The NUS Mountaineering Club is named Make It Real (MIR), based on the belief that people can overcome any obstacle and achieve their goals, as long as they have the dedication and perseverance to make their dreams real. This photo exhibitition is dedicated to the members of MIR, fellow students in NUS, who dreamt of snow-capped summits, and made their dreams a reality. The twenty photos displayed in Artsbuzz are taken by different gifted photographers from MIR during their overseas Technical Mountaineering courses or expeditions in the Himalayas.
A Brief history of MIR NUS Mountaineering Club
When Dr. Robert Goh and his 2002 Singapore Xixabangma Expedition team decided to pass their mountaineering skills and passion onto NUS students through a Programme called Make It Real(MIR), they had no idea how powerful an impact that programme would leave on NUS students in many batches that followed. The first 10 trainees who turned up for the MIR recruitment talk formed MIR 1. NUS’ Centennial Everest Expedition are alumni of this ‘Make It Real’ programme, while the Singapore Women’s Everest Expedition was also initiated by ‘Make It Real’ members. To date, we are the eleventh batch of MIR.
Sacrifices and the spirit of mountaineering
Mountaineering is not a sport. It is a lifestyle which encompasses elements of uncertainty and risk, but it is not a blind pursuit of risk for its own sake. Thrill seekers have lots of easier activities to pursue. On the contrary, mountaineering involves detailed planning, preparation and motivation to overcome obstacles and to push the limits of human body further and higher. In the harshest of environments, we truly discover what we are made of. It represents the “make it real” spirit with brains.
Mountaineering is something you can never experience in Singapore without going out there to the mountains to see and feel for yourself. The exhilaration of being up there above 5000m, the cold dry windy temperatures and the panaromic scenery of the ends of the world are the mini crescendos in life which make it more meaningful.
Mountaineering is a passion that can only be justified by the self and the will to achieve something much more for yourself. Finally, the camaraderie gained in mountaineering is something that cannot be attained elsewhere, anywhere, anytime.
Our journey to make our dreams of climbing mountains a reality is just one of many dreams. And like mountains, all dreams have obstacles that need to be overcome. But with perseverance, these dreams can be made a reality, as we can attest. The photos speak for themselves. So which dream are you pursuing? Be inspired and make it real!
Samantha Vu, Han EnChou and Nicholas Chee
On behalf of MIR11
nusmountaineering@gmail.com
