One-third of the Challenge 8000 team, bidding to become the first Maltese to summit Mount Everest, yesterday left Malta for preparatory work in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Brimming with confidence and seemingly in tip-top physical condition, Gregory Attard ventured eastwards to prepare for the 61-day climb, which is expected to begin at the end of this month.

One of his fellow mountaineers, Marco Cremona, was there to see him off. He will be joining Dr Attard in Nepal in the coming days. Both men were in agreement that extreme altitudes on the Himalayan mountain posed the biggest risk to them.

Dr Attard said: "We will be aiming for the summit after a series of three or four climbs called cycles, which involve climbing up the mountain in increments, going higher each time before reaching the summit."

He explained that the team members would have to do this to acclimatise their bodies to being deprived of abundant oxygen found at lower altitudes. They would return to base camp, at 5,300 metres, for rest following each cycle.

A five or six-day window of good weather will be vital for the team to be able to go for the summit. Inclement weather conditions make any attempt close to impossible and downright dangerous.

The team will be guided by Victor Saunders, one of the world's foremost mountaineers. He led the team to the summit of the world's sixth-highest mountain, Cho Oyu, last September.

Climbing the 8,848-metre high peak marks the culmination of a two-year journey after the team set their goal to summit Everest in 2008.

The €100,000 expedition is being undertaken in aid of the Richmond Foundation, which provides community services for persons with mental health difficulties and promotes prevention of mental illness among the public.