First Maltese scale Everest

Gregory Attard, Marco Cremona and Robert Gatt will go down in history as the first Maltese men to climb the highest peak on earth having reached the Everest summit yesterday morning.

"We were lucky we got there as the sun was rising. We could see the world beneath us. It's fantastic," Mr Cremona said, speaking from Camp 4. "You can't really describe it. It's a fantastic mountain; climbing it has been an enormous challenge."

The conversation was brief because Mr Cremona had to endure the subzero temperature without a glove while he took the call at the highest camp beneath the actual summit, where the group was resting following their historic endeavour.

"I have to go now or I'll lose my fingers to frostbite," he said jokingly before he hung up.

A few hours after the call, the team was heavily involved in a rescue operation of a climber from a sister team who found herself in difficulty at the south summit and had to be carried down. Dr Attard and guide Victor Saunders were both directly involved.

The team reached the peak at 6 a.m. Nepali time (3.15 a.m. Maltese time) after an arduous nine-hour climb from Camp 4, relying on oxygen tanks to keep them going in the thin air.

"It's a big satisfaction that we took the first chance she gave us and managed to summit. We managed to find the right day to summit. The wind is already picking up now."

The party, accompanied by Mr Saunders and Brazilian mountaineer Manuel Morgado, left Everest Base Camp on Wednesday, when there was a 50-50 chance of the weather holding up enough for them to summit.

Hold up it did and the group, accompanied by Sherpa Tenpa, left Camp 4 on Sunday night to make the most of the little window of opportunity which had opened.

But climbing Everest is hardly the journey of oneness with nature one might imagine it to be.

"There were loads of people there because there were other expeditions who latched on to this time window. I was caught for an hour waiting behind other people. I could feel my fingers about to fall off. If there was more wind we'd have gotten frostbite," Mr Cremona recounts.

The party now plans to go back down to Camp 2 sometime today and if they have enough energy left - which Mr Cremona doubts - they will head straight to Base Camp.

In all, the team will have spent a good six weeks on Everest but Mr Cremona says they will not be missing the mountain much.

"No. There's no fun up here. It's full of debris from other expeditions, thermoses, oxygen tanks, ice and rock. It's the most desolate place you can imagine."

Meanwhile, a major backer of the climbers, Bank of Valletta, yesterday hailed them for their accomplishment that entailed months of arduous preparation and a 47-day expedition in extreme conditions.

The government, the opposition and NGOs congratulated the team members on their achievement.

Factbox - What it took

For the body to work well at high altitudes, it is necessary to climb high but sleep at lower altitudes for more oxygen-carrying red blood cells to be produced. To this end, the group climbed up to Camp 2 and back again and then up to Camp 3 and down again to get used to the high altitudes.

Weather forecasts had indicated there could be a chance for a May 5 summit. However, after going back to Base Camp the group decided against it.

The group paid €100,000 for the expedition organised by guide Victor Saunders, who, in turn, engaged Sherpa to set up tents, provide food and oxygen and assist the climbers in the higher regions of the mountain. A good part of the funding was provided by Bank of Valletta and Duracell.

At these heights - also known as the Death Zone - the climbers were using oxygen tanks to stay alive and make it to the top.

They chose the South Col route, which has one of the highest success rates and was chosen because, in the event of an emergency, it is one of the fastest routes to get down from.

Most Everest attempts take place around this time, just before the summer monsoon season.

There are attempts in September and October, however the extra snow does not facilitate climbing.

The group started training for Everest a year ago and went over the 8,000-metre mark by climbing Mount Cho Oyu, standing tall at 8,200 metres. Mount Everest is 8,848 metres high.