Five students from Fudan University set out Tuesday to conquer a 6,206-meter peak in Tibet, triggering disbelief and concern from the university authority and many parents.
The five students including one woman, aged between 21 and 26, plan to leave Lhasa, capital of the western Tibet Autonomous Region, on June 30 to climb the mountain.
According to their schedule, they will spend one week to reach the peak of Qizi Mountain on July 7.
Most of the team members were to graduate from Fudan University next month and three were members of Fudan's mountain climbing and exploration association, university officials said.
"Mountain climbing is a sport which can build courage and personal qualities. Every single success conquers both our own fears and nature," said Lin Yehan, 23, the team's leader.
Lin successfully reached the summit Altyn Mountain, a 5,800-meter peak in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2003.
"As most of us will graduate next month, conquering a mountain can put an exclamation mark on our university life," Lin said, adding that the team had been mapping their ascent for one year.
The team has been training hard, practicing climbing skills and gathering rescue knowledge since March. They have had three six-hour spot training sessions at Yinqixin -- Shanghai's indoor skiing facility.
The team has also won support from the Tibet Mountain Climbing Association, who approved their ascent after a strict assessment.
The trip's expense including climbing equipment, food and insurance, will be covered by the students and donations from local companies. Ding Yu, another team member, estimated the trip will cost 4,000 yuan (US$482) each.
However, the team's Tibetan mountain ascent was opposed by parents as well as Fudan authorities.
"It's too dangerous," said Yuan Genbao, a local father. "How can an amateur university team try to climb a giant, snow-capped mountain?"
Zhou Ye, a student community management official at Fudan, also said that without professional training and skills, it is very dangerous for inexperienced students to challenge the harsh conditions of nature.
"Young students shouldn't risk their lives to satisfy their passion. That will lead to some unaffordable consequences," Zhou said.
In August 2002, all five members of a Beijing University mountain climbing team died in an avalanche during the ascent of a 7,292-meter mountain in Tibet.
(Shanghai Daily June 23, 2004)
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