Oslo Beach’s Lee Maree tackles Everest
He is travelling with adventurers from Germany and Australia, turning the journey into a true team effort.
Lee Maree, a 44-year-old father of two from Oslo Beach, is turning a lifelong dream into reality – by trekking to the base camp of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
“Funny enough, I was chatting to someone who was going to climb to base camp and they said: “Don’t put it off, otherwise you’ll never do it. I booked my tickets the next day,” Lee told the Herald before losing Wi-Fi connection and continuing his journey.
On Tuesday this week, he was six days into his 15-day trek, battling temperatures as low as -3°C and the effects of high altitude. “Today was my first day of feeling the altitude change and I had a slight headache,” he said.
The landscape, Lee describes, is a stunning mix of Cape fynbos and Drakensberg-like peaks, dotted with yaks. As he ascends, lush forests give way to rocky slopes and snow-covered mountains, to the spectacular Khumbu glacier with the goal to see the summit of Mount Everest.
He is travelling with adventurers from Germany and Australia, turning the journey into a true team effort.
You might think Lee had conquered Mount Kilimanjaro before taking on base camp, but he hasn’t. Aside from rigorous leg workouts at the gym, he relies on his natural fitness to tackle the challenge.
“This mission is 60% mental and 40% physical,” he adds.
Lee is no stranger to courage. Two years ago, he swam 600 metres through rough surf at Oslo Beach to save a 21-year-old student caught in a rip current, earning the prestigious Mountbatten Medal from Lifesaving South Africa.
Inspired by Jack Kerouac’s words – “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”
He says: “This has been a bucket list trip forever. Base camp, here I come!”
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