He arrived at the Kuala Lumpur 2 International Airport (klia2) on an AirAsia flight at 3.44am Wednesday and was welcomed back by organising chairman Javern Lim and Lions staff.

Lee left for Kathmandu, Nepal on March 31 in his mission to reach the top of Mount Everest in 70 days but was forced to shelve the endeavour on May 19 due to severe weather.

This, despite having completed training and acclimatisation in six weeks and successfully reaching Mt Everest Camp 3 that is 7,300 metres above sea level at a temperature of -35 degrees Celsius.

Lee took the Lions MEE challenged themed, ‘Save Environment and Stay Healthy’ to promote environmental awareness and the ‘Malaysia Boleh’ spirit.

Relating his experience, the avid climber said he had no choice but to avoid taking risks because of such weather.

“No matter how physically and mentally resilient the climbers may be, they cannot challenge the weather there. The risk is very high and the low visibility is a drawback for me.

“On the sherpa’s advice, I am forced to abandon this venture. It is rather disappointing not to be able to continue the mission to the peak but I am thankful to arrive safely home in Malaysia,” he said.

Lee also said he felt fine when asked about his health and well-being.

Lee took up mountain climbing as a hobby in his 40s and has scaled a number of mountains including Mt Kinabalu, Mt Rinjani in Indonesia, Mt Fuji in Japan and Mt Ama Dablam in Nepal.

– BERNAMA