MANILA, Philippines - The quest is far from over.
For Janet Belarmino, one of the first Filipinas to conquer the highest peak in the world in 2007, reaching the top of Mt. Everest was just the beginning of a lifelong mission.
“After Everest, I realized I knew so little and yet there is so much to do and to know,” Belarmino tells STARweek. “The journey is not over. It’s never over.”
In 2010, she joined her teammates on a historic voyage of the balangay around Southeast Asia, sailing a replica of the ancient vessel (dated back to 320 AD) as our forefathers did, powered by the wind and navigating by the stars. She also did a personal four-month voyage on a sailboat with her family from Langkawi to Palawan in 2012.
Now blessed with two children – seven-year old Himalaya and eleven-month old Amihan – Belarmino, 36, is currently based in Coron, Palawan and is organizing expeditions with her husband Todd Forney.
“Our expedition to the Himalayas requires certain physical and skill levels due to the nature and conditions of the environment in the mountains,” explains Belarmino.
“Depending on the kind of expedition, trek or climb, we provide all necessary training and orientation to our team beforehand to guide and help them prepare for the expeditions,” she adds.
They recently returned from a 30-day Three Peaks expedition in the Himalayas, which is part of the training and preparation for a possible summit climb in 2016. Prior to that, the couple guided a team of trekkers on a 17-day expedition to the Everest Base Camp.
But unlike in 2007, Belarmino will not join the climbers up to the summit in the 2016 ascent. Instead, she will lead the summit bid from the base camp by monitoring the team’s progress and ensuring their safety.
“Every aspect of safety will be monitored: the weather, the progress of the team, the individual’s energy level, the physical and mental state of each climber and oxygen contingency plan in relation to one’s position on the mountain,” she says. “I will be involved in every step of the planning, preparation and even packing of the expedition.”
And while she would not exert as much physical effort as she did when she climbed Everest with Noelle Wenceslao and Carina Dayondon in 2007, Belarmino says being the leader of a climb has its own level of difficulty.
“I will have to make crucial decisions that will affect the outcome of the climb,” she says. “I will be responsible for their safety.”
In April, Belarmino led a group of dynamic international trekkers from the Philippines, the US, Malaysia and Nepal to Everest Base Camp for a 17-day expedition.
Describing the trek, she says it enabled the participants to visit monasteries in the heart of Sherpa country and reach the base camp, from where climbers seeking to reach the summit prepare for their attempts.
“A days’ trek is gratified with a comfortable tea house at the end of the day where the trekkers have a hearty dinner, a warm fireplace and comfortable bed. Equipment-wise, they need trekking gear, warm clothes and good spirit,” she says.
Reaching Base Camp is, of course, a far cry from summiting Everest, but it gives the trekkers a good idea of what a climb entails and feels like.
The Three Peaks climb – which she describes as more strenuous and demanding – serves as a pre-Everest expedition where climbers “are exposed to harsher alpine environments, terrains and higher altitudes needed for their Everest summit bid.”
Each peak is over 20,000 feet above sea level, and the climbers are required to negotiate steep ice walls, deep crevasses and rocky summit blocks using their technical rope skills.
“After summiting one peak, climbers trek from one base camp – passing through valleys, high passes and moraines – to the other, setting up tents and camps which serve as their abode during the expedition,” she explains.
The Three Peaks expedition in May included climbers from Finland, the US and Denmark.
Both expeditions were supported by Regatta, GET UP (CSR platform of Golden ABC), Lagalag, Habagat, Messy Bessy, Sycure, Galileo Enrichment Learning Center, Sandugo, and WISAR wilderness search and rescue group.
In the Philippines, Belarmino and her husband organize rough camping, snorkeling and fishing expeditions in the remote islands, cays and reefs of Palawan. They also accommodate families and young explorers on island trips.
Belarmino says reaching the summit of the Everest is a fulfillment of her dreams of doing “something big.”
But more than this, however, the seasoned climber says what is more important is the chance for her to share what she knows with other people.
“My mission is always to educate, motivate and encourage anyone facing a challenge in life to push through and climb on. I believe that in everything we do, the same rules apply,” she tells STARweek.
“I want to share my experience and give opportunities to others to live life to the fullest. It may not be their calling to climb mountains or sail the seas, but at least I can give them an experience that they can learn from and better themselves,” she adds.
Belarmino says what truly matters is that we find a way to explore and push beyond the challenges before us, “so we may discover and achieve more than we ever thought possible.”
And while reaching the summit is the objective of every climb, she highlights the importance of the journey itself.
“I will never be the same person again in such a way that I became better after what I have been through and what I have learned from my experience,” says Belarmino about her feelings after reaching the summit in 2007.
She adds: “There are not enough words, or the right words, to best articulate how it is like to be on top of the world – you have to be there.”