Post by kulot_salot on May 28, 2008 13:22:41 GMT 8
6 Pinoy Mountaineers Joins Mt. Everest Marathon
HONG KONG - Six Filipino mountaineers - including Mt. Everest veteran summiteers Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Erwin "Pastor" Emata - are among some 101 adventurers from all over the world who will participate in a marathon to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain this month.
Former transportation and communications undersecretary Arturo Valdez, calling from the Mt. Everest Nepal base camp at the south col or slope of the mountain, told The STAR they have already undergone high-altitude alpine mountain climbs in the Himalayan mountain ranges to prepare for the 3rd Hillary-Tenzing Mount Everest Marathon that will start on May 29.
"We've been working very hard to prepare for the start of the race. We're looking forward to race day. We're excited and also nervous,"
Valdez said.
Aside from the Everest veterans, Valdez, Dr. Ted Esguerra, and Fred Jamili - all members of the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest
Expedition (FPMEE) team that successfully sent two of their members to the top of Mount Everest in May 2006 - are among the Filipino Everest "marathoners."
The marathon will start at 7 a.m. Nepal time on May 29.
Last year, Dayondon and Wenceslao, along with Janet Belarmino, successfully reached the top of Mount Everest, the first women from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to conquer the storied mountain.
"We're now fully acclimatized after climbing two mountains - one is more than 17,000 feet high and another about 18,000 feet high, Mount Kalapatar - last week and earlier this week," Valdez said.
Asked to gauge their chances, Valdez said he can only guarantee that they will give their best.
The team got financial and logistical support from a group of sponsors including First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) headed by its chairman Oscar Lopez, the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC), Stradcom Corporation, sports patron Jun Sy, and many others.
In 2006 four Filipinos conquered Mount Everest: Emata, Leo Oracion, Romeo Garduce, and adventure sportsman Dale Abenojar.
Abenojar was certified to have reached the summit of the "roof of the world" on the morning of May 15 and secured a summit certificate from the Tibet Mountaineering Association to prove that he accomplished the feat by climbing up the mountain's more perilous north col or north slope.
The FPMEE team that has continued to represent Oracion, however, has disputed Abenojar's feat. ;D
Oracion reached the Everest summit through its south slope on May 17, followed by Emata, who reached the summit a few hours later.
Garduce reached the summit a day behind Oracion and Emata, also
through the south col. - Rainier Allan Ronda/Philstar
groups.yahoo.com/group/mfpi/
HONG KONG - Six Filipino mountaineers - including Mt. Everest veteran summiteers Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Erwin "Pastor" Emata - are among some 101 adventurers from all over the world who will participate in a marathon to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain this month.
Former transportation and communications undersecretary Arturo Valdez, calling from the Mt. Everest Nepal base camp at the south col or slope of the mountain, told The STAR they have already undergone high-altitude alpine mountain climbs in the Himalayan mountain ranges to prepare for the 3rd Hillary-Tenzing Mount Everest Marathon that will start on May 29.
"We've been working very hard to prepare for the start of the race. We're looking forward to race day. We're excited and also nervous,"
Valdez said.
Aside from the Everest veterans, Valdez, Dr. Ted Esguerra, and Fred Jamili - all members of the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest
Expedition (FPMEE) team that successfully sent two of their members to the top of Mount Everest in May 2006 - are among the Filipino Everest "marathoners."
The marathon will start at 7 a.m. Nepal time on May 29.
Last year, Dayondon and Wenceslao, along with Janet Belarmino, successfully reached the top of Mount Everest, the first women from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to conquer the storied mountain.
"We're now fully acclimatized after climbing two mountains - one is more than 17,000 feet high and another about 18,000 feet high, Mount Kalapatar - last week and earlier this week," Valdez said.
Asked to gauge their chances, Valdez said he can only guarantee that they will give their best.
The team got financial and logistical support from a group of sponsors including First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) headed by its chairman Oscar Lopez, the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC), Stradcom Corporation, sports patron Jun Sy, and many others.
In 2006 four Filipinos conquered Mount Everest: Emata, Leo Oracion, Romeo Garduce, and adventure sportsman Dale Abenojar.
Abenojar was certified to have reached the summit of the "roof of the world" on the morning of May 15 and secured a summit certificate from the Tibet Mountaineering Association to prove that he accomplished the feat by climbing up the mountain's more perilous north col or north slope.
The FPMEE team that has continued to represent Oracion, however, has disputed Abenojar's feat. ;D
Oracion reached the Everest summit through its south slope on May 17, followed by Emata, who reached the summit a few hours later.
Garduce reached the summit a day behind Oracion and Emata, also
through the south col. - Rainier Allan Ronda/Philstar
groups.yahoo.com/group/mfpi/
