Video | ‘I thought I would die’: Filipino maid from Hong Kong survives Nepal quake after attempt to scale Himalayan peak
She vows to save hard and return to Nepal, after falling 600m short of goal to conquer mountain
Filipino domestic helper Liza Avelino's longtime dream to scale a Himalayan mountain neighbouring Everest was marred by snowstorms, sickness and a tragic earthquake.
Though she fell 600 metres short of her goal to reach the top of the 6,198-metre Island Peak in Nepal, Avelino - who saved two years of pay and bonuses for her Nepal expedition - said she came home with a new perspective on life and the determination to return one day and complete the climb.
After seeing the poverty in some Himalayan villages and experiencing the tragedy of the quake that rocked Nepal at the tail end of her trip, Avelino, 44, says it was a "humbling experience".
"When you think how hard your life is as a domestic helper in Hong Kong, and then you see how some [villagers] live, you realise you have nothing to complain about," says Avelino, who has been working as a maid in Hong Kong since 1996 to support her impoverished farmer parents.
Avelino landed in Kathmandu on April 4, then flew the next day with her mountain-climbing crew - led by trekking company owner Ian Taylor - to "the most dangerous airport in the world" Lukla, an airstrip on a cliff that ends in a 3,050-metre drop if pilots miscalculate.
"When landing in Lukla, the plane just nosedives. It was scary," she told the after the trip.
