Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei Everest Trekking Aural project is still on track with team members preparing for their feat - to trek to the base camp on Mt Everest - with intensive training in Brunei as well as neighbouring country, Malaysia.

The charity project, initiated by the Brunei Chess Federation (BCF) and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, aims to collect money which will be used to improve the quality of life of the country's underprivileged families.

Donations can be made through their online website at www.trekkingamatcom.bn, however, according to BCF Secretary General Voon Choon Leong, so far the response has not been very good. "All the participants are using their circle of networks, trying to lobby friends, families and colleagues to help in the fundraising," said Leong.

He said that while online donations have started coming in, the total is far from their target of $50,000. As of press time, the sum collected stands at $7,128. Donations can also be made through DST and B-Mobile which will be launched in the first week of April, said Leong.

He reminded the public that 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the charity fund as expenses for the trekking are financed by each of the team members, comprising nine chess players, eight Bruneians and one Malaysian who are mostly in their 50s.

Apart from raising funds, the team members also aim to make a world record by being  the first team to play and complete a chess game at the highest altitude. According to Leong, this is a feat that has never been done before by other chess players as "they cannot think at that altitude, and our minds are still sound despite the lack of oxygen". The base camp of Mt Everest, which is 5,364 metres above sea level, is 1,500 metres higher than Mt Kinabalu, the highest peak on Borneo.

The Guinness World Records have already been contacted of this purpose and are waiting for the team's results, which will put Brunei on the map. "We are going to prove it through video clips," said Leong. The months leading towards their departure will be filled with training and the team members will also be receiving tips and guidance from those who have trekked Mt Everest, one of which is a captain major from the Gurkha Battalion in Seria. Besides improving their fitness and stamina level, the team will also focus on mental fitness.

Determination and good leadership also play a very significant factor, said Leong. "The training has been going on fine. Some members did gym training in Bandar. Some do running, swimming, treadmill, etc... at their convenient time. Some even do Chi Gong to exercise and improve their breathing and body strength," said Leong, adding that all participants are responsible for keeping themselves fit and to avoid any injuries at this crucial time.

As a group, the members spend three to four hours trekking the hills at Shahbandar and Tasek Lama, alternating between the two each week end.

"We (climbed) Mt Kinabalu (4,095 metres) two weeks ago and seven participants reached the summit without much problem. Two others didn't join due to work commitment," Leong said of their recent training in Sabah.

"I think the trip to the Kinabalu summit helped us identify some of the complications, such as altitude mountain sickness and the need for proper sub-zero temperature clothing," he added. In December, the group tested their endurance with 10 hours of trekking front Masilau resort to Laban Rata in Mt Kinabalu (3,330 metres) and coming down on the same day.

Some of the members have climbed Mt Kinabalu several times and the group had gone on expeditions in Laos, climbed Gunung Gede in Indonesia and Gunung Belumut in Johore as well as Mount Santubong in Kuching. The group has also had plenty of experience trekking most of the hills in Brunei.

The team will begin their 16-day, 120km walk to the Everest Base Camp (5,364 metres) on April 23. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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