Adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow, 60, crosses 300-peak milestone

After hitting the milestone of climbing 300 peaks when he summited Taiwan’s Mount Yangtou in mid-September, Singaporean adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow celebrated the feat by doing what he does best: Climbing another mountain.

The motivational speaker travelled to Cameron Highlands with over 60 friends two weekends ago, where they commemorated his latest achievement by climbing two peaks and having “a little crazy dance session”.

The 60-year-old said: “It’s been a very long journey and it’s hard to put into words (what this means to me). I’m very blessed to have achieved this milestone.”

While there are no official records of the number of people who have climbed 300 peaks, Khoo said “very few people in the world” have done it and it was not a milestone he had expected to hit when he started these expeditions over 30 years ago.

He caught the mountaineering bug while working in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s and dreamt of conquering one of the world’s toughest peaks, after he glimpsed Mount Everest on the plane back from a holiday in Nepal.

In 1998, he took part in Singapore’s first Mount Everest expedition. The team’s first attempt was unsuccessful as they had to turn around within 160m of the summit, but they accomplished their mission a week later when Khoo and another member got to the top.

The father of two went on to complete the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

Having climbed Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and Mount Everest (Nepal), Khoo also summited Aconcagua (Argentina), Denali (Alaska), Elbrus (Russia), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Kosciuszko (Australia) and Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia).

Like many climbers seeking to complete the Seven Summits, Khoo climbed both Kosciuszko and Carstensz Pyramid to avoid any potential controversy over which should be the seventh mountain, a dispute that stems from the geographical definition of the Australia continent.

He is the first South-east Asian and among only a handful to have ever completed the Explorers’ Grand Slam: Reaching both poles and the Seven Summits.

In 2012, Khoo also became the first person from the region to reach the summit of Pakistan’s K2, the second-highest mountain in the world at 8,611m, second only to Mount Everest’s 8,849m.

The 300 peaks that he has scaled are at least 500m high and span over 30 countries and territories.

On what keeps him going, Khoo, who reached Mount Everest’s summit again in 2006 and 2011, said: “The mountain is a very special place. It allows me to train my physical and mental strength.

“Mountains are awesome and beautiful to behold. It’s therapeutic to connect with Mother Nature. We city dwellers need that.”

His love for adventure extends beyond mountains. Leading Singapore’s first Antarctica expedition in 1999, Khoo skied to the South Pole, travelling 1,125km in 57 days.

In 2003, he cycled from Singapore to Beijing, a distance of 8,066km. The following year, he swam across the Strait of Malacca from Tanjung Rupat in Indonesia to Port Dickson, covering a distance of 40km in 22 hours.

These expeditions have given him the opportunity to explore new countries and mountains, and interact with the locals and immerse in their culture.

He also enjoys the challenges they present – reaching the summit and coming back.

Among the 300 mountains he has ascended, he counts climbing the 8,027m Shishapangma in Tibet as the most memorable.

Recounting the experience, he said: “I climbed it without using oxygen and no sherpa support, just with a few friends. And we climbed a route that is rarely climbed, the British route on the South-west Face. I was extremely exhausted coming down from the summit, I was severely dehydrated, fatigued and hallucinated.

“I was very lucky to come back alive without any frostbite or other injury.”

While he has escaped brushes with death, Khoo has lost friends to climbing along the way. But the sexagenarian feels there is risk in everything and said he takes precautions to ensure his safety.

These include preparing as much as he can, reading up on routes and weather, training hard and bringing sufficient gear for safety and always having contingency plans.

For now, he has no plans to stop climbing.

He said: “I am 60. There’s not much time left so I’d better keep climbing while I am still able. There’s no time to waste.

“I am sure one day, my body will say that’s enough. But until then, I am not going to worry about it. I do what I can.”