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three minute video clip taken high noon on 22nd May 2008 captures the moment perfectly. Choked with emotion and squinting into a blister­ing sun a determined Nueng takes the last few strides to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. Squeez­ing oxygen into his lungs he turns to the camera and requests to sing the King’s anthem. The words are muffled and his voice breaks with emotion but nothing can subtract from the poignancy of the moment – marking the pinnacle to four years of intense training, and in that a victory for the human spirit over adversity.

As the first Thai to reach the sum­mit the odds were stacked high against Nueng. When he decided upon his attempt in 2003 there was little inter­est for mountaineering in Thailand. However, inspired by the dream of honoring the King’s 80th birthday by conquering Everest the obstacles were soon put in perspective. “All you need is a strong body and a lot of money” Nueng said at a recent screening of his climb in Bangkok’s Himalaya restaurant, before adding half jok­ingly, “in fact, raising the money was harder than the climb itself.” Besides the US$65,000 required for a permit to climb Everest around $100,000 was spent in preparation. Money he raised through sponsorship.

Unusually for an Everest moun­taineer Nueng began climbing at the relatively late age of 35, four years before his attempt. Sailing into the blue on a scuba diving trip around the Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea his traveling companion made a com­ment about how great it’d be to place a Thai flag on the summit of Everest. The spark was lit, obsession took hold and from that point on there’d be no turning back.

Those who have summated the Everest seem unable to forget it for a moment, it’s as if the mountain has seeped into their genetic fiber. Others who attempt or merely visit Everest are often equally affected. When asked by a reporter in 1924 why he wanted to climb Everest, the English mountain­eer George Mallory retorted, “Because it’s there.” For mountaineers who set their life course on reaching the sum­mit the mystique and sheer grandeur of the mountain is reason enough.

As a film and TV producer Nueng was doing OK but didn’t have nearly enough money to fund an attempt on Everest. Rather than rob a bank, he used his contacts and knowledge of the TV industry to propose a se­ries of reality shows revolving around mountaineering challenges. The ben­efits would be two fold, firstly, the TV exposure would gain the public­ity needed to raise sponsorship and secondly, by being a participant of the show he’d acquire the kind of fitness and experience needed.

Plainly the Thai TV industry is more interested in filming sleeping pandas than inspiring the people with great adventures; the proposals were rejected on home ground so Nueng took his idea to Vietnam, proposing the show as an opportunity for the Vietnamese people to show the world they’re good enough to take on great challenges. The idea was sold and within months he was joining teams of climbers, taking on the challenge of some of Asia and Africa’s highest peaks.

The reality show became a big hit in Vietnam and Thailand and over the course of a few years funds were raised and a team was selected for an at­tempt on Everest. Unlike Big Brother, popularity didn’t come into it. Those found trailing on the mountain as­cents – from Kinabalu to Kilimanjaro – were eliminated and over the course of time a team strong enough to take on Everest was whittled down to a small number of Vietnamese athletes – a boxer, a gymnast and a footballer amongst them.

Anecdotes from the two months acclimatizing and climbing Everest flow freely from Nueng and veer from one extreme to another – extreme danger and suffering as well as mo­ments of hilarity and tragedy. As a film and TV producer Nueng was doing OK but didn’t have nearly enough money to fund an attempt on Everest. Rather than rob a bank, he used his contacts and knowledge of the TV industry to propose a se­ries of reality shows revolving around mountaineering challenges. The ben­efits would be two fold, firstly, the

On the final push to the summit he recalls taking his eye off the track, blinking into the blinding sun and sliding one hundred meters toward the abyss. His heart must have bolted into his throat before he was saved by a snowdrift and looked up to see a Sherpa – the guardian angels of the Himalayas – racing his way. “Every minute you must concentrate” he said. “The wind can hit 200km’s per hour and snow cuts into you like a thousand pins.”

The sheer scale and other world­liness of Everest can be disorientat­ing. On another occasion he found himself looking up at an avalanche, mesmerized and unaware of just how close the avalanche was before being once again saved by a Sherpa. “Every­one ran, then the Sherpa came to me, pulled me back and scolded me.”

As a metaphor; Everest is simple and pure, man versus nature, it ap­proaches a universal understanding of our primal desire to conquer and will eternally stand as a symbol for triumph and failure. It can also blow apart assumptions about age and our perception of limitations. On Nueng’s team was a 77 year old Nepalese of legendary status who went on to enter the record books as the oldest man to reach the summit. “He was the earli­est up so everyday we’d follow him” Nueng joked. “But he was very slow so we’d get up even earlier so we could go ahead. Three would pull him and two would push him.” Rumor has it he’s planning another attempt for his 80th birthday.

Thanks to improved equipment and knowledge fatalities have dropped considerably. However, compared to other sports, tragedies are still com­monplace. At base camp the climbers acclimatize to the altitude and for the most part have fun before the seri­ous stuff begins. Different nationali­ties are easily identifiable. According to Nueng the Italians have the most stylishly designed tents. Adhering to stereotypes they’ll play classical music and cook pizzas in a portable oven. Likewise, the Japanese can’t be sepa­rated from their sushi while the Viet­namese huddle over pots of noodles in their modest but sufficient tents. “At night I’d cook Thai food and swap with my neighbors” Nueng said.

One of his closest friends at Base Camp was a Swiss guy named Uwe Gianni Goltz who was planning an ascent on the summit without oxy­gen. At night they’d often play guitar together in their tents and listen to the strange, other-worldly sounds that echo through the mountains. When people come so close to achieving their dream there’s little that can stand in their way. Tragically, the demands of Everest were too great for Uwe. He died on the slopes after pushing him­self beyond his physical limits. There’s a moment in Nueng’s short film that appears more valuable than all the treasures of the world. It’s not reaching the summit itself but the party that occurs at base camp after conquering the mountain. They’re in dirty clothes and probably only drinking cheap grog and eating rice but the sense of achievement, joy and comradeship emanating from their expressions speak more than a thou­sand words to the meaning of their experience.

Nueng is planning another at­tempt in 2011. Traversing the Orient wish they were up there with him.