The challenge8000 team will be leaving Malta on Wednesday, the 26th of August for their first major mountaineering expedition in the Himalayas. The expedition will attempt to climb the sixth highest mountain in the world, Mt Cho Oyu (8,201m). Details of the expedition were revealed during a press conference today by the challenge8000 team.

The team members said they expected a tough eight weeks ahead of them as they will slowly climb higher up the mountain and hoped to acclimatize to the altitude without major health problems. They said they are well prepared for the climb but at that kind of altitude there are a thousand and one unpredictable factors which could compromise their health and the success of the expedition. The team is however confident that they have chosen one of the best professional guides in the world to lead the expedition, Mr Victor Saunders, who has vast mountaineering experience and has summitted Mt Everest four times.

Back in March, this Maltese team of climbers made up of Robert Gatt, Gregory Attard and Marco Cremona had announced that they have committed themselves to two major expeditions, the first one being an attempt to climb Mt Cho Oyu, from August to mid-October 2009, and the main expedition being an attempt to climb Mt Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, which the team will embark upon in the Spring of 2010.

During the press conference, the team members said that they have been training hard both individually and as a team. The team said it has worked on a number of skills that might be useful during their 8-week expedition, from climbing skills to rescue routines. The pre-expedition work also demanded a lot of energy for the rigorous planning of every detail of the expedition.

The challenge8000 team is committed to raise awareness on the high incidence of Asthma in the Maltese islands as well as the hazards associated with dust particles in the air. This commitment resonates with the respiratory problems that climbers often encounter at high altitudes, the team stated.

For more information about challenge8000 you may visit www.challenge8000.net

Duracell, the main sponsor of the challenge8000 team, is supporting this historic attempt.

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