At nearly 7 months pregnant, this RSAF pilot defied the odds and conquered Norway’s toughest hikes

By the time I met Fiona Lee on a Monday morning, we had already postponed our interview twice.

She had recently suffered from severe mastitis, a painful breast infection caused by a blocked milk duct. It led to throbbing pain, pus-filled abscess, fever and chills. A doctor had drained the abscess, and Lee was on antibiotics that made her feel nauseated.

Nothing about her manner reflected this ordeal.

The young mother was bright, effusive and already prepping for a camper van trip to New Zealand the following week to explore the South Island and trek Roy’s Peak with her husband and her five-month-old infant.

It was a fitting sequel to her unconventional trekking adventure last year.

Then, at 27 weeks or close to seven months pregnant, Lee set her sights on hiking Norway’s three iconic rock formations – Kjerag, Pulpit Rock and Trolltunga.

Braving blistering cold, strong winds and snowstorms with her baby bump, the 31-year-old scaled a total elevation of 2,200m and covered a distance of 47km.

CONQUERING NEW HEIGHTS

The end of the second trimester can be an exhausting period of pregnancy for many women. As the baby grows, it puts more pressure on the body, making everyday activities like climbing a few flights of stairs tiring.

What compelled Lee to climb formidable rock formations?

“Because I felt like I had lost myself,” she said.

“After I became pregnant, I was happy because I really wanted the baby,” she recalled. “My mum was diagnosed with cancer last year, and she always wanted a grandchild, so I had also wanted to get pregnant fast.”

Lee, however, loves her job. As one of the few female pilots at the Republic of Singapore Air Force, where many cadets don’t even pass the gruelling training, she worked hard to graduate among the top performers in her cohort.

She was initially streamed to fly fighter jets. But drawn to humanitarian missions, she veered towards military transport.

The plane she pilots, the C-130 Hercules, is a formidable aircraft that transports critical cargo and troops to remote or challenging destinations, often operating from short or unprepared airstrips.

Being pregnant meant she had to put a pause on flying for safety reasons, and she requested to be posted to the training unit.

Lee, however, feared that she would not be able to return to the flying unit after giving birth. When she first told some of her colleagues about her intentions to have a baby, she had met with some resistance.

This affected her so much that when she discovered she was pregnant, she told no one except her immediate superior and a female mentor. She squeezed her growing belly into her increasingly snug uniform for many months.

Adding to her uncertainty, Lee started spotting from the second to third month of her pregnancy, fuelling fears of a miscarriage. She also suffered from morning sickness and vomited frequently in her first trimester.

Well-meaning friends told her: “You are going to lose your freedom. You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you can’t go jet skiing, you can’t fly, you can’t ride your motorcycle, you can’t go hiking,” she said.

A go-getter, Lee resented these feelings of weakness, vulnerability and loss of control.

After the morning sickness resolved in her second trimester, she recalled feeling “very sian”, or frustrated. 

“I felt like I couldn’t do anything. There was no agency,” she said.

That was when Lee decided if she couldn’t soar in the sky, she would reach new heights – on foot. She would trek.

“There is this slightly rebellious streak in me that made me want to prove myself and others wrong. I wanted to solidify that belief that I could still achieve things that I put my mind to,” she reflected.

HER UNCONVENTIONAL BABYMOON

That was how Lee rallied her husband, a software engineer, to embark on an ambitious trekking adventure.

The couple chose to hike Norway’s “Big Three” – Kjerag, Pulpit Rock and Trolltunga.

The famous hiking trails with breathtaking views can be challenging even for those without a baby bump. Of the three, the longest hike is Trolltunga, a 28km trek to a summit 1,180 metres above sea level. The most challenging is Kjerag, a 12km trek with steep inclines and sections that require hikers to use chains for support.

The couple felt that the infrastructure and emergency huts along the trail would provide an important safety net. These huts offer shelter, first aid and other supplies.

The couple familiarised themselves with the location of the shelters and the use of first aid kits. They also scoured social media to get a feel for the terrain and stay updated on trail and weather conditions.

They trained at Bukit Timah Hill, climbing the hill once, twice, thrice and then four consecutive times in a single session. They also hiked MacRitchie Reservoir, Chestnut Nature Park and Dairy Farm Nature Park.

Two months of prep, including one month of training and a 23-hour red-eye flight later, the couple landed in Norway in June last year for their 10-day trip, with breaks in between hikes.

Taking advantage of the good weather, they decided to tackle the steepest rock formation of the trio, Kjerag, the next day.

It was a steep 29 per cent gradient to the top and by that point, Lee had put on 6kg to 7kg of baby weight.

Her strategy: Slow and steady.

“Because it’s summer and the sun never really sets, we took our time. Most people would wake up at 6am to 7am to trek. We just slept till 12 plus in the afternoon so that we had sufficient rest and didn’t rush at all,” she chuckled.

Lee also used a hiking stick to maintain balance, as her growing belly shifted her centre of gravity.

What concerned Lee more was slipping on the way down. To minimise risk, she got on her bottom and slid for half the way down. Not knowing she was pregnant, other trekkers simply thought she was a noob (slang for newbie), she laughed.

One thing Lee could not anticipate was the everchanging weather in the highlands. During their trek of Trolltunga, despite meticulously monitoring, they were caught in a snowstorm. Temperatures dropped to -5 degrees Celsius.

“It was almost like a blizzard. We were pushing against the wind gusts to climb. Rain and snow were falling at quite a heavy rate. We could probably only see 10 to 15 metres ahead,” she recalled.

Despite the difficulties, Lee described trekking in a snowstorm as a surreal experience.

“It was white everywhere against blackish rocks and cliffs. I had my hands in my jacket and was admiring the scenery, looking back at my husband to smile. It was a warm, nice, fuzzy feeling to have each other for comfort amidst the blistering cold,” she said.

The couple sheltered in an emergency hut during the worst hour of the storm before making it to the top. They were awestruck by the beauty.

“The scenery in Norway is absolutely amazing. There are cliffs, fjords and mountaintops. To journey there with my husband knowing that it’s going to be the last time that we are doing things as just two before the baby comes was quite bittersweet,” she said.

A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS

Lee’s superiors were informed about her pregnancy shortly after the trip, and she was extremely relieved to find out that they were supportive. They reassured her that her career was secure, and that she would be able to fly again after giving birth.

In September 2024, she gave birth to a baby girl.

When I spoke with her, she was at the end of her four-month maternity leave but was unable to return to the cockpit because her daughter could not transition from breast to bottle-feeding.

With support from her higher-ups, Lee is taking no-pay leave for a year to nurse and spend time with her baby.

“It’s been a difficult decision. Because I have been progressing well, to put my career on hold at this juncture would be disruptive,” she said. The passionate pilot added that she hopes to fly and parent full-time soon.

At the time of our interview, she was also preparing for a family trip to New Zealand and a trek to Roy’s Peak with her infant.

She later updated that she had made the trek of 1,000-plus metres with her five-month-old 8kg baby, nursing her every two to three hours along the way – it was an eight-hour long trek.

“Baby made an indelible mark at Roy’s Peak by doing a major poonami (an explosive and messy diaper blowout) while I was nursing her at the top … when the sun was setting and we were entering the golden hour,” she laughed.

Calling it a special experience nonetheless, Lee said: “I feel that with thorough preparations and appropriate precautions, it’s really possible to still live and love life the same way we did pre-kids.

“There’s really no reason to shrink ourselves down. We don’t have to be fearful of what’s to come. Adventure doesn’t end when you have a baby; it starts when you have one,” she declared.