The First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition's Erwin 'Pastor' Emata and Leo Oracion have been training in Nagar Kot, a high altitude training destination in Nepal since last February.

The First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition's Erwin 'Pastor' Emata and Leo Oracion with Sonam Sherpa, owner of Nepal's largest trekking agency with trekking agents Harka and Emma Paryar.

The First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition's Reggie Pablo, Leo Oracion and Erwin 'Pastor' Emata pay respects at Bodha Nath, a revered Buddhist temple visited by Everest climbers who pray for safe passage through the mountain.

The First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition's Erwin 'Pastor' Emata and Leo Oracion strike an Olympic pose while training in Nepal.

 

First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition climbers
take on Everest in May;
Unity climb set for 2007

Climbers from the First Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition (FPMEE) are all set to ascend Mt. Everest this May. The team’s most formidable climbers Leo Oracion and Erwin ‘Pastor’ Emata have been in Nepal since February to train and acclimatize to the cold weather conditions in the Himalayas.

"We know it is a big challenge to climb Mount Everest. It is inherently dangerous," said FPMEE expedition leader Art Valdez. "This is why we're taking precautions by sending Leo and Pastor first this summer. This reconnaissance climb will give them enough experience to help lead the whole team in 2007," he added re-iterating that the team’s summit bid is still on for 2007.

Ready for Mt. Everest
Emata and Oracion are two of the country’s most respected, prize-winning adventure athletes. Both climbers proved their mettle when they led the FPMEE’s successful assault on the highly technical and demanding slopes of Mt. Muztagh-Ata in China-Pakistan last year. "They are in peak physical condition and they proved their technical climbing skills, stamina, determination and teamwork on Muztagh-Ata. We are very confident that they will be ready for Everest," Valdez said of the two, citing key qualities climbers need to successfully summit Mt. Everest.

Valdez will be leading a support team who will leave this month to rendezvous with Oracion and Emata at Base Camp on Mt. Everest during the first week of April. By then, the two climbers will have acclimatized to the thin air and cold weather and will be ready to begin their ascent when the Nepali government opens the path to the Mt. Everest’s peak. "For now, the government of Nepal is not allowing mountaineers to climb Everest since the terrain is still considered unsafe," shared team leader Regie Pablo.

In the meantime, the two climbers are continuing their training on Tengbotse, a village Southeast of Mt. Everest, 3,860 meters high. From there, they will proceed to Island Peak (6,1899 m.) where they will continue training and acclimatizing, before proceeding to Base Camp to meet up with their support team.

The two climbers were given a warm welcome by the small Filipino community and the Nepalese in Katmandu. Many were impressed by the FPMEE climbers and openly expressed their support and encouragement for the all-Filipino expedition. They were even given a grand tour of Katmandu and got to see the festivities of Lo Sar which marked the Tibetan New Year. Filipinos there expressed gratitude for the team’s efforts to plant the Philippine flag on the rooftop of the world.

A climb for Unity in 2007
This summit assault is a reconnaissance climb in preparation for the FPMEE’s summit bid in 2007, when the team will split into 2 groups starting from different points at Mt. Everest’s base, eventually meeting at the summit. One group will ascend from the North in Tibet along the Rongvuk Glacier, where the legendary George Mallory once began his climb in 1924, while the other team will come from the South in Nepal via the Khumbu Glacier, tracing the path Everest pioneers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay took in 1953. The two teams will eventually rendezvous at the summit in a daring and profound show of Pinoy determination and unity. This feat has only been attempted by a few climbers, but none have succeeded.

This feat will also coincide with the Chinese expedition which will carry the Olympic torch to the peak of Everest as part of efforts to build up the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

"This year’s reconnaissance expedition and the 2007 Unity climb are a chance for the FPMEE to bring glory to the Philippines. We will also be proud to have the first ASEAN women to reach the summit of Mt. Everest next year," says Valdez. "We hope to lift the spirit of Filipinos and bring hope to our nation by showing that all things are possible as long as we are united in one cause."

The First Philippine Mt Everest Expedition is supported by Philippine Airlines, ABS-CBN, Stratworks, MedCentral, Coleman, National Sports Grill, Fitness First, PowerUp, the Rudy Project, FedEx, Kodak, and the Philippine Accident Manager's Insurance.