They Trained In HDB Stairwells: How These Singaporean Women Conquered Mount Everest

On this day (20 May) 16 years ago in 2009, a team of Singaporean women were literally on top of the world.

The Singapore Women’s Everest Team (SWET – which honestly sounds like a badass superhero crew) made history by becoming the first all-female team from Singapore to reach Everest’s peak.

Here’s how they did it:

SWET dreams are made of this

The idea for the expedition was born in 2004 as part of NUS’s Make It Real Student Mountaineering programme. Team co-leaders Jane Lee and Sim Yi Hui (along with two others) wanted to make an all-women’s Everest climb real, not just a pipe dream.

And so began an epic journey that would take them five years of blood, sweat and fundraising tears. More than 30 women signed up at first. But after some gruelling tests and interviews, that number was whittled down to just 15.

Training day is every day

If you think climbing Bukit Timah Hill is already a workout, SWET basically did a Level 99 version.

Their training involved:

• Long-distance runs
• Load-bearing treks from Bukit Timah to MacRitchie
• Climbing a 30-storey HDB flat in Tiong Bahru up to 12 times with backpacks weighing 15–20kg and ankle weights

To prep for Everest, they also took on five other mountains first: Mera Peak (6,476m) in Nepal in 2005; Mount Siguniang (5,276m) in Sichuan and Muztagh Ata (7,546m) in Xinjiang, China in 2006; Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world in Tibet (8,201m), in 2007; and Camel Peak (5,484m) in Sichuan before Everest.

This team didn’t just wake up one day and decide to YOLO Everest – they truly worked hard for it.

The climb begins

On March 2009, the six-member SWET team left Singapore for Nepal with a whopping 650kg of gear. The line-up (and their ages and professions at the time):

• Jane Lee, 25, student development officer at Republic Polytechnic
• Sim Yi Hui, 26, training facilitator at Raffles Junior College
• Esther Tan, 26, copywriter
• Lee Li Hui, 27, pharmaceutical product specialist
• Joanne Soo, 39, outdoor adventure firm owner
• Lee Peh Gee, 32, SAF officer

They were supported by coach and base camp manager Lim Kim Boon. Fun fact: three of the members had Lasik surgery before the climb so they wouldn’t have to deal with contact lenses at -30°C.

From Kathmandu, they trekked to Everest Base Camp and began their acclimatisation process. This meant lots of up-and-down climbs, battling freezing temps, and learning to survive with oxygen levels that were only one-third of what we have at sea level. The team had their eyes on reaching the summit by 12 May, but Everest had other plans. Strong winds forced them to delay their climb.

Then came 15 May. The first group (Lee Li Hui, Esther Tan and Jane Lee) made their move. On 20 May at 3.45am Nepal time, Lee Li Hui became the first to reach the summit, followed by Esther at 3.54am and Jane Lee at 4.43am.

Two days later, on 22 May, Joanne Soo and Lee Peh Gee also reached the top. Co-leader Sim Yi Hui sadly had to stay behind at high camp; chest pains from an inflammation of her sternum and ribs brought about by heavy breathing at high altitude prevented her from going further. But her role in leading the team up until that point was just as vital.

And just like that, Singapore had its first all-women Everest summit team.

Back home, heroes

When they touched down in Singapore on 1 June 2009, they were met with cheers, hugs, and a huge welcome party – families, friends and around 150 supporters, including then-Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.

Then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called the feat “a major milestone for Singaporean women and our sporting community”, and praised their grit, preparation and teamwork.

Since then, the SWET ladies have continued to inspire others, conducting motivational talks, sharing their experiences, and proving that Singaporean women are more than capable of reaching the top. They were inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014.

Jane would later quit her job and become the first woman from Southeast Asia and the 37th woman in history to have scaled the Seven Summits, the highest peaks of the seven continents including Kilimanjaro, Denali, Elbrus, Aconcagua, Vinson and Everest (Chomolungma).

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