8-year-old boy from Yio Chu Kang Primary School conquers Mount Everest base camp during June holidays

Steady.

Joshua Lee | July 20, 2019, 05:49 PM

For most people, scaling Earth's highest mountain wouldn't be on their holiday itinerary.

Well, 8-year-old Darrshan Raj Thurairajasingam is not most people.

The student from Yio Chu Kang Primary School recently journeyed to Mount Everest base camp during his June break.

Darrshan was accompanied by his father, Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam, a gym owner, and five members of the gym.

Here are some of their photos:

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

The Mount Everest base camp is 5364m above sea level. That's nearly 33 times higher than Bukit Timah Hill.

Speaking to Mothership, Thurairajasingam said that he and Darrshan trained for six months before they embarked on the climb.

Their training consisted of gym workouts, weekly cycling, and outdoor hiking in places such as MacRitchie Reservoir.

 

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Despite the intense training, the hike up the Everest was more challenging than they expected. Darrshan told Today that a lot of the hard parts of the trek were not shown in YouTube videos that they watched beforehand.

Challenges included the rocky terrain, strong winds, and cold weather that drained the climbers of their energy.

Courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam.

Thurairajasingam, Darrshan and the rest of the expedition group set off for the base camp from the Nepali town of Lukla on June 8.

They only reached their destination on June 14.

Thurairajasingam told Mothership that the father and son duo are aiming to scale Mount Kinabalu in March 2020.

Top images courtesy of Thurairajasingam Vijeyasingam and The Right Fit Gym.