Knapsack Treks Book Review by Chan Joon Yee
Surviving The Extremes by Kenneth Kalmer
For those unfamiliar with the author, Kenneth Kalmer was the only doctor on Mt Everest during the 1996 tragedy. This book touches on human physiology and how we adapt to and tolerate extremes in environmental conditions. It contains valuable information with which [...]

a winter ascent of Island Peak at “Sherpa speed” by Chan Joon Yee, dedicated to the late Jason Ho

The Challenger
Name: Chan Joon Yee
Nationality: Singaporean
Born: 1-3-1964
Alpine Experience: climbed Mera Peak (6476m) in 10 days, descended into Hongu Valley, crossed Amphu Laptsa (5845m) into Khumbu Valley, trekked to Kala Patar and returned to Lukla [...]

I’m back at Namche again. Let recap on the unbelievable events over
past few days.
Day 1 Lukla to Monjo
Day 2 Monjo to Namche
Day 3 Namche to Pangboche (an ascent of 500m)
Day 4 Pangboche to Chukung (an ascent of 800m)
Day 5 Chukung to base camp
Day 6 supposed to be summit day, but would you believe it, my
climbing [...]

Below (in green) is the “raw” news sent out from Namche Bazaar. This was Day 2 of the trek. I started off from Lukla nearly 4 hours late due to a combination of delayed flight and a local porter who suddenly decided to have lunch when we were about to move off.
My original plan was [...]