Filipino Everest Summiteers
Heracleo "Leo" Oracion - Lucban, Quezon, Philippines
Erwin "Pastor" Emata - Davao City, Philippines
Note: As of this posting Romeo "Garduch" Garduce (Balanga, Bataan, Philippines) is making his summit bid. Godspeed Romy!
(Update 5/20/2006 : Romy reached the summit of Everest May 19, 2006, 10:23 am, Nepal time)
Mabuhay kayo!!!
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"The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest ?' And my answer must at once be, 'It is no use'..
There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it.
We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It's no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go.
What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for."
- George Leigh Mallory, 1922 llast seen near the summit with Irvin.
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It is heartwarming for all of us that finally a Filipino stood in the summit of the world's tallest mountain. It makes us feel once more united and the collective spirit once again lives. As mountaineers, all of us have Everest dreams!
But is its disheartening to note that majority of us thinks that mountain climbing is a race. It is not. In a world where competition is the name of the game, I humbly ask for an understanding that that mountaineering be spared of this idea. It is not. Hindi po karera ang pag akyat sa bundok! It is first and foremost a test of will and resolve, and personal glory comes in second.
It doesn't really matter now to me who made it first -- the most important thing is that a Filipino finally made it!