Globe-trotting Singapore family responds to critics after 4-year-old son fell ill during trek to Mount Everest’s base camp

• A Singaporean couple travelling round the world with their four-year-old child found their latest adventure being debated online

SINGAPORE, July 6 — A pair of Singaporean parents recently came under fire for their decision to take their four-year-old son on a hike to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal.

Civil servants Rakcent Wong, 35, and Carol Tan, 36, are travelling the world for two years with their son Atlas Wong.

They document their travels on a joint Instagram account named “Engaging Atlas” and s Tan’s own Instagram account under the user name “fitmumwannabe”.

As part of their two-year trip, the family of three arrived in Nepal on May 18, with plans to start their trek to the base camp on May 20.

Wong told TODAY on Friday that it would have taken the family eight days to reach the base camp and another four days to descend.

However, they called off the hike just six hours shy of the base camp, after Atlas developed symptoms of acute mountain sickness and his oxygen saturation dropped to “worrying levels”, he said.

Earlier this week, the family’s attempted hike to the base camp gained traction on online forum site Reddit, after their Instagram post of the trek and Atlas’ illness was shared on two Reddit threads.

Several people have criticised the parents’ decision to take the young child on such a hike, which they said would require extensive physical training and acclimatisation beyond what a boy his age could be used to typically.

Responding to these criticisms, Wong told TODAY: “There are diverse opinions on parenting styles. We appreciate those who find values in our methods and acknowledge those who voice their concerns.

“We believe we are all products of our own experiences.”

“The journey to the Everest Base Camp is not easy but not too tough either... I can’t think of a better place where we can all learn and apply (resolve), resilience and compassion as a family,” he said.

The Everest Base Camp sits at an altitude of 5,360m above sea level, and serves as a home base for mountaineers attempting to climb Mount Everest in Nepal.

The mountain, at 8,850m tall, is the highest among those in Himalaya. From space, it is considered the highest point on Earth.

In April this year, five-year-old Abyan Imtiaz Irkiz became the youngest Singaporean to reach the Mount Everest base camp.

Preparing for the Everest base camp

In a May 19 post for the “Engaging Atlas” Instagram account, the family said that they were heading to the Everest Base Camp after cancelling a trip to Jordan due to “rising tension” in the country.

They had been travelling in Turkey in May.

Wong told TODAY that while they were in Turkey researching their next destination, Nepal “popped up” as an option.

Since it was the “season for trekking”, they grew excited and reached out to a trekking company in Nepal on May 1.

“We were already actively hiking (and) had everything we needed.

“The Everest Base Camp trek spans 65km and is a 2,500m elevation climb each way. The numbers seem intimidating, but when spread over eight days, and with the porters carrying our bags, the (idea of the) trek became more manageable.”

Considering the intensity of the hike, the family signed up as a private group so that they could retain a flexible schedule and “tune the trek to (their) pace”.

After booking the base camp trek, Wong said that the family had some “informal training” in Turkey.

“We tried to mimic the typical day on a (base camp) trek. That’s about eight hours of trekking a day, 8km to 12km walk with an elevation gain of about 500m. We hiked almost daily for about a week.”

However, Wong added that they were unable to “mimic or test out” the base camp’s high altitude. The highest they managed to hit was a mountain in Turkey with an elevation of more than 2,000m above sea level.

Regardless, Atlas is no stranger to mountain climbing.

Wong said that the boy had first scaled a 700m-tall mountain in Australia when he was three years old. The feat took him four hours.

Since the family began travelling full-time in January this year, they have also climbed mountains of various heights across the Balkans, Eastern and Central Europe, and in the Scandinavia region.

The highest that they had conquered with Atlas so far was a mountain located in the Austrian Alps, with an elevation of more than 3,000m above sea level.

After their week of “informal training” in Turkey, the family rested in Cyprus for five days before flying to Nepal.

Taking some precautions

On May 20, the family began their trek to the Everest Base Camp.

Acute mountain sickness was “definitely a concern” for them, so they consistently tracked their oxygen saturation levels, which would give a “good indication” of whether they were hit by altitude sickness, Wong said.

If Atlas were to fall ill with symptoms of altitude sickness, they would “quit the trek from wherever we are, no matter how close to the target”, he added.

Taking a bit more care, the family ascended the mountain at a rate that was “30 per cent slower” than other hikers.

“We typically are the first to walk out of the guest house and among the last to reach the next point,” Wong said.

They also ensured that they stopped for hydration every half an hour and took a longer break at every hourly mark.

When they reached higher altitudes, the family increased the frequency of their breaks — resting every 10 minutes at times.

Describing the first few days of the hike as “uneventful”, Wong said that the family took their oxygen saturation readings every morning and night, and Atlas’ readings were “consistently the highest” among them.

Getting sick

Things, however, turned awry on the fifth day of their hike when they were more than mid-way up the ascent.

That afternoon, Wong and his wife bought a lollipop for Atlas from “a local store”.

Within 10 minutes of consuming the lollipop, Atlas began vomiting. He also lost his appetite for other food and had diarrhoea the rest of the day.

The couple took Atlas to a clinic, where he was “unofficially diagnosed” with food poisoning. On the doctor’s recommendation, the family spent the next day resting to allow Atlas to recover.

He added that Atlas’ oxygen saturation level was at a “healthy level” of about 88 per cent. His appetite later improved and he was generally active.

The morning after their rest day, the family then made the decision to continue the hike after checking on Atlas’ vitals.

The boy had stopped vomiting and having diarrhoea, but the couple did not want to “push (him) too much”, and so had the porter carry him, Wong said.

The couple also fell ill during the week-long hike: Wong developed a lower respiratory tract infection and Tan — who vomited several times — was believed to have also gotten food poisoning.

Although their initial plan was to ascend to the Everest Base Camp in eight days, an extra day was added after their day of rest.

On the ninth day, in their final push towards the base camp, Wong said that Atlas’ oxygen saturation dropped to a “worrying” level.

They could not get an accurate reading on their device, but Atlas’ oxygen saturation level was fluctuating between 44 and 70 per cent.

This was below the expected “healthy” levels of 75 to 80 per cent, at their altitude of 4,950m above sea level, Wong said.

Just six hours away from their target, the couple decided to pull the plug on the trek.

Getting down the mountain

It was 7am when Wong and Tan made the decision to descend.

They promptly ordered a helicopter to take the family to a lower altitude level, but the vehicle could not reach them due to poor weather conditions.

Apart from his low oxygen levels, Atlas did not display other symptoms of acute mountain sickness such as dizziness, Wong said.

The family continued to wait at a guest house, where they were later informed at 4pm that there would be no flights for the day.

Worried that there would be further complications if they were to spend the night at that altitude, the couple hired two horses to take the family 300m down the mountain.

However, Wong said that the horsemen declined to carry Atlas, saying it would be “too dangerous” to hold a child on the horse.

Making a swift decision, their hiking guides took turns to carry Atlas down the mountain.

Wong said that what was supposed to have been a three-hour descent took just half the time.

When they reached Pheriche village — about 4,300m above sea level — that evening, Atlas’ oxygen saturation level had increased to 85 per cent.

There, the family saw a doctor who explained that Atlas’ weakened immunity, dehydration and nutrition deficiency due to his food poisoning could have led him to be more susceptible to altitude sickness.

The trio rested in the village for the night, before taking a helicopter ride down to Lukla and Kathmandu the next morning.

Wong noted the online criticism that they have received, but said that with the hindsight of what had transpired during the trek, they would have still taken their son to attempt the trek.

What they could do better would be to exercise “more caution” with their immunity.

“The journey to the Everest Base Camp is not easy but not too tough either. It teaches persistence and the importance of maintaining a determined mindset to navigate obstacles.

“I can’t think of a better place where we can all learn and apply (resolve), resilience and compassion as a family.”

Rakcent Wong (back row) behind his four-year-old son Atlas Wong, taking a picture with his wife Carol Tan as well as porters and guides during their trek to the base camp of Mount Everest in May 2024.

The base camp trek has been the toughest leg of their trip, but it was also where they were the “kindest” to each other, Wong added.

“Just as important as pushing on, knowing when to retreat is also a great teaching moment for Atlas. Being self-aware, we live to fight again another day.

“Everest Base Camp is also a choice destination because the trails are well-developed and sufficient safety measures are in place.

“We believe this trip has made us a stronger family and builds a solid foundation for Atlas’ future growth.”

Asked if they have plans to return and complete the hike as a family, Wong said: “Yes, but maybe when he’s a teenager and if he still finds us cool enough to hang out with us and has the interest to climb mountains.

“We will package it with a summit push to the Island Peak (6,189m). It’s along the way!” —TODAY