The three men aspiring to be the first Maltese to reach the highest peak of the world yesterday left Camp 3 at over 7,000 metres to attempt the Everest summit.

Gregory Attard, Marco Cremona and Robert Gatt left Everest Base Camp on Wednesday when the weather conditions changed to give them a slim chance of reaching the summit.

The weather has held up enough for the group to make the treacherous trek from Camp 3 to Camp 4, entering the so-called Death Zone, where the lack of air makes it hard to breathe.

The party, led by mountaineering veteran Victor Saunders and each accompanied by a Sherpa, left Camp 4 yesterday at 5.30 p.m. (Maltese time) and could reach the summit by 8 a.m. today, weather permitting.

By trekking at night - the group left at 9 p.m., Nepali time - they will avoid the extreme sun and make the most of the weather, which in the Himalayas is better in the morning than in the afternoon.

They will only be able to spend a few minutes on the top admiring the panorama, after which they will head back down slowly from the Himalayan behemoth.

In his comments to The Times, Marco Cremona said he was confident the team would reach the top. "If not, I wouldn't have signed up for it."