Father and son who climbed Mount Everest on training in Hong Kong, the physical and mental challenges and passing dead bodies on the way to the top
- Nearly two decades ago, John Tsang dreamed of climbing Mount Everest with his son. This year, he realised that dream as part of a 97-day expedition
- They reveal where their passion for mountaineering comes from, the rigorous training needed and why it’s important to ‘challenge yourself to think positively’
In 2003, three months before his son was born, John Tsang Chi-sing climbed Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. He looked in awe over the snow-covered peaks in the US state of Alaska, and dreamed of climbing the world’s highest mountain with his son.
“I was overwhelmed with emotion,” says Bob. “I’ve watched a lot of documentaries about Everest and knew the entire route, but arriving at the summit and seeing it in person blew me away. And doing it with [my dad] made it a very personal expedition.”
“Mountaineering has been [dad’s] way of teaching me how to face challenges in school and daily life,” says Bob. “A lot of parents teach simple life lessons at home or in a safe environment – he likes to take me to dangerous places.”
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As a 15-year-old, he joined a scholarship programme to Outward Bound Hong Kong, a non-governmental organisation offering adventure courses in the great outdoors. After high school, he learned to rock-climb, trained as a hike leader, then worked as an Outward Bound instructor.
“I come from a local Chinese family, my parents always told me to study, get a good job with a good return,” John says. “Outward Bound offers experiential education. It changed my outlook on life.”
After several years working at Outward Bound, he went to university to study recreation and outdoor management and then founded Alpine Adventure Travel, an overseas mountaineering expedition travel company that brings people to climb mountains all over the world.
Climbing mountains is as much about physical training as mental fortitude, as there are discomforts to be endured along the way. In remote regions, hot showers are unavailable. The longest John has gone without showering is 22 days – no mean feat when you are physically active and sweating.
“It’s all about pushing your mind,” John says. “You need lots of energy and determination to get to the summit, but you have to find your way back to base camp and that is the most challenging part of the expedition.”
The father-and-son team reached Everest’s peak at sunrise on May 12, passing a body near the top.
“When the sun comes up, you can see everything, especially on the way down. In previous years I’ve come across quite a few dead bodies. You have to challenge yourself to think positively,” John says.
As an expedition leader, he regularly hears about inexperienced climbers who just want to pay the money to climb and are reluctant to turn back if the weather is poor. That is a recipe for disaster – on average, five climbers die on the 8,848-metre (29,032-foot) mountain a year.
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Stories such as these would make anyone anxious about a loved one attempting Everest, so waving off a husband and a son must have been especially difficult for Mrs Tsang. John says his wife is the toughest person in their family.
“I really appreciate that my wife lets us go, she worries and is under a lot of pressure. The day before we summited, I made a satellite call to her to tell her we are safe,” he says.
The pair took five days to climb from base camp to the summit of Everest. For the two-and-a-half days that they were above 7,000 metres, they relied on oxygen, supplied in 4kg (8.8lb) tanks, only taking the oxygen mask off to eat.
“Without supplemental oxygen, your body deteriorates, you feel like you’re moving in slow motion. It took me 10 minutes to put on my mountain boots without oxygen,” says Bob.
“Father and son on the top of the world, it was a dream come true,” says John.
