Back from Everest

Ice, ice, baby: Vanessa, Janet, Todd, and Enrico quenching their thirst for adventure

Impossible is nothing,” read the celebrated Adidas ad I spotted while out shopping for new running shoes. The idea of what can be done and what can’t be done varies depending on whom you ask. Think of how many feats were once considered unrealizable, but exceptional individuals nonetheless took them into consideration and, thanks to their courage to challenge the unknown, what were once believed beyond our reach are now part of reality — the sphere of the possible.To stretch personal boundaries, broaden one’s capacities and enrich the human experience: these are what drove Janet Belarmino to climb 29,000 feet with her Kaya ng Pinay teammates Noelle Wenceslao and Karina Dayondon, making her one of the first Southeast Asian women to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 2007, a year after the country raved about Leo Oracion, Erwin “Pastor” Emata and Romy Garduce’s ascent to the top.

‘Once is not enough’

Just last month, Janet revisited Mount Everest via Nepal, five years after her journey to the summit. But this time she hiked 17,600 feet up to base camp while leading a group of adventurers on Everest for the first time: Janet’s husband Todd Forney from USA and Philippine-based Italian-Belgian couple Enrico Menichetti and Vanessa Schiavone. The intrepid pinay from Nueva Vizcaya told Young STAR, “My goal is to make the most of my knowledge and expertise so that others can experience Everest as well. I believe anyone can do it with proper training and preparation.” The hike served as the kick-off event before officially announcing the training program she and Todd are organizing which aims to take a group of hikers up the summit by 2014.The team trekked five to seven hours a day for two weeks, braving the cold, harsh elements, thin air, altitude sickness (known to impair one’s ability to think and react as well as cause severe headaches, dizziness, stomach illness and sleep disturbances) while battling their own limitations. Approaching their destination, the available air was only 40 percent, “so you get out of breath after just a few steps. You’re like a walking zombie. It’s a fight between your mind and body. And you win the battle if your mind never gives up,” describes Vanessa, a visual artist and nature lover whose base camp training included running regularly, plus ditching the elevator and dashing up the stairs to her 36th-floor condo unit. Enrico, Philippine site director of an international company whose musings of surmounting the 60-million-year old mountain began in his early teens, was haunted by an old knee injury. “Running every other day, tennis thrice a week, gym twice a week and scuba-diving every other weekend never made me recall the former surgery done on my knees, but only two days in high altitude got my trip in jeopardy. However, I didn’t allow this to become a setback, but rather a push to prove that your mind can bring you to places even if your body may want to give up,” he explains. Despite the many trials, Todd, a diving instructor and avid mountaineer who has already conquered various peaks around the world considers it the best trek he’s done. “The experience as a whole, the conversations with different people and the whole community have made this the best adventure of my life so far,” affirms the man Janet regards as her “backbone.”

Conquering Your Life’s ‘Mount Everest’

Whether you’re planning on climbing Everest one day, or you’re tackling a difficult “mountain” in your life right now, read on. According to Janet, “There’s only one way to do it: you go for it. And just like in any other goal in life: focus. You have to be ready to sacrifice. There are no shortcuts. Sure it can get painful and hard, but if you do things the right way and arm yourself with the right tools and attitude, you’ll pull through.”

Mission: Possible

So, what then can be done and what can’t be done? Again, it depends on who you ask. Vanessa answers, “Nothing is impossible. I make things happen as long as I really want to.” Enrico shares, “I met a strong 75-year-old who plans to summit Everest at age 76. Janet summited just three months after giving birth. So the question is, does the word ‘impossible’ have real meaning? I believe that by using the word too much, a person creates limitations or walls around what can otherwise be achieved.” And lastly, Janet declares, “Something becomes impossible when you turn your back on it before even trying. It’s like losing the game before you even play. I consider something a possibility as long as you keep on trying.” Well said.

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Get in touch: www.katrinaanntan.ph / katrinaanntan@yahoo.com / Twitter: @katrinaanntan.