How labourer became first Hong Kong man to conquer Mount Everest in 1992, without climbing partner

“HK climbers head off to hit the heights of Everest,” ran the headline in the South China Morning Post on March 21, 1992.

“Two Hongkong men will set off today to try to become the first people from the terri­tory to conquer Mount Everest and plant Hongkong’s flag at the top of the world,” the story continued.

Raising funds for the expedition had proved an uphill struggle for Chung Kin-man, 38, and fellow climber Cham Yick-kai, 32, who on March 10 had scaled World-Wide House, in Central; a stunt that was a last-ditch bid to attract sponsorship money.

On April 24, the Post reported: “The Hongkong members of an international expedition to climb Mount Everest [say] they are suffering from unseasonably low temper­atures of minus 25 degrees Celsius, altitude sickness and fatigue, while the expedition has been beset by accidents and low morale.”