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Mark Agnew

Vivian Ying Cai is preparing to climb Everest next month, and is looking forward to the simplicity of life in the mountains, and the suffering.
A relative newcomer to the sport, the 33-year-old has already battled severe altitude sickness, but that only spurred her on to reach greater heights.
What started out as a trip in 2019 with outdoor brand Arc’teryx to experience ice and rock climbing, progressed to tackling bigger mountains in Sichuan Province, and is now a full-blown obsession which has her targeting the world’s seven highest summits and both poles.
Such is that love, that Cai, who is from Hangzhou in mainland China but now lives in Hong Kong, was preparing to tackle the world’s highest peak and trek to the North Pole in the space of several weeks.
The trek to the pole has been put on hold because of transport issues, something Cai said she was secretly relieved about. But the goal of completing climbing’s ultimate bucket list holds a place in her imagination and she feels she “has to do it”.

It’s not her only motivation. “Also this accomplishment when you train hard and achieve it. That’s kind of the acknowledgement of your efforts,” Cai said.
For some, the illness that accompanied her first trip to Everest Base Camp would have put them off for life, for Cai it had the opposite effect.
As part of the trip to the camp she tackled four mountains nearby, on the last of which she was hit with altitude sickness that caused her guide to consider stopping the ascent.
But she battled through several bouts of vomiting and reached the top.
“For most of people, if their first mountain experience is not good, most of people just give up,” Cai said. “I think nobody was worse than me. I really wanted it all the way to the top of the mountain.
“I almost vomited all the way to the mountain, but I still made it. It made me feel like, ‘oh my God, I feel so good’. So after I descending, I thought ‘Hmm, what’s the next time?’.”

Searching for that challenge led her to Mount Kilimanjaro, the first step along the path to conquering seven summits. This time there was no altitude sickness, and she even posed in a bikini after reaching the snow-covered peak.
As well as the adrenaline of completing a climb, for Cai there is the attraction of an environment that makes hot water “feel like you’re in heaven”.
“You do not have internet, you do not have many things,” she said. “That is the thing I think in the city, people normally do not realise.
“You can go back to the civilisation. You can enjoy your bed and everything, this kind of comparison makes you realise you are living actually a very good life. I kind of like suffering.”
There is also the confidence that comes from climbing, although verbalising her goals isn’t easy.
“I’m almost shy to admit I want to climb Everest to my climbing friends,” Cai said. “I know actually even summiting Everest does not mean nothing. It’s very commercial. But still, I mean, it’s kind of a stage I want to make it. I train very hard.”
With plans to start a family on the horizon, Cai’s attempt to tackle Everest could be her last for a while. The peaks and poles are likely to be back on the agenda when she is nearer her 40s.
“I think it’s a challenge. I’m not 100 per cent of sure of myself,” Cai said. “I want to do it to prove myself.”


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Vivian Ying Cai at Everest Base Camp Photo: Handout


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Vivian Ying Cai made it to the top of Kilimanjaro without suffering from altitude sickness. Photo: Handout 

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In 2001, the Hong Kong Yacht Club the pair pose ahead of their Atlantic crossing. Photo: SCMP

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George Darling (left) and Duncan Swanson enjoying the rewards for their effort. Photo: Handout

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Sport

Outdoor

Extreme Sports

Vivian Ying Cai plans to climb the highest mountain on each continent and reach the Earth’s axis points
The 33-year-old is relatively new to climbing but the sport has now become a full-blown obsession


Vivian Ying Cai plans to climb the highest mountain on each continent and reach the North and South Poles.


Expeditions and adventures