CEBU CITY –
The success of the three Philippine adventurers in scaling the summit
of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak which stands at 29, 039
feet, inspires the entire Filipinos, particularly the local
mountaineering populace in the countrywide.
In random interviews
to local climbers in Eastern Visayas, the victory of the three
Filipino mountaineers, two of them, members of the First Philippine
Mount Everest Expedition Team, were considered by them as an
“achievement” of the entire nation.
Atty. Bruce Ragas, a
climber and caver based in this city said the successful climb of the
trio is again a triumph of human’s will to hurdle hardship no matter
how hard the obstacle (is).
“It was doubly hard
for the three Pinoys because coming from a tropical country, they need
to harness their skills to the demand of alpine condition,” Ragas
said.
“They (do) not only
put the (Philippine) flag at the Everest peak, (but) they also put our
country in the attention of global mountaineering. It also gives boost
to our local mountaineering activity that surely would leap to a more
professional level,” he added.
Sandro I. Almasco, a
climber in Catarman, Northern Samar also contributed same observation
with Ragas saying the “three Philippine eagles” has put a big mark in
the international history of mountaineering.
“The success of the
Filipino mountaineers (in
Nepal)
raises a high respect from international community and elevated us
(instantly) to a pedestal where Hillary and Norgay seats (in 1953),”
Almasco said in his statement sent to this writer Thursday.
Jean Orsolino, another
climber from Las Navas, Northern Samar, said: “Climbing Everest has
formally introduced the Filipino people to the extreme world of
mountaineering.”
“The feat of Oracion,
Emata and Garduce has earned mountaineering such esteem and respect.
But the sports if it can be called as such must be viewed not as a
competition with others but with one self,” Orsolino added.
Rommel Rutor,
co-author of the Centro Outdoor Sports Unlimited based in Catbalogan,
Samar shared, and “It’s an every mountaineers dream. I would be a
hypocrite if I am not dreaming of becoming one of those who
successfully climb it, and raise the seal of Samar as the first
Samareño to reach the top of the world.”
“I just wish that the
provincial government of Samar is that keen in supporting outdoor
adventures (because) it’s the only way we can put Samar on the
adventure map of Philippine tourism. Samar is number one on that
aspect, but without the proper support from the local government unit,
it will remain a dream for life,” Rutor, who was consistently
commissioned by the province of Samar to promote tourism, said.
In Cebu City, one
Glenda Bantang, president of the Elite Mountaineering Society (an
association of at least 15 mountaineering groups in the entire
Cebu) has also
issued their statement relative to the successful conquest. A part of
their statement said: “It proves that we Filipinos are internationally
competitive in extreme sports. Our problem is that our government
won’t support our athletes unless they’ve succeed, unlike in other
countries.”
Oscar Melkie,
president of the Baktasi Adventures in
Northern Samar also said that the successful conquest of the Filipino
climbers inspired us all. “It’s a show of Filipino excellence. We feel
honored being a Filipino, but not our being colonial mentality when
two networks competed for this cause,” he said.
Meanwhile, the rest of
other climbers in the country including the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
congratulated the three ‘historic’ climbers.
According to Arturo
Valdez, leader of the ABS-CBN backed expedition team, Oracion arrived
at the Everest summit around 0730 GMT (5:30 p.m. in the
Philippines; 3:30 p.m.
in Nepal).
He said Oracion was
with a group of Swiss and Korean climbers who also made the summit,
and that the group spent some time waiting to stand on the 8,850
meters (29,035 feet) summit due to a “traffic jam'’ created by about
20 climbers at the Hillary Step.
The step is the last
major hurdle along the Nepalese southern route up the world's highest
mountain, which straddles the border with China. Another Expedition
member, Emata, arrived atop the mountain the following day, and a
third, Garduce, followed shortly afterward.
“For mountaineers,
that's the Holy Grail,” said Reggie Pablo, a leader of the Oracion's
support group in Manila. “For the Philippine Everest team, it's more
of a call for unity and teamwork for this country. We'd like to tell
our people, send a message, that we can do the impossible if we put
our acts together and work as a team.”
The Everest climb
pitted the Philippines' largest television networks in a race against
each other - ABS-CBN television is a major supporter of Oracion's
team, while GMA7 television backs Garduce, a system analyst and member
of the UP Mountaineers.
The networks have been
airing regular reports on the progress of their respective teams since
they left for Nepal early this year.
Garduce climbed some
of the world's highest peaks, including
Mount Kilimanjaro in
Tanzania, Aconcagua in
Argentina and Cho Oyu, the world's sixth-highest mountain, just west
of Mount Everest while Oracion and Emata reached the summit of the
7,546-meter (24,757-foot) Muztagh Ata in Western Xinjiang, China in
August 2005.
