An OFW’s dreams soar: She wants to scale the Himalayas

Liza Avalino intends to climb Island Peak, one of the many mountains of the Himalayan Mountain Range. PHOTO from hkhelperscampaign.com

A FILIPINO domestic worker in Hong Kong is planning to climb up the Himalayas in April and conquer one of its peaks.

Liza Avalino, a domestic worker in Discover Bay, Hong Kong will embark on an expedition up Island Peak, which is 6,189 meters or 20,305 feet above sea level, to raise funds for a Hong Kong non-government organization.

According to the website of the domestic workers welfare group “HK Helpers Campaign” (https://hkhelperscampaign.com), Avalino will first climb up to the Mount Everest Base Camp before continuing her trek up Island Peak.

Island peak, also known as Imja Tse, is around 9,000 feet lower than the peak of Mount Everest which is 8,848 m or 29,029 ft above sea level.

It is a popular destination for trekking for its “challenging geographical conditions, including mixed rock and an ice wall at a slope of around 45 degrees,” the post said.

An amateur mountain climber who first joined a local hiking group in 2006, Avalino said that “Island Peak is my own Everest.”

She regularly meets with the group to explore and climb mountains and is a regular group leader.

“[Joining the hiking group] was a great introduction and brought out the ‘mountain goat’ lurking in me,” she said.

Since 2006, Avalino has climbed Mount Yarigatake in Japan and Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. AC