Khoo Swee Chiow is a motivational speaker, author of five books, adventurer and mountaineer. He started his mountain climbing journey back in 1988 and has climbed about 200 mountains around the world.
A humble mountaineer, Khoo is also an adventure consultant as he organise and lead mountaineering trips. Some of the popular destinations that he had organised includes Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina, Peaks in Nepal, China, Indonesia, and Mt Everest, 7 Summits, 8,000m Peaks and South Pole & North Pole.
Recently, Khoo went for The North Face FUTURELIGHT Experience trip on 8th to 11th October. We are glad that we are able to talk to him about his wonderful mountain climbing journey. One of the gears that Khoo wore the whole day during the trekking is a Futurelight jacket.
“It’s the most comfortable and breathable material I have ever worn. I highly recommend it.” said Khoo.
“It is an excellent healthy lifestyle, I get to travel to many places and remote regions, learn about different cultures, enjoy amazing scenery and achieve a goal.” Khoo told RunSociety.
When he saw Mount Everest during his visit to Nepal in 1989, It was love at first sight. It became his dream to climb to the peak of Mt Everest.
If I can climb Everest, I can do a lot more.
For many, it is an impossible task to climb to Mt Everest. But Khoo determined to challenge himself and undergo training for a long period of time. He took a Technical Mountaineering Course in New Zealand and climbed 5,000m, 6,000m, 7,000m and 8,000m peak for training, not forgetting to read up on mountaineering books to improve his training.
Khoo encountered hardships during the trip to Mt Everest. Khoo was unable to reach the summit of some peaks due to various factors – weather, physical condition and logistics. However, he learned from his experience and tried to improve on the next climb.
“Mountain climbing is hard – cold, altitude sickness, fatigue, risk of avalanche, crevasses, storm. I remind myself it is a long learning journey. Live in the moment and try to enjoy it.” said Khoo.
Even though, Khoo did not reach the summit on their first attempt. It does not mean Khoo and his team give up their journey. One week later, Khoo and his team finally made it on top at the second attempt. It was a joy for him and his team. The attempt is also one of the most unforgettable experience in his climbing mountain journey as well.
Khoo also did climbed for Mount Kangchenjunga and encountered same challenges as Mt Everest.
“Kangchenjunga took me 3 attempts in 3 years to finally reach the summit. It’s much harder than Everest. It’s on par with K2.” said Khoo.
Mountain climbing is not a ‘piece of cake’ task, but Khoo made it to the top of the mountain with determination, courage, focus and perseverance.
“Dare to dream. Dream big but start small. If you have not climbed Bt Timah, start there. Always be curious to learn. Work hard for your dream. Lastly, do it because you enjoy the mountains.” said Khoo.
After reading this inspiring story, are you ready to climb your dream mountain that you wrote in your bucket list?
You can follow Khoo Swee Chiow on Instagram here.
