Filipinos in Mt. Everest

3 Filipino women off to Everest

By Tarra QuismundoInquirer

Last updated 03:43am (Mla time)

03/19/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- In their backpacks are mountain gear, winterclothes and prayers.Out to prove that the Filipino woman can do it, the trio of CarinaDayondon, Janet Belarmino and Noelle Wenceslao flew to Thailand onSunday en route to Nepal for the most challenging expedition of theirlives -- to climb the 29,035-foot Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak."Kaya ng Pinay. Hindi tayo pahuhuli. Pwede tayo makasabay (TheFilipina can do it. We won't be left behind. We will be with the restof them)," the 28-year-old Belarmino said."We may be different from men, but we are equal."Wenceslao, 27, sounded equally confident in a talk with the PhilippineDaily Inquirer minutes before boarding the team's Bangkok-bound flight."We are not different from other Filipinas. We are normal Filipinas.We don't have special skills, special talents, or special anything. Wejust want to show that we are normal people who [like others] ride thejeep, but we can dare to do something that seems impossible and wewill make it possible," said Wenceslao.

The team plans to train for a month and a half in high-altitudeconditions before making the assault on Everest's snow-shroudedsummit, sometime in May.It was also in May last year that three other Filipino mountaineersmade history by conquering the forbidding mountain. They did it oneafter the other.The three were Leo Oracion, who began his assault on May 13 andreached the summit on May 17, Erwin Emata (May 15-18) and RomeoGarduce (May 14-19).Another mountaineer, Dale Abenojar, claimed to have successfullyclimbed the Everest a few days before Oracion did. But some members ofthe Filipino mountaineering community doubted his claim.Sendoff from FVROracion and Emata left with the all-woman summit team on the Bangkokflight. They will act as expedition leaders and will stay at theEverest base camp to direct the climb of the three Filipinas.Expedition physician Ted Esguerra also joined the group and would beon medical duty throughout the summit attempt.Former President Fidel Ramos, an avid supporter of the Everest team,gave the group a sendoff at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Ramos, who turned 79 Sunday, also gave a birthday treat to the team byhanding them a cash donation.From Thailand, the team will change planes for the Nepalese capital ofKatmandu. They will then travel to the Solu Khumbu area in Nepal fortwo weeks of acclimatization, and then move to the Everest base campfor another month of adapting to the mountain's weather, Belarmino said.Proving their mettleThe three women, all from the Philippine Coast Guard, have taken upmountaineering lessons in India and New Zealand and have already showntheir mettle at mountain climbing, having scaled the sixth tallestmountain in the world, Mount Cho-Oyu.Located 28 km west of Everest, Cho-Oyu -- at 26,906 feet -- is about2,100 feet lower than the Everest."Compared to us last year, I am more confident that they can do itbecause they have an edge over us in terms of training," Emata said.He also said that the three women had trained at higher altitudes thanhe and Oracion did before the two of them conquered the Everest last year."So they have exposure, which is supposed to be the proper trainingprior to Everest … That's why we are more confident about them."Besides guiding the expedition, Emata and Oracion will serve as theirfemale counterparts' inspiration to succeed."They did it and they did it even if everything was not well," saidBelarmino. "They got through difficulties … They gave us advice and webecame inspired by their dedication to climb. We have the same goals,and if they did it, we can do it too."

Since 1922, a total of 186 climbers have perished in their assault ofEverest.The first time anyone conquered the Everest was on May 29, 1953 whenNew Zealander Edmund Hillary and his sherpa (guide) Tenzing Norgayreached the summit. With a report from Inquirer ResearchCopyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.