OUR AWESOME PLANET

Pinays on Everest - All Set to Traverse Mt. Everest!

Rate this post:

Official Blog: Pinays On Everest

Let us all pray for the safety and successful Mt. Everest traverse climb of Carina Dayondon, Janet Belarmino and Noelle Wenceslao. They will be setting a world record for climbing up from the Tibet side of Mt. Everest and going down via the Nepal side. No woman has done this before. They are set to climb the summit on the Mother's day weekend (May 12/13) if weather permits or after the elections (May 15/16).

I just read from the blog that pinay climber Janet Belarmino just gave birth 5 months ago and now reaching for her dreams of climbing Mt. Everest. What determination and strength she had! Simply amazing! Any mother can relate how giving birth can be a challenge and heartbreaking episode to leave a 5-month old baby. Admirable! Janet, you're baby is just as proud as we are here!

Despite the odds, all the pinays are set to climb Mt. Everest! Good Luck!! Kung kaya ng Pinoy, kaya din ng Pinay yan!

Technorati Tags: everest, pinays on everest

Pinays on Everest 2007 -- The First Filipina in Everest!!

Rate this post:

Janet Belarmino, Carina Dayondon and Noelle Wenceslao. Good Luck and Make us Proud!

After so much controversy (which I won't discuss anymore), I'm glad that the three filipina mountain climbers are now at Everest Base Camp in Tibet! They will be climbing the Tibetan / North Side of Everest which is cheaper by more than half versus climbing the Nepal side. This side is more dangerous so lets pray for their safe climb! They should be climbing Everest in May and they are now training in the The Summit Of Gokyo Ri.

" Early last week, the team climbed a 5,000+ meter peak in the Everest Region called Gokyo Ri. This was a training climb to allow the womens' bodies to get used to the thin air at high altitude. According to the team physician, Dr. Ted Esguerra, the women performed extremely well. While in an e-mail, team member Noelle Wenceslao said the climb up Gokyo Ri boosted their morale, as the perfect weather enabled them to see Mt. Everest in its full glory." (pinaysoneverest.blogspot.com-- official Pinays on Everest blog)

Check out this video of the Pinay Mountain-Climbers in Action:

Music: Adiemus from The Official Athens 2004 Classical Album

I'll be monitoring their progress and give them support in my own little way.

Related Posts:
3 Filipino women off to Everest
Three Pinays Ready To Climb Everest

Congratulations Romi Garduce! 3rd Filipino to reach Mt. Everest! First P&G-er to reach Mt. Everest!

Rate this post:

Congratulations Romi for reaching the highest peak in the World!! We are all celebrating your success!! So now, the Filipino trio is complete-- Leo Oracion, Erwin Pastour Emata, and Romi Garduce -- the first three Filipinos who reached Everest! Also, It was funny to see the big boss in our Manila Service Center, Greg Clark on TV congratulating Romi. I'm actually validating with P&G management whether Romi might be the First ever P&G manager worldwide to have reach the summit of Mt. Everest. It would take a while to validate it but knowing the people and the work in P&G, I wouldn't be surprised if he is indeed the first manager in Procter and Gamble worldwide to summit Everest!! Congrats, pre!! 3 summits down, 4 to go :)!!

7 Highest Summits of the 7 Continents
Mt. Kilimajaro (Africa) 5,895m (1st climb-for-a-cause Sept. 2002)
Mt. Denali (North America) 6,194m
Mt. Everest (Asia) 8,848m (4th climb-for-a-cause May 2006)
Mt. Elbrus (Europe) 5,642m ( Romi attempted to climb this-- thanks Francis for the correction)
Mt. Carstensz Pyramid (Australasia) 4,884m
Mt. Aconcagua (South America) 6,960m (2nd climb-for-a-cause Dec/Jan 2004)
Mt. Vinson (Antartica) 4,897m

Technorati Tags: Philippines

[First Filipino in Everest] Congratulations Leo Oracion!

Rate this post:

"The Philippine Eagle has landed." www.philippine-everest.com

"Congratulations to the first Filipino in Mt. Everest, Leo Oracion!! Well done, the entire Philippines is celebrating your success and at last a Filipino is on top of Mt. Everest! This is a very symbolic quest for us, Filipinos and you are the official winner for the amazing race for the First Filipino to reach Mt. Everest. Let's not pretend that this is not a race, it is a race (why do you think there were 4-5 Filipinos suddenly climbing Mt. Everest all at the same time). A race in itself is not bad. It is very healthy because we, Filipinos, thrive in competition and this is where we give our best. We Filipinos love rivalries Globe vs. Smart, GMA7 vs. ABS-CBN2, La Salle vs. Ateneo, Pacquiao vs. Morales, and so on. This should not undermine the achievement of the other Filipino climbers who would also reach the top of Mt. Everest. After all, Mt. Everest is a personal journey and it is every mountain climbers dream to reach this highest point on earth. Lets continue to pray for Leo Oracion, Pastour Emata and Romi Garduce, (and the other 4-5 or so people) that they may be able to go back safely in the Philippines after reaching the highest peak in the world.

Technorati Tags: Philippines

As for Romi Garduce, he is a ribbon cutter and in his post on his thoughts on his E attempt, he said:
"I see that my role is also evolving, I've shared before that I see E as 1 giant door to open, and with it, other possibilities and adventure opportunities await. So now I see my role not just as a climber, but a gate-opener, a ribbon cutter. I may or may not climb the peak, but making the attempt alone already brings major significance in the history of mountaineering and adventure sports here, it means we are now taking on the challenge. "

So after conquering Mt. Everest, a Filipino needs to conquer the 7 highest summits in all the seven continents! After Romi is able to successfully climb Mt. Everest, he would have climbed 4 out of the 7 summits within a span of 6 years. Here is the scorecard:

Mt. Kilimajaro (Africa) 5,895m (1st climb-for-a-cause Sept. 2002)
Mt. Denali (North America) 6,194m
Mt. Everest (Asia) 8,848m (4th climb-for-a-cause May 2006)
Mt. Elbrus (Europe) 5,642m (completed)
Mt. Carstensz Pyramid (Australasia) 4,884m
Mt. Aconcagua (South America) 6,960m (2nd climb-for-a-cause Dec/Jan 2004)
Mt. Vinson (Antartica) 4,897m

A long way to go but this is a matter of national pride and achieving world class excellence in Mountain Climbing and Adventure Sports. So, we'll we see a race for the 7 summits, anyone?

Lets pray for Romi's Safety.

Rate this post:

It is funny to read all the controversies in the background supporting Romi's climb. Just read the blog comments and you'll realize that crab mentality is still part of our Filipino culture (sadly). Just read Romi's personal thoughts on his Everest Attempt. By the way, the official Romi Garduce's Mt. Everest climb blog have been sequestered already by GMA 7 (http://www.gmanews.tv/everest/blog/) to moderate the blog and hopefully the comments which gotten out of control in the original blogspot. Although this is not updated as we hope it would be, the GMA news live updates will together be our source of news of his Mt. Everest quest.

By the way, I've been to El Nido in Palawan and even the ordinary people are now praying and hoping for the best for Romi. The feeling is similar to Pacquiao's boxing match but what is astonishing here is that the ordinary people just got interested with Mt. Everest recently and still they are supporting Romi. Imagine the power of GMA 7 to influence the minds and hearts of the Filipino people. Also, not in my wildest dreams, that I imagine an IMAX theater would be a reality here in the Philippines and yet, it is set to open on May 21 with Mt. Everest as its inaugural show. Thanks to SM and GMA 7 for bringing IMAX to the Philippines!

Lastly, lets all include Romi in our prayers because this is a life and death situation specially when climbing down. Lets pray for our country that we may be united and remove the crab mentality mindset flowing through our veins. If you are reading this, please say a prayer for Romi's safe return.

Technorati Tags: Philippines

Romi Garduce's Mt. Everest Quest -- a symbolic conquest for the Filipino people.

Rate this post:

GMA7 have started to air the feature on Romi's Mt. Everest Climb last night on the reporter's notebook-- this is now mainstream media. What is funny is that GMA7 was able to get all the world class athlete to say congratulatory messages to Romi including Pacquiao, Efren Bata, and our PBA players. He continues to blog at his Official Chomolungma (Tibetan Name of Everest) Site: http://everest2006pinoy.blogspot.com/ and he is now at basecamp -- woohoo! Now you are able to get all the mainstream news, while I give you the side stories and emotions behind this climb.

Technorati Tags: Philippines

There are a lot of controversies surrounding this climb that reflects the crab mentality in our Filipino culture. As you know GMA7 is supporting Romi while ABS-CBN was for the other camp. Smart is supporting Romi vs. Globe supporting the other camp. I'm kinda guilty also with this type of attitude with all the previous post I made on Romi Garduce vs. Philippine Mt. Everest Team. I just read this article from MountEverest.Net on Everest 2006: Philippines -- the battle for the first and it is a shame that even in mountain climbing we are not united.There has been some serious talks about why Romi did not join the team and how selfish his motives are. In our office, there are still people who have the attitude of "who cares?" if he summits Mt. Everest and would even snicker a comment that he has a lot of free time while working for a multinational company.

The fact of the matter is, Romi has a full time work in our company but he did not give up the dream and the vision of putting a Philippine Flag in all the seven summits of the world! As you see, Everest is only part of it and the ticket for more people supporting his climb-for-a-cause activities. This is the winning attitude that our company is known for and I'm proud that he is a step closer to the vision. You'll be amaze at how he used technology and the internet to connect with other world class mountain climbers and form a team going up to the summit.

But this is not anymore about who climbs Mt. Everest first, this is a symbolic conquest for the Filipino people. For years we are contented as a nation (pardon to our former climbers), not to have a Philippine Flag in Mt. Everest. The attitude of "who cares?" or "we cannot do it, let somebody do it" is a thing of the past for the Filipinos. I remember that in our college days, people are saying that our youth is the hope of the Philippines, but guess what that same youth is in his 30s right now and this is the generation that is breaking into greater heights for the Filipinos. My theory is that Filipinos just need to start to love being a Filipino and start believing that we CAN do it! This is the Filipino tipping point and Romi is inspiring other Filipinos that we can do it in whatever endeavor we take!

We should be proud and Filipinos should be united to pray for Romi's success.

a Prayer for Romi Garduce's First Pinoy Mt Everest Quest...

Rate this post:

I break my vacation silence to express my good luck wishes and prayers to Romi who just reached Mt. Everest Basecamp. This is a very dangerous climb that could mean life or death situation and I'm really worried at the same time proud that the dream is within reach in a month's time. I know that you want to die on a mountain but this is not the one, you still have a few summits to go and conquer the rest of the 7 summits and make us Filipinos proud. We pray that you go home safely whether you are successful or not and we don't want to lose the very unique Romi character that we have grown to love and appreciate. May He guide you to the right path and strategies and may He give you the strength to conquer Mt. Everest! Amen.

Please send your good luck wishes and support @ the Official Chomolungma (Tibetan Name of Everest) Site: http://everest2006pinoy.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: Philippines

The quest is ON for the First Filipino in Mt. Everest!

Rate this post:

Armed with the passion to become the first Filipino to set the Philippine flag proudly on top of Mt. Everest in May 2006, Romi Garduce kicked off his quest in conquering the highest mountain in the world last March 3, Friday. The plan was to make this as low key as possible because of the political implications (won't elaborate anymore :). Romi is an officemate and a good friend for some years now, and I'm glad that our company supported him in this quest. We ensured that back-up plans are in place and agreed on a 3 months leave of absence. He would be attempting to climb the summit and be back in Manila by May 15 (at the earliest) or May 29 (at the latest). May is the best time and the only window for safely climbing Mt. Everest @ 29,028 feet (8,848 meters).

On a related topic, the 1st all Filipino Mt. Everest expedition team has now been trimmed down to 17 core members. The core group of the Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines Inc. (MFPI), including Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Art Valdez, Butch Sebastian, Fred Jamili, Jong Narciso and federation president Regie Pablo, will spearhead the Philippine expedition. They just finished a 10-day alphine Mountain Course training in Mt. Cook National Park in New Zealand. Here they tackled the 3,754m Mt. Aylmer and the 27 km long and 3 km wide Tasman Glacier, the biggest among the range of glaciers present in the park. The team is set to climb Mt. Everest in May 2007 and for sure will set other records including becoming the first all Filipino expedition team and the first Asian woman on top of Mt. Everest. Female adventure racers Janet Belarmino, Noelle Wenceslao and Bukidnon-bred Karina Dayumdon are part of the selection. Also John Tronco, is their official photographer ( talk about a well funded star-studded team ).

Stay tuned for this and good luck to all our Filipino Climbers!

Technorati Tags: Manila, Philippines

March 2006: A Pinoy Conquers Mt. Everest!

Rate this post:

Good Luck and We will fully support you, Romy!!

Mt. Everest Anyone?

Rate this post:

Romi posted updates on the post Cho Oyu climb activities and he has an open invitation for all for those who want to try a 20,000ft Nepal Trek sometime in April/March. Here's the excerpt:

"I'll be organizing an 'open climb' next year for anyone who wishes to try a good trek in Nepal or, experience an alpine climb (20,000ft mountain). Beginners or advanced mountaineers (climb), or office-slaves (trek) are all welcome to join in. Maybe around April or March. Email me if you're interested (ph_climbforacause@yahoo.com). I'll switch to a different Blog site to cover these next scheduled climbs." - Romi Garduce

I've been contemplating about it but with Aidan still young, it might be difficult. My friend John and Ching tried it and here is there experience: Back from Trekking.

Imagine how close Mt. Cho Oyu is to Mt. Everest already.

Rate this post:

Among mountaineers, Mt. Cho Oyu is a preparatory for Mt. Everest and if you are successful in the 8000m altitude or popularly known as the death zone, then you will be ready for Mt. Everest for the last 900m altitude difference. For those just tuning in to this blog, I've been following closely Romi's Mt. Cho Oyu climb and started to blog about it.

Not a lot of people are interested about it, but climbing Mt. Everest and to be the first Filipino to ever set foot in the great mountain and come back alive is a different story. I've been playing about google earth lately and if you draw a straightline between Mt. Cho Oyu's peak and Mt. Everest, it is just 20miles ( I wish it could be that easy :). Anyway, enjoy the satellite image and here are the links about Romi's Mt. Cho Oyu climb:

Romi's Cho Oyu Blog (by Romi)
Cho Oyu Pictures (by Romi)
New Filipino Altitude Record Set by Romi for Climbing Mt. Cho Oyu @ 26,000ft (Awesome Planet)
We are glad you are alive Romi (Awesome Planet)
Garduce’s next stop: Mt. Everest (Manila Standard)
Pinoy reaches peak of 6th highest mountain (Manila Bulletin)
No mountain high enough (yehey)
No Mountain High Enough (Manila Standard)

Is Rommel Indaflor-Brass the First Pinoy to ever climb Mount Everest?

Rate this post:

In one of my Romi Garduce's post in climbing Mt. Everest, there was a pinoy_kiwi person who left a comment on my blog that Rommel Indaflor-Brass first climbed Mt. Everest last April 21, 2003. He is a half-Filipino half-NZealander and the anonymous comment was originated from New Zealand. We checked in with Mt. Everest Authorities and Jeevan (jui@wlink.com.np) confirmed that there has been NO Filipino yet that has climbed the great mountain. I've googled the person's name but apparently no luck as well. So as a last ditch of effort, I'm creating a post here as a cry for help to whoever has information and who can verify Rommel Indaflor-Brass achievement. The intent is to give credit where credit is due and so that when Romi climbed Everest next year, we can properly claim it as probably the first natural born Filipino to ever climbed Everest.

Essential Romy Garduce Cho Oyu Links

Rate this post:

Romi's Blogs
Romi's Cho Oyu Blog
The Road to Everest Blog (by Romi)
Cho Oyu Pictures

News Articles
New Filipino Altitude Record Set by Romi for Climbing Mt. Cho Oyu @ 26,000ft/ 8000m (Awesome Planet)
We are glad you are alive Romi (Awesome Planet)
Garduce’s next stop: Mt. Everest (Manila Standard)
Pinoy reaches peak of 6th highest mountain (Manila Bulletin)
No mountain high enough (yehey)
No Mountain High Enough (Manila Standard)

We are glad you are alive Romi

Rate this post:

>> The Road to Mt. Everest by Romi Garduce

For perspective how significant this achievement is, here are the 7 peaks which are the highest mountain in each continent:

Mt. Kilimajaro (Africa) 5,895m
Mt. Denali (North America) 6,194m
Mt. Everest (Asia) 8,848m
Mt. Elbrus (Europe) 5,642m
Mt. Carstensz Pyramid (Australasia) 4,884m
Mt. Aconcagua (South America) 6,960m
Mt. Vinson (Antartica) 4,897m

As you can see, Romi is already close to Mt. Everest altitude (8000m known as the Death Zone).

New Filipino Altitude Record Set by Romi for Climbing Mt. Cho Oyu @ 26,000ft (8200m)

Rate this post:

The Amazing Race for the first Filipino to ever set foot on Everest!!

Romi Garduce, have set the new altitude record last September 26, 10:30AM Nepal Time by climbing Mt. Cho Oyu, the 6th Highest mountain. This record give the title to the first Filipino to reach an 8200m (26,000 ft) peak --- also known as the death zone. Just to give you a perspective how high is this and how significant is this achievement:

• Romi's last climb was Mt. Aconcaqua at 6962m (22,800ft) set the record for the first Filipino to climb the highest peak in the western hemisphere last January 2005.
• The Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition Team (FPMEE) led by Regie Pablo climb Mt. Muztagh Ata located between Pakistan and China at 7,546 meters (24,758ft) last August 2005.
• Mt. Everest altitude is 8850m (29,035ft)

One more climb in summer next year and Everest here we come. We are sooo proud of you Romi and thank you for making us Filipino proud that we can accomplish this feat! I'm expecting alot of politics surrounding this first Filipino to ever set foot on Everest. I do hope that other companies would already support him after this Mt. Cho Oyu conquest, or each Filipino should contribute to his Climb-for-a-Cause Foundation.

Now, who are you betting on to be the first Filipino to climb Mt. Everest -- Romi from P&G or Reggie from Globe/FPMEE? BTW, Happy Birthday Romi!!

About Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition Team
The well funded (FPMEE) everest team is composed of Regie Pablo (Globe Telecoms), Leo Oracion, Karina Dayondon, Levi Nahayangan, Ariel Ambaye, Erwin "Pastour" Emata, expedition physician Dr. Ted Esquerra with FPMEE leader Art Valdez. The team's recent conquests of Mt. Aylmer in New Zealand and the Kiyonang Peak of India, and recently Mt. Muztagh Ata in Pakistan and China. Their ultimate goal is to climb the summit of Mt. Everest in 2007. The team is supported by Globe International Services, Philippine Airlines, ABS-CBD, The North Face, Philippine Accident Manager's Insurance and the National Sports Grill.

About Romi Garduce

Romi is an IT manager in P&G with a passion to be the first Filipino to climb Everest. His previous mountain conquests are: Mt Uhuru, Kibo Crater, Kilimanjaro (5895m/19400ft) East Africa.  Sep 2002, Mt Aconcagua (6962m/22,842ft), Andean Range, Argentina.  Jan 1, 2005, and recently Mt. Cho Oyu (8000m/26000ft), Nepal, Sept. 26, 2005. He is just supported by North Face and his Climb for a Cause foundations either Bukas Sarili or Cartwheel Foundation. He funds his trips using his personal funds and his P&G manager, Mr. Greg Dawes, fully supports his passion.

Goodluck Romi on your Mt. Cho Oyu Climb!!

Rate this post:

Last June 10, I've blogged about my good friend Romi's next climb. He invited me to join at least the short trek at the slopes of Nepal during the first part of his climb but my schedule and finance does not permit it. I'm glad Ching was able to join and I'll expect very nice pictures from their trip. Good Luck Romi on your Mt. Cho Oyu climb!  For those who wants to contribute here and know more information about this noble cause, here are some links:

>> Read more on Cartwheel Foundation press release.
>> Romi's Mt. Cho Oyu Blog