With radio in hand, Lt. Ted Esguerra, known as “Doc,” closed his eyes while taking Noelle step-by-step

through a serious bout of mountain sickness. Worried but calm, Janet and Carina relied on the advice of

Doc, who was eight hours away at the advance base camp, to get their fellow climber through the ordeal.

Sleep was elusive for the entire expedition team that shared the quest to take the first women from

Southeast Asia to the world’s highest peak on a record-setting traverse up the north route in Tibet and

down the south face in Nepal, the latter a technically easier and more frequently-used route. On both

sides of Mt. Everest, the teams prayed hard as they anxiously awaited word on Noelle, who had suffered

pulmonary edema, wherein fluid accumulates in the lungs.

At an altitude of 23,000 feet, on an unpredictable mountain of snow, rocks and high-speed winds that

could easily literally blow a person away, Doc knew that nursing Noelle back to health did not only

involve a meticulous balance of medication while regulating her oxygen and watching her food intake. A

full recovery meant tapping into the human spirit. Fortunately, spirit was what Noelle, Janet and Carina

had a large store of.

“You really have to be strong mentally,” the 27-year-old Noelle tells

STARweek. “Kapag nasa bundok ka na,“at a certain altitude, pare-pareho na kayong manghihina pero

(Once you’re on a mountain and at a certain altitude, you will start feeling weak but) what makes the difference is how mentally tough you

are.”

Janet, who kept radio contact with Esguerra on Noelle’s condition, says it became frustrating that they could not get back to base camp.

“It was hard because we were handling it based on the instructions Doc was giving us through radio,” says the new mom, who faced her own

challenge having given birth only three months before their Everest quest began last March.

Despite the good intentions of other climbers to help treat Noelle, Janet recalls they had to be “assertive” on what Doc instructed them to do

amid conflicting views on how to remedy the situation.

Esguerra, a doctor, motivator and artist rolled into one, told Noelle the one thing he knew would keep up her spirits: “When you go down

that mountain, you will see your father. Succeeding will make you happy but your father will be ten times happier.”

Noelle explains that both her father and mother had always been supportive of her. Only her father, however, was waiting for his daughter’s

descent on the south side as she lost her mom to a stroke last year when she got back from a training climb.

Esguerra proudly recalls how the “fighter” in Noelle emerged to go on with the journey, while Janet and Carina stayed focused and

determined.

On May 16, the names Noelle Wenceslao, Janet Belarmino and Carina Dayondon made their way into history books: They were the first

Filipinas – and the first women from Southeast Asia–– to summit the 29,198-foot Everest, and the first women ever to traverse the mountain

from one side to the other, says expedition leader and former transportation undersecretary Art Valdez.

These three ladies of the Philippine Coast Guard may have made it through extensive training and endured two months of acclimatization

until their final push for the summit, but they are the first to tell you that they are as ordinary as any other Filipina.

“Individually, we are not that strong or the strongest among Filipinas. We are not superwomen. Hindi kami kakaiba… sumasakay kami ng

jeep, kumakain kami kung saan-saan (We’re not different… we ride the jeep, we eat anywhere),” says Janet.

She, Noelle and Carina all say it was teamwork that made their climb a success. They also learned a great deal from Leo Oracio and Pastor

Emata, who reached the Everest summit last year, and they had the unstinting support of the rest of the Everest family.

The mountain that takes its toll of lives every year since man dared to conquer it in the 1920s was also kind to the three women, who had

never seen snow in their life until they were given this pioneering adventure to reach the top of the world.

A Tibetan monk who blessed their journey – as is customary for Everest climbers – noted how kind the perilous mountain was to them,

Valdez and Esguerra share.

Weather expert Voltaire Velasco shares the observation, as he played the crucial role of ensuring that the girls wouldn’t be caught in the

middle of a storm or other hazardous conditions.

On the second week of May, three days before the girls pushed for the summit from base camp, fast flowing, relatively narrow air currents

called the jet stream swept across Mt. Everest. This caused weather data to go “haywire,” Velasco communicated to the team, as forecast

models showed conflicting wind speed information from a low of 20 kilometers per hour to as high as 60 kph.

In the days that followed, Velasco fed the team with promising forecasts of reduced wind speed, but noted that they must proceed with

caution since summit winds could vary as the jet stream leaves.

Finally, a”“narrow window” for a good summit attempt presented itself for their historic climb on May 16.

After reaching the summit, however, there was still the task of going down, this time via the South Col to complete the traverse.

Unlike in the North Face where slow winds prevailed, Velasco, a climatologist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA), warned the team of low visibility and strong southerly winds moving up to 60 kph.

After the girls made it through, he praised them for using their good training to manage the rough mountain conditions. Valdez in turn lauded

the 28-year-old Velasco, who he describes as a doctor of environmental physics, for providing them with excellent monitoring of the

unpredictable conditions on Everest.

The girls each had one Sherpa led by the veteran Lakpa Gelgen Sherpa, who Valdez describes as “one of the strongest and known Sherpas” in

Everest.

It was Lakpa who also guided Oracion and Emata in their summit scale and from then on has become close to the Filipino team. In fact, he

and his son even came back to the Philippines with them after the May summit.

“I’m really happy to have met them. They are very friendly… Filipinos are very friendly,” says Lakpa, whose 12-year-old son will continue

his education in Bacolod, sponsored by Valdez in appreciation of the Sherpa’s service.

Valdez is the brains behind the Philippine goal of scaling Mt. Everest. “As early as the 1980s, we already thought of climbing Everest except

that we didn’t have the resources at the time,” recalls Valdez, a climber for the past 30 years alongside his friend Fred Jamili, who was also

part of the Everest expedition team.

Valdez says the mission wasn’t a battle of who’s stronger than whom. There are stronger climbers out there, he says, but the idea was to show

Filipinos that they are capable of reaching greater heights – and Mt. Everest naturally was the perfect symbol.

“Why Everest? Because it is something that people believe cannot be done. Once you have reached its peak then you know it can be done by

a Filipino,” Valdez explains. “Galing tayo sa lugar na walang snow, walang ganung katataas na bundok (We comwe from a place without

snow or mountains that high) but we did it and we even established these records.”

Noelle, Janet and Carina were among those selected by Valdez’s group following the launching of the grand quest in 2004, based on what

Valdez calls the “3Cs”: capability, commitment and compatibility.

Capability is how each member would adapt to high altitude based on the physical, psychological and physiological aspects, he says.

Their commitment to the project is paramount as it entails three years of training.

Compatibility, Valdez explains, means how a person is capable of teamwork as their lives become intertwined and dependent on each other.

“Even if you’re superman but you are not a team player, it won’t work,” he explains.

From as many as 45 men and women selected for the team, 23 affirmed their commitment to the cause, including the three girls.

“Minsan ka lang mabibigyan ng ganitong klaseng opportunity,” says Janet. “When it was explained to us what achieving this meant, I

understood and I totally believed in it. Personally, it was a way of contributing something to our nation and this was the prefect venue for me

to share my skills because climbing is my passion.”

Carina, who hails from Don Carlos, Bukidnon, says, “This was a project that no mountaineer could say no to.”

At the end of the elimination process, the girls were weighed and not found wanting. For three years, the trio, known as the Kaya ng Pinay

Everest team, were trained by Esguerra, a flight surgeon who is an expert on emergency medical services, part of which is high altitude

medicine.

“Pinapa-push up ko sila, pinapatakbo ko sa bundok. Nagpapahabol ako… pag hindi nila ako mahabol (I make them run up the mountain, and

chase me… if they can’t catch up), I punish them with push ups,” he recalls.

In 2004, the girls were brought out of this tropical country for the first time for a 45-day Alpine training that took them to different mountains

across the globe.

“The training was extensive and they went to different parts of the world. They saw snow for the first time in their life when I brought them to

Manali in the Indian Himalayas… when they saw the snow, totoo pala talaga ‘to (they realized this was real) because when we started,

nobody believed it can be done,” says Valdez.

Everything was set when Valdez learned that Janet was pregnant, and was due to give birth in December 2006, just three months before they

set out for Mt. Everest.

Valdez was worried, but Esguerra assured him that she would be ready, and Janet herself was committed to finishing what she had started.

“Becoming a mother motivated me more to pursue my dream,” says Janet, adding she had the full support of her husband, who is also with

the Coast Guard. “He’s my number one supporter. I’m very thankful for that. Maluwag sa loob ko na tumuloy kasi alam kong suportado ako

(I had no qualms about continuing because I was sure of his support).”

“Because Janet is a mother, her pace will be different, she will be more careful because she knows she has a baby waiting for her,” says

Esguerra, whose motivational skills proved vital when it got tough for the women physically and emotionally.

Esguerra carefully went on to condition Janet’s mind and body for the climb, but not before letting her enjoy being mother to Himalaya, her

son.

With training complete, the Everest team moved to their final destination.

There was Valdez, Esguerra and Emata to support the girls from the Tibet side in their ascent. For their descent, Oracion, Jamili and John

Fortez of the Philippine Airlines mountaineering club were on hand.

“There was logistical and organizational setup and it was pretty difficult setting up camp on both sides so that the team can just climb and go

down, and when they stop at a certain level, there’s a tent, there’s oxygen and there’s food. So you have to set up camp prior their climb,”

Valdez explains.

The three women were acclimatized for two months, going up and down the mountain under the strict guidance of Esguerra, who made them

trek for long hours in Everest.

Doc admits emotions would run high but he reminded them that if they wanted to survive in the mountain, they had to sweat it out and be

prepared for the hurdles that would come their way before they reached their goal.

It took the girls about a week to make their final push for the summit. It was a long and hard journey but they not once did they think of

quitting.

Everest has been conquered 3,514 times since it was first successfully scaled in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and some say it has become

commercialized, but that doesn’t make the conditions on the mountain any less difficult and unpredictable, as bad weather, avalanches,

exhaustion and high altitude sickness claim lives each year. Last year, for example, 11 people died on the mountain.

During their climb, Carina recalls having a hard time stabilizing her crampon, the metal spikes attached to her boots to provide traction on

snow and ice.

The snow covering the rocks was too thick, she says, and it was too slippery that she had to go through the route near a deep crevasse.

“Ang hirap talaga. Dumating sa point na I had to take off my gloves,” she recalls when she struggled to get a good grip on the rope guiding

their route. “I prayed and I was frustrated... Lord, kayo na bahala.”

Asked if she would scale Everest again in spite of her brush with death, Noelle admits that for a moment, she thought of never going back.

“Not just because of the edema but the entire experience,” she says, then realized it was just the pain talking at the time.

In propping up the exhausted climbers, Doc says he channeled their fears and harnessed each of their strengths.

“I wanted them to use their energy on one progressive thing and not waste their energy.”

Noelle reached the summit first at 6:10 a.m. Nepal time (8:10 a.m. in Manila). Carina arrived 10 minutes later while Janet, who got caught in

a traffic jam of more than 150 mountain climbers on the way to the peak, arrived at 9 a.m.

To these women, who were promoted from Sea Woman First Class to Petty Officer Third Class, it didn’t matter who would get there first.

They have been honored and praised everywhere they go for their achievement, but they say their task doesn’t stop with conquering the

world’s highest mountain.

Janet says she is not closing the door to another climb of Everest, “but not in the near future.”

“Right now, we are here to emphasize our message that this was a product of teamwork.“Hindi kami nagkanya-kanya (We didn’t go on our

own) and what we want to tell the whole world, especially Filipinos, is magsama-sama tayo at ‘wag tayong maghilahan pababa (let’s be

unoited and not pull each other down).”

Climbing Everest, Carina says, represented the strength of Filipinos – and women.

“Ipinagpatuloy lang din naming mga kababaihan yung mensahe nina Leo noong unang nakaakyat ang Everest, na kung ang mga Pilipino ay

magsamasama kahit ano kaya nating gawin (We are simply continuing the message that the group of Leo made when they first scaled Everest,

that if we Filipinos get together we can do anything).”