Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2021)
ASIA / PACIFIC June 7, 2021 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3 Fastest woman, oldest American on Everest return safely By Binaj Gurubacharya The Associated Press ATHMANDU, Nepal — A retired attorney from Chicago who became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest, and a Hong Kong teacher who is now the fastest female climber of the world’s highest peak, returned safely late last month from the mountain where climbing teams have struggled with bad weather and a coronavirus outbreak. Arthur Muir, 75, scaled the peak earlier in May, beating the record set by another American, Bill Burke, at age 67. Tsang Yin-hung, 45, of Hong Kong scaled the summit from the base camp in 25 hours and 50 minutes, and became the fastest female climber. The record of 10 hours and 56 minutes is held by a Sherpa guide, Lakpa Gelu. A climbing accident on Everest in 2019, when Muir hurt his ankle falling off a ladder, did not deter him from attempting to scale the peak again. He began mountaineering late in life, and said he was scared and anxious during his latest adventure. “You realize how big a mountain it is, how dangerous it is, how many things that could go wrong. Yeah, it makes you nervous, it makes you know some anxiety K there and maybe little bit of scared,” Muir told reporters in Kathmandu. “I was just surprised when I actually got to there (the summit) but I was too tired to stand up, and in my summit pictures I am sitting down,” he said. Muir began mountaineering at age 68 with trips to South America and Alaska before attempting Everest in 2019, when he fell off the ladder. Climbing was closed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Married and a father of three, Muir has six grandchildren. The last one — a boy — was born while he was still in the mountains during his current expedition. Tsang made only two stops between the base camp, located at 17,390 feet, to the 29,032-foot summit to change, and covered the near vertical distance in 25 hours and 50 minutes. She was lucky because there were barely any climbers on the way to the highest camp at South Col. After that, on her way to the summit, she met only climbers making their descent, which did not slow her speed climb. At that point, there were only a few days SPEEDY SUMMIT. Tsang Yin-hung, 45, of Hong Kong, who scaled Mount Everest from the base camp in 25 hours and 50 minutes and became the moun- tain’s fastest female climber, gestures to members of the media after arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 30, 2021. Tsang made only two stops between the base camp, located at 17,390 feet, to the 29,032- foot summit. The record of 10 hours and 56 minutes is held by a Sherpa guide, Lakpa Gelu. (AP Photo/ Bikram Rai) of good weather left on the mountain this year, when hundreds of climbers line up to the summit, many having to wait for a long time in the traffic jam on the highest trail. “I just feel kind of relief and happy because I am not looking for breaking a record,” she said. “I feel relieved because I can prove my work to my friends, to my students.” She made a previous attempt on May 11, but bad weather forced her to turn back from a point very close to the summit. She then returned on May 23. “For the summit, it is not just not your ability, teamwork, I think luck is very important,” she said. An outbreak of the coronavirus among climbers and their guides at the Everest base camp forced at least three teams to cancel their expeditions. But hundreds of others have pushed through attempting to scale the summit, at a time Nepal is in lockdown battling its worst surge of COVID-19. Lives Lost: Indonesian doctor’s musical passion led to love By Edna Tarigan The Associated Press AKARTA, Indonesia — Michael Robert Marampe knew what he wanted to be since he was a kid: a doctor and a pianist. He became both, and his passion for music even led him to his fiancée — a woman he never got to marry because he contracted the coronavirus. Marampe met Tri Novia Septiani, a singer and worship leader, at the church where he played piano in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. They formed the duo Miknov, covering popular songs and composing their own music that they uploaded to Instagram and YouTube. They planned to tie J HEALTH INSURANCE Enrollment You or your family may qualify for free or low-cost insurance! If you’re applying or re-applying for OHP or Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, we can help! To make an appointment, call: Vien Tran Insurance Intake Specialist (Vietnamese) (971) 325-1016 Vient@irco.org QUESTIONS? healthplans@irco.org (503) 374-9500 the knot in April 2020 in Bali, but postponed the wedding when the coronavirus started spreading in the Southeast Asian country in March 2020. “He made a song for me. ... The title is ‘You Are the Last One.’ Turns out I became the last one for him,” Septiani said. Loved ones recalled memories of the 28-year-old Marampe during an online memorial service in June 2020. The gathering began with laughter, but many couldn’t hold back tears as they remembered his short life. His mother, Herlina Simbala, said she would never forget one of the last things her oldest son said to her: He promised to hug her again after he got out of the hospital. He never got the chance. “He only texted me. I think he was afraid to talk to me directly,” Simbala said. Marampe always aspired to be a doctor, following in the footsteps of his father, who is a physician at a hospital. After finishing medical school, Marampe took an internship that sent him more than 1,260 miles away from COVID’S COST. Tri Novia Septiani cries next to a portrait of her fiancée, Dr. Michael Robert Marampe, during an online memorial service to mark the 40th day since Marampe passed away due to COVID-19 in Jakarta, Indonesia, in this June 5, 2020 file photo. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File) home to East Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. “He was happy with his job. Wherever and whenever it Continued on page 4
