Taipei, March 26 (CNA) A Taiwanese mountaineer known for his habit of always carrying a statue of Matsu -- the Chinese goddess of the sea -- on his climbs set off Saturday on a fresh adventure to Manaslu in the Himalaya.

Lee Hsiao-shih departed for Nepal from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to make final preparations for his expedition to the world's eight-highest summit, which has an elevation of 8,163 meters.

Prior to his departure, Lee predicted that the expedition will involve a lot of difficulties but that if everything goes smoothly, he will be able to reach the top between late May and early June.

According to the 56-year-old climber, mountaineering requires not only perseverance and physical strength, but also "the power of god."

"I hope Matsu will give me a hand along the way," he said.

Lee inherited his faith in Matsu from his fisherman father. In 1980, a fishing boat manned by his father and six other crewmen capsized in rough waters near the Zhoushan island group off China's southeastern coast.

Lee said that his father, who floated at sea for four days, was told by Matsu on the third day that he would be rescued the following day if he remained confident. On the fourth day, he was picked up by a Chinese fishing boat.

From that time on, Lee said, his whole family has worshiped Matsu, and he himself pledged to take a statue of Matsu with him on his climbs of the world's 14 highest peaks, all of which are over 8,000 meters.

He conquered Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in May 2009 and was later honored by the government of Chiayi County -- his home county -- for becoming the first Taiwanese mountaineer to have reached the top of Mount Everest