Summit 101

...descending from the summit of Mt. Malipunyo, Lipa, Batangas

I have always been dreaming of becoming a professional mountaineer. Probably, it all started when I was still a child…

Way back in Estrella, a seemingly unnoticed barrio in Rizal, Nueva Ecija, I would always stay at our house’s backyard. There, I would gaze at the majestic Sierra Madre mountain ranges. “Someday, I would go beyond those mountains”, I used to tell myself.

Around February to March, I used to go out to the field with my parents to harvest onions (Novo Ecijanos’ main crop next to rice). While resting, I would always spend minutes, lying underneath a tree, staring at Sierra Madre, wondering what’s beyond those mountain ranges, marveling at its beauty, and thinking of so many “childhood ways” of crossing and climbing them. But for some reasons, my whole family left the province when I was sixteen. My dream of knowing what’s beyond those mountain ranges was also left behind.

Many years have passed and my idea of becoming a real “climber” was almost forgotten until I met Joel, a member of a professional mountaineering group. He was always telling me his experiences on Mt. Banahaw, Mt. Cristobal, Mt. Isarog, etc. He was always expressing how it feels staying “on top”. Since then, the little mountaineer in me has slowly been awakened from a deep slumber. His stories and principles have created a deep impact in the way I view things. I have, once again, become so interested in mountains. In fact, I have internalized and lived every mountaineer’s creed: Don’t forget to stop and really look around and enjoy the beauty of nature; Take nothing but pictures; Kill nothing but time; Leave nothing but footprints; Bring nothing but memories. I even learned to love Joey Ayala’s songs, songs that Joel used to sing. I have even told myself, ‘I wanna be a Tanod-Lupa’ (protector of nature) to the extent of buying a backpack, sleeping bag, and other gears a mountaineer should have. I have even tried wall climbing in preparation for my first climb.

I was really ready to have my first attempt but for an unknown reason, Joel had gone and that first attempt of climbing up a mountain was somehow neglected. My heart was filled with sadness for quite sometime but those little principles and creeds were retained in my heart. Mountains took a wide space in my left chest despite the fact that I have not climbed one. I felt I have developed this certain virtual connection with nature. I learned to love flowers, trees, butterflies, and bees. I became a “mountaineer in the lowlands”. Joel’s words, “On the mountain top, you’ll find your new self”, still echo in my ears.

Few years after, I got a work, got married, and had my own child. The mountaineering thing was kept for a while until this Philippine Everest Expedition appeared on TV. The first time I heard the news about Filipinos’ attempt to conquer any human being’s highest dream, reaching the summit of Mt. Everest, the mountaineer in my heart silently whispered, “Leslie, it’s not yet late to attempt once more.”

Daily, I would sit in front of the television set and would wait for flash news to get updates on the attempt done by Pinoy mountaineers. I was really curious of how far could they go.

I have waited for several weeks and finally, on May 17, 2006, 3:30 p.m. (local time), “the Philippine eagle has landed on the summit of Mt. Everest”. Leo Oracion, the first Filipino to conquer Everest has reached its summit (29,035 feet). Those pictures, video clips, the Philippine flag being waved on the summit…they all moved me into tears. The whole nation rejoiced, all exclaiming, “Pinoy yan!”, celebrating his triumph.

All of a sudden, the image of Sierra Madre mountain ranges, the dream of becoming a “Tanod-Lupa”, the picture of my very first mountaineering back pack and sleeping bag, the songs of Joey Ayala, the walls I used to climb, the climbing holds I used to clasp, the smell of the flowers and trees, the colors of the butterflies, and sounds of bees…everything flashed into my mind. I suddenly felt that I want to try again, starting from the very beginning. The passion has suddenly come back.

One afternoon, while I was concentrating on the success stories of the “modern heroes”, namely Leo Oracion, Romy Garduce, and Patour Emata, (the two have made it shortly after Oracion’s success), I heard my four year-old boy saying, “Mommy, I want to climb Mt. Everest”, while pulling my hands, trying to get my attention away from the television set. I got really surprised of his words, words that were like music to my soul. Upon hearing him, I hurdled in excitement and hugged him tightly and said, “You will, my son. You will!”, with a wonderful smile on my face and an unfailing hope in my heart. Denver continued waiving a handky, imitating a mountaineer on TV, waving the Philippine flag for the whole country.

Yes it’s true, climbing a mountain is one of the highest dreams a person could have but reaching its peak is its fulfillment. With Denver, my son, I’m not anymore alone in my quest. I know Denver and I could conquer mountains and this attempt is now for real.

Long live Filipino mountaineers! May all of us reach the summit of success.

(This account has been included in Enjoying English Reading Series, a textbook for Grade 5 which I co-authored.)