Mountaineering is not summiting in the Philippines

I Should have thought the same thing when I was a child

We are playing along the Tanudan river together with my friends when suddenly two American linguist appears from nowhere. It was our first time to see such white and tall guy with their big back packs and bright colored clothing a far contrast to us. We only had a shirt partly covering our body. Our penis swings in motion as we tried to jump along the river.We become a tail to this American linguist hoping they will give us some goods, money etc. We are amazed with their gadgets such as stoves, flashlights and two way radios.

Remembering from the past, mountaineering is not summiting. It has a broad sense of understanding. When I was a child, the mountains are my playgrounds. I was thought traditionally to care for the mountains, my playgrounds. Today that I am being exposed on the outside world, I have conflicting ideas on the implementation of their theoretical ideas with regards to the environment, we can’t impose our own modern solution or it will fail, what we need is to harness their traditional method. Anyway I will not waste my time discussing on environmental issues, I’d rather concentrate on mountaineering.

Hi-tech gadgets or fancy expensive clothes doesn’t define you as a true mountaineer. I’ve been to the mountains with only a bolo during my childhood and I am very happy with that. My fantastic goal of equipping myself with all available gadgets in the market makes me more sad. Today I realized how wrong I was, I am still longing for the enjoyment I had before, interacting with what nature has to offer as long as we are not depleting it.

Being hardcore among hardcores is not a pride or a prestige after all, Mountaineers are not define by their physical strength, we are defined by our emotional strength and the spirit that guides us in the mountains. I also believed before that my physical strength and the difficulty of the mountains that I will climb will define who am I, again “How wrong I was”

One thing important, in November 2008, I met Mr Jhong Navaro and Ms. Kely Austria, they claimed to be mountaineers but my rush judgement of treating them a mountaineer according to my observation is “How can these two guys claimed to be a mountaineers while in fact I questioned their physical capability to climb mountains” They laid their plans accordingly, an outreach mission in Lubo Tanudan Kalinga . During the day of the outreach, our truck broke down along the way. We have another truck behind us but I ordered everybody to walk, to test their physical strength. YES I was so rude during those time triggered by my ego that a mountaineer possess such extra ordinary physical strength, again!! How wrong I was!!!! This group TRAILS TO EMPOWER KIDS was motivated by their will to help unprivileged children on villages, they will sacrifice whatever they have just to reach their precious destination, and they will walk along rugged terrain just to share the true spirit of mountaineering. Today I strongly believed that “MOUNTAINEERING IS GIVING JOY AND HOPES TO THE TRIBES WHO CARES FOR THE MOUNTAIN THAT WE ALWAYS WANTED TO CLIMB, WITHOUT THEM WE HAVE NO JOY ON THE SUMMIT ITSELF”..yes I was once before a child in the tribe looking at the window with these mountaineers passing by going to my playground..I was awakened by TREK, the main objective is not the summit, but the people behind the summit.Physical strength is secondary to the heart. I have been in rigorous training when I was a cadet in PMA, but emo is more powerful.

Also with SAGKA-EARIST who opens the door for mountaineering exploration for KMS, without them I have no connection with the outside world..My status today doesn’t seem to reflect or makes people believed that I lived in a TRIBE..I am seven days old when I started my mountaineering journey,,see my previous blog http://kalingatambayan.multiply.com/journal/item/29/The_Sudden_Departure_Revisiting_it_through_Mountaineering_PART_1