18 Aug 2016
Summit with your heart
2016 Summit with your heart Challenge Summiting the mountains of our heart

Event Completed!
Copyright World Marathon Challenge

EVENT BACKGROUND

In July 2005, David Lim's MacCoffee expedition visited the Tian Shan region and claimed 3 virgin peaks, named Temasek, Singapura, and Ong Teng Cheong (http://www.everest.org.sg/maccoffee-tien-shan-expedition-2005/). 

11 years later, in August 2016, Tze Boon, Tze Guan, Kah Shin and Kim Boon will attempt to re-summit Ong Teng Cheong Peak and capture the breathtaking vista.  At 4743m in altitude, and rated deceptively at PD, this peak took the experienced MacCoffee expedition two attempts before successful summit, so Boon, Guan et al are understandably a bit nervous about the attempt.

The Tian Shan is a mountain range in central Asia that extends through western China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The Tian Shan is 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) long, and up to 7,400 metres (24,300 ft) high.  Base camp will be at the Semionova Glacier, which is about 3,900m in altitude.

Rough schedule:
19 Aug: Arrive in Almaty
20 Aug: Transfer to Karkara
21 Aug: Helicopter to Semionova Glacier
22-25 Aug: Acclimatisation, Training and Summit attempts
26 Aug: Flight back to Karkara
27 Aug: Transfer to Almaty
28 Aug: Flight back home

Climbers

You're tougher than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can.
Ong Tze Boon

Despite a busy work schedule, Boon lives by the mantra of keeping fit and living healthy. He runs everyday, and has completed in excess of 7000km since August 2012. Boon also enjoys other adrenaline sports including alpineering, snowboarding, surfing and water skiing. He has recently completed the World Marathon Challenge, making him the first Singaporean to complete 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, as well as the North Pole Marathon, in 2016.

Good food and good company can turn any mountaineering ordeal into Type II fun.
Lim Kim Boon

Kim Boon is a qualified Mountain Leader and Single Pitch Award holder, Ice Climbing Instructor in China, and an active member of the Mountaineering Instructor Association in the UK. As a pioneer rock climbing instructor and assessor in Singapore, he has trained many of today's top Singapore rock climbers, including the first Make-It-Real (MIR) student mountaineering project in 2002, as well as the NUS Everest Team for their Mera peak expeditions in 2003, during which he scaled Mera Peak 4 times in one season!

I see running as an island of peacefulness, a chance to recharge and maintain my sanity...
Leow Kah Shin

Leow Kah Shin is an accomplished ultramarathon runner. He treats it as a means of transport, a holiday and a challenging hobby, sometimes even carrying a backpack filled with water and 10kg rice sacks on his runs, and doing yoga twice weekly to keep his muscles supple. The stamina he has built up as a result of his lifestyle and training has allowed him to successfully complete six ultra-marathons, four 250km desert runs across the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica, as well as the North Face Ultra Trail Marathon du Mont Blanc.

Our Partners

  • Ong Foundation Ong Foundation

    ONG Foundation is a private foundation established in 2012 that supports charitable initiatives in the areas of Health, Education and the Arts.

  • Ridge Runners Ridge Runners

    Ridge Runners is a 200 strong local running club that runs every weekend from Mt Faber, and through the scenic Southern Ridges route.