Having just turned 80 this year, Ranee, as she prefers to be called, first put on her hiking boots in her 50s, and found the experience so exhilarating that she has trekked to the Everest Base Camp three times!

“Being a housewife, I was quite introverted before but this whole experience has made me a more outgoing person,” she told FMT Lifestyle.

Ranee explained that life before her hiking days was very busy as taking care of her three children was already a full-time job.

Between ferrying them to school and tuition classes, and cooking for the family, she didn’t really have the time to pursue her own interests.

However, she did love walking. And with her two sons at university, she began to take daily walks at the park after dropping off her daughter at school. It was only after her daughter left home too that she had time on her hands to focus on herself.

“I kept myself active with my daily walks and entered a lot of walkathons,” she said, adding that it was a trip to the Everest Base Camp in 1997 that changed her life completely. She was 53 at the time and it didn’t even matter that she was the only female in the group.

“I still remember how hard it was trying to cross this valley. We had to go all the way down and cross the river on a makeshift bridge, then climb up again to get to the other side,” she said.

“It was difficult, yes, but I feel it’s mind over matter in this case, and I took it one step at a time.”

Ranee never really got over the thrill of hiking to the Everest Base Camp. Soon she was hiking up Mount Kinabalu too, then Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani, Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, and Japan’s Mount Fuji.

She also returned to the Everest Base Camp – twice – once in 2006 and again in 2017. Her 2017 trek earned her a spot in the Malaysia Book of Records as the oldest female to have completed the hike.

To train for the gruelling hikes, Ranee amped up the intensity of her walks and worked out on the treadmill too. For her Mount Kilimanjaro hike, her group headed to Batu Caves, climbing the 272 steps multiple times as a means to build endurance.

Another memorable event for her was celebrating her 70th birthday on the peak of Mount Kinabalu, with her family in attendance too!

An octogenarian now, Ranee is showing no signs of slowing down. She said she continues to work hard to stay fit just in case she spots the next hike to sign up for.

Ranee had some encouraging words for aspiring hikers.

“If you find that a group is organising a hiking trip, I would encourage you to go for it, because you never know when the next opportunity is going to come along. However, do make sure you are fit before going.”

As for the future, Ranee said she hopes to hike to the Everest Base Camp at least once more, this time with her daughter.