Discovery Bay domestic worker Liza Avelino will pack her specialist climbing gear next month as she heads to Nepal for a 22-day Himalayan trekking expedition up to Everest Base Camp. Liza will be raising funds for local NGO Enrich.
When Liza, from the Philippines, joined a Hong Kong hiking group in 2006, her dream to stand on top of the world gained a foothold. Every Sunday, on her day off, Liza would meet the team to explore new tracks, climb new peaks around the territory. Before long, Liza became a team volunteer and also a regular group leader.
“It was a great introduction and brought out the ‘mountain goat’ lurking in me,” she said. From then on Liza joined hiking trips to China, and then organised expeditions in her home country, inviting friends from Hong Kong.
In 2010 and 2012, Liz participated in the popular 100km HK Oxfam Trailwalker event, which gave her confidence to set the bar higher. She went on to tackle the ‘Matterhorn of Japan’, Mount Yarigatake – a 3,180m mountain in the southern part of the Hida Mountains. Last month, she reached the 4,095m summit of Mount Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo.
Everest Base Camp
This April, Liza will not be stopping at Everest Base Camp to sit around a fireplace and drink hot chocolate. She will go on to conquer the summit of Island Peak, 6,189m peak in the Everest region. It is a sought-after trekking destination due to its challenging geographical conditions, including mixed rock and an ice wall at a slope of around 45 degrees. Liza says “Island Peak is my own Everest.”
Liza will be a guest on the ‘Empower Me’ public panel discussion at Hemingways Bar in Discovery Bay on Tuesday May 5th – details to follow. Donate to her JustGiving campaign here – donations go to Enrich.
