Singaporean adventurer and motivational speaker Khoo Swee Chiow will attempt to scale the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain, with the support of title sponsor Seagate Technology.
Khoo Swee Chiow will climb K2, one of the most notorious mountains in the world. Photo by Kevin Mayea.
The Seagate K2 2012 expedition, from 20 June to 20 August, will see Khoo Swee Chiow join an international team of 13 climbers from China, South Korea, USA, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Spain, Nepal and Singapore.
“Swee Chiow has shown incredible tenacity and determination in realizing his dreams. His expeditions have made it possible for him to instill confidence, leadership and excellence in thousands of people through motivational talks,” said BanSeng Teh, senior vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific & Japan, Seagate Technology.Khoo Swee Chiow and his team will be climbing the mountain along the Abruzzi Ridge, otherwise known as the Southeast Ridge, from the Pakistani border.
On this climb, Khoo Swee Chiow is taking Seagate Backup Plus hard drives to store and backup his photos, videos and journal files for him to share his story when he returns.
Seagate’s newly designed external storage – Backup Plus hard drives – deliver easy setup, one-click backup and the ability to save and share content on Facebook and Flickr.
In addition to Seagate Technology, they will be supported by other sponsors including Microsoft, Canon, Millet, Adventure21, Iridium, Energizer, Oakley, Touch&Print, Banana Boat, Powertraveller, GoPro and Meteorological Service Singapore.
“K2 will be the hardest climb of my life, much harder than Everest. After more than 20 years of climbing, I feel the time has come for me to give it a go,” said Khoo Swee Chiow, who first climbed Everest in 1998.Standing at an elevation of 8,611 metres above sea level, K2 is known for its high level of difficulty and notoriously high casualty rate.
It has a daunting death rate of 26 percent per ascent, six times higher than that of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
To date, only 302 climbers have successfully reached K2’s peak, a number that pales in comparison to Everest’s 3,500.
