It’s Everest or bust

If everything goes according to plan, the world will be watching the Philippine flag proudly waving on the summit of the highest peak in the world in March 2007. Barring any unfortunate incident, a couple of years from now, a group of highly idealistic Filipinos will once again make a date with history and will join the ranks of illustrious climbers like the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary.

In the meantime, however, the first ever Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition Team is taking it all one careful – at times, difficult – step at a time. Being a part of the team is not easy. Careers have to be put on hold, relationships have to take a back seat, even sacrificed, and finances have to be reviewed and sourced. All for the dream of one day scaling the king of all peaks.

"A lot of people couldn’t understand why we’re doing this and even go to the extent of questioning our motivations," observes 34-year-old Regie Pablo of Globe Telecom during an interview at the National Sports Grill in Makati. Apart from having a foggy idea about alpine climbing, a lot of Filipinos would much rather sit in the comforts of their rooms and have their fill of excitement watching a basketball championship game or imported telenovelas. Most of them just don’t see the point of huffing and puffing their way up tricky mountain trails, hopping over dangerous crevasses, hanging on for dear life clutching at slippery, flat rock walls. To think that these modern-day Don Quixotes even had the gall to challenge the freezing temperatures of Mt. Everest when they’re clearly not used to it just boggles the mind of a lot of Filipinos used to their sedentary – and very safe – lives.

Well, whether the rest of the world likes it or not, these dreamers have made up their minds. Following a very strict regimen composed of cardiovascular training, technical skills and actual climbs of summits in the Asia-Pacific region, the members of the team hope that they would be able to gain enough momentum for their final goal. As Regie says, exposure is one thing, experience is another. While most of them are experienced tropical climbers, they have to know how it feels like to be in near-freezing, high altitude environs. If you’ve tuned in to your televisions lately, you’ve probably seen the team scaling the heights of New Zealand’s Mt. Cook last March.

Currently 17 in all, the contingent is expected to be whittled down to 12 – or even as small as five if logistics become a nightmare – if they find some members couldn’t cope with the high altitude. "In the final analysis, if your body couldn’t produce and recycle enough oxygen, then you’re not meant for alpine climbing. We’ll be able to determine that as we go along," says Regie.

But even now, the fact that they’ll soon be looking at Everest face to face hasn’t really sunk in for a lot of the members. Janet Bellarmino, a 26-year-old Sports Science degree holder from UP Diliman who is also a part-time fitness instructor, was overwhelmed upon learning she would be joining the team. The feeling is mutual for friend Noelle Wenceslao, the youngest at 25 and a Human Kinetics graduate from UP Diliman. "I never dared dream to climb Everest and then suddenly it’s all there," enthuses Noelle, adding that she kept the text message informing her that she’s part of the team.

While the selection process got some tongues wagging in the mountaineering world, the team took the controversies in stride. "The choices were made based on three criteria – capability, commitment level and compatibility. It’s very important that members commit 100 percent to this project and for them to get along well together. You may be a very good mountaineer, but if you lack the two other criteria, then it’s a no-go," says Regie, who is part of the selection committee. He admits to having acquired the ire of not only acquaintances but also close friends when they didn’t make it to the final list. Until now, he says, they’re still getting inquiries and applications from the US who want to be part of the team. They did get one, a Filipino based in Germany, who can be an asset to the team. He is said to be an expert in forecasting alpine weather and will be joining the group in September in Pakistan for their ascent to the 24,757-foot Mt. Muztagh Ata.

On May 12, the team is set to leave for Nepal, this time to conquer the peak of Putha Hiunchuli, which stands at 23,900 feet. They’ll be gone for a couple of months, once again missing loved ones and friends. Twenty-nine-year-old Ariel Ambayec would again try to explain to his four-year-old kid why he’s always leaving and not taking the whole family along. "Fortunately, I have the full support of my wife and my friends," says the part-time mountaineering guide.

Janet’s family and friends would once again shrug their shoulders and scratch their heads wondering what happened to the little girl who used to get scared of thunder. While she has their full support, she knows they still couldn’t understand the idea of her climbing Everest. For Noelle, it’s patiently explaining to her mom once again that there are no snakes in Everest, and telling her well-meaning but clueless sheltered childhood friends that, yes, Everest is the highest mountain on earth and, no, it’s not found in Mindanao. Her dad, however, who is also an outdoors person, definitely wants to come along to send off his daughter come the actual Everest climb.

Obviously a romantic at heart, the expedition’s official photographer John Tronco plans to take his wife and renew their marriage vows at the foot of the Himalayas. Born and raised in Negros, John momentarily left the mountaineering world to scale the urban jungles of Manhattan and move around North America and Europe before coming back to pursue what he fondly calls a "kasal, binyag, libing" career. "It’s difficult because we have to spend our own money for this project. But we’re really dedicated to this project and that alone is motivation enough," says the 40-year-old John who has a photography studio in Makati.

Like life’s challenges, climbing a mountain eventually brings out a climber’s strengths and, more significantly, his weaknesses. In the team’s case, the weaknesses range from pining for home-cooked, honest-to-goodness Pinoy fare to the lack of technical skills to having tempers rising, among others. Regie, after getting tired of curry dishes and bread while training in India months ago, easily wolfed down four bandehado of rice and dried squid and daing. Janet knew she has to master the technical stuff and do it instinctively if she wants to survive the Everest climb. The training has finally domesticated Noelle, who proudly declares that she can now at least help cook the meals ("I learned how to slice carrots in the New Zealand trip"), wash the dishes and do her own laundry. For John, it’s to keep in mind that his passion for photography could lead to his downfall if he’s not careful. There was one incident in a past climb when he ran the risk of ending up blind because he forgot to wear safety goggles as he clicked happily away. "Snow blindness is a very real threat in alpine climbing," says Regie.

Regie also notes with amusement the differences between the sexes when it comes to facing problems during a climb. He says it’s important for climbers to listen to what their bodies are saying, and perhaps the only time when being mareklamo is encouraged. "The girls would say immediately if they’re feeling different but the guys would just keep quiet and will even refuse to take medicines for fear of being ejected from the team," observes Regie, adding that acute mountain sickness begins with a simple headache and, if ignored, could lead to pulmonary or cerebral edema and finally, quickly, death. (Well, cut out the macho stuff guys, for your own sake. We’d rather have a live Everest veteran than a dead one.)

Dying due to lack of oxygen is a very real threat in the Himalayas. This is why, upon arriving at the Lukla airport in Kathmandu up to the base camp, they’d have to walk for 12 days. They call this a "turtle walk" – they have to walk up to four hours a day only to acclimatize to the high altitude. As a rule, says Regie, they shouldn’t go beyond 1,000 feet a day. Only those with suicidal instincts would be crazy enough to take a chopper to the base camp, which means instant death.

Talks of death don’t really bother the team members. When they all met for the first time for the project, they were made to fill out a document detailing how they’d like their body to be disposed of in case of death. The questions could be unnerving but it had to be discussed as early as that first day – would they want their bodies to be cremated, taken back to their families or left on Everest? "We’re mentally prepared for the specter of death. Department of Transportation and Communication Undersecretary and team member Art Valdez put it more eloquently when he said, ‘The fear of failing is higher than the fear of death,’" says Regie.

Ironically, death is the least of their worries. "We’re more worried about where we’re going to get the funds for our future training." The crucial thing, he adds, is for them to peak physically in time for the big climb. As it is, they’ve already missed two expedition climbs – in Khyrgysztan and the French Alps – last year, which could affect their momentum. They have already dipped into their own savings, while well-meaning friends also lent them money to help sustain their training programs.

The team’s efforts didn’t escape the eye of generous sponsors Coleman, Northface, Globe and ABS-CBN. Globe, the title sponsor, is footing one-third of the bill. In a gesture of camaraderie, Coleman and Northface have set aside their competitive spirit to come together and support the team all the way to Everest’s summit.

The team would rather not say the exact cost of the three-year project – let’s just say it’s of Everest proportions – but they have lamented that the government doesn’t seem to be as receptive as they expected. "We asked for travel tax exemption but so far, di pa naayos. We weren’t even given at least an airport tax exemption," laments Regie, adding that he understands that the government lacks the budget for this. It’s just unfortunate that neighboring country Malaysia, when it sent its own Everest expedition in 1997, fully supported the team. According to Regie, President Mahathir Mohamad even sent goat meat and chicken to the base camp. The cost of the flight to deliver the food stuff amounted to $20,000 which was shouldered by the government. Considered as national heroes, the team and their climb was followed by the whole nation for two weeks on television. Indonesia, on the other hand, spent $2 million to support the five-month training of its team. The latest news they’ve heard, Thailand will also be sending its own expedition in 2006... with the full support of the Thai government naturally.

The Philippine team has also approached several private organizations, which seem to be adopting a wait-and-see attitude with one outfit even rejecting them outright because their project "is not an Olympic sports event."

But it looks like there’s no turning back for Regie and company. For them, a successful climb means reaching the peak and then making it back down – alive. "Reaching the summit is compulsory; making it down is mandatory," says Regie, adding that most of climbing accidents happen on the way down. The euphoric feeling of having been on top at times makes the climbers complacent and that’s when trouble begins. "Even if only one person in the team makes it to the top and comes down alive, then that climb will have been a success," says Regie, who adds that he’ll probably bring with him a five-dollar New Zealand bill which has a picture of Sir Edmund Hillary as his tribute to one of the very few who conquered Everest and lived to tell the tale. But for the whole team, bringing along and propping up the Philippine flag at the summit would be a once-in-a-lifetime and highly emotional moment. And that would more than compensate for all the hard work they have to go through. "Seeing the Philippine flag fluttering on Everest is something not even millions of dollars could buy," says Regie. In the final analysis, the group won’t be carrying their individual names but the pride of the whole country. For the whole team, putting all this together is already like scaling Everest.

"Imagine the impact and the long-term effect that would make for the country," says Noelle.

What’s lacking in financial support, believers are making up for in terms of moral support. As of last count, Regie says around 200 Filipinos – families, friends, fellow mountaineers and sponsors – will see the team off at the camp. For the first time ever, a Mass will be held at the camp by Fr. Robert Reyes.

The team will soon be packing their 30-kilo or so backpacks once again to train further. After their Nepal and Pakistan ascents this year, and if they have enough funds, they plan to go to Myanmar, climb more peaks in Nepal, with the last major climb being Cho Oyo, one of the few 8,000-meter peaks in the world, which is also called the Death Zone. It’s said that once you make it in the Death Zone, then you earn the right to climb Everest. Well, after paying the climbing permit that costs $70,000 for seven people. (We couldn’t help but wonder which is easier to overcome – climbing Everest or paying for the permit.)

In the meantime, Regie, Ariel, Janet, Noelle, and John, with the rest of the team – Art Valdez, Butch Sebastian, Fred Jamili, Levi Nayahangan, Choi Aquino, JB Añonuevo, Leo Oracion, Jong Narciso, Carina Dayondon, Erwin Emata, Larry Honoridez and Dr. Red Esguerra – will continue their intensive training and work some more (Two of them will certainly not stop from weaving hammocks or being a part-time mountaineering guide for added income). All this for that goal of one day conquering Everest. Never mind if another American climber died at Everest a few days ago after falling into a crevasse at the deadly Khumbu Icefall. For these Pinoy climbers, it’s the Everest summit or bust.