JOURNEY TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD
The indelible Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the literary titan who popularized magical realism, once wrote that cowards don’t make history. And yet, history has always been forged through the crucibles of sheer will and unshakeable desire—not by courage alone.
Jeno Panganiban and Miguel Mapalad seek to put this truth to the test in the coming weeks when they set out to scale the mythical roof of the world—where human limits are tested and the natural and divine collide, where solitude ends and begins, where dreams die and tales of legends come to life: Mt. Everest.
“The last Filipino who made the summit was 18 years ago. What happened in the past two decades? Here are two guys now—and we hope we could make some noise,” Panganiban told the Inquirer in an interview.
Panganiban and Mapalad, who are the faces of the Philippine 14 Peaks Expedition, will try to follow in the footsteps of Leo Oracion, who made history back on May 17, 2006.
But both Panganiban and Mapalad have no intentions of being just copycats. Scaling Mt. Everest, they revealed, is but the first of the many treks they hope to do in the coming years.
“This is for the Philippines, and this will set a tone for us,” said Mapalad, who explained that they have set their sights on becoming the first Filipino expedition team to climb each of the loftiest peaks in the world as recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA).
Sending a message
Mt. Everest, which straddles Nepal and Tibet, is the world’s tallest at 29,029 feet (8,849 meters), but it is only one of the 14 peaks in the UIAA’s fabled list known as the “Eight-Thousanders,” where each mountain has its distinct characteristic.
“This will determine our pace. This is where we hope to be known and our mission be shared with the public,” said Panganiban, a former software programmer who has embraced the hobby full-time since climbing Mt. Talamitam in Batangas.
“If we’re able to do this, it will send a message that the Pinoy can hang with other nationalities,” he went on.
“There’s K2 in Pakistan (8,611 m) known as the most technical. Then there’s Annapurna also in Nepal (8,091 m), which is ‘low’ (at 10th) but considered the deadliest,” noted Mapalad, a veteran who helped open up the Pacific Coastal Trail between the Sierra Madre range and Pacific Ocean.
“If we can finish Everest, we’ll know we can take on the other mountains,” he said.
Climbing Mt. Everest, indeed, lays the foundation for Panganiban and Mapalad, who are scheduled to fly for the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu the first week of April.
The ascent of the iconic mountain usually takes over a month and requires a series of acclimatization done through moving to one camp after another. The window to reach the peak is typically around mid- to late-May, and mountaineers can only try to make the summit in just a couple of days.
Making a good account of themselves in Everest will prime Panganiban and Mapalad for the other attempts like in Nepal’s Mt. Dhaulagiri, which is said to be the steepest of the 14, Gasherbrum I in Pakistan, regarded as the most isolated, and Shishapangma in Tibet, notorious for avalanches.
“A lot that could happen, like strong winds clocking 100 to 150 kph,” said Panganiban. “Sometimes, the snow is as high as your waist. Fortunately, weather forecasting now [is better], so there’s a bigger chance of summiting safely.”
“For example, there’s the ‘Khumbu Icefall’ which moves every morning. You should cross it during the night for safety—and so you can’t see how deep the cliffs go,” Mapalad said.
As if the trek doesn’t feel perilous enough, both also warned about the mind, which could play games on the mountaineer along the way.
“I split the dangers into two kinds,” Mapalad said. “The first, the kind done by nature. Avalanche, bad weather, all that. Then, there’s the dreaded one—summit fever. Imagine you’re months into it, you’re so bent on finishing (the trek). But the expedition leader, who is in charge of checking your capacity, says it’s no good (to continue). Some mountaineers insist. We also have to deal with that.”
“Also, once you reach the summit, you’re only 50 percent done,” he added, while stressing the importance of endurance and fitness as each movement, throughout the journey, should be precise.
“There are just as many hazards on the way down.”
‘Condensed Everest’
News reports and the Nepalese government estimate around 600 successful summits of Everest each year. The pair are hoping to join that elite bunch by trekking other mountains these past months.
Panganiban scaled Mt. Manaslu, one of the popular 14 mountains, back in September. Mapalad was also coming off a trek in Ama Dablam, which the mountaineering community considers a condensed version of the Everest ascent.
Lhotse and Cho Oyu, both situated in Tibet, are also lined up for the duo this year as part of their grand mission, which means the expedition needs all the support it can get as it hopes to do what no other Filipino has done before.
Fewer than 40 individuals—in the undisputed records, at least—have completed the Odyssean climb of all 14 mountain peaks, the first being Reinhold Messne of Italy back in 1986.
At the edge of a journey that sounds mythical, the pair turn to a compass grounded in the conventional.
“For those who dream of this challenge, it’s more than summiting mountains. It’s a journey of perseverance, teamwork, and respect for nature,” said Panganiban.
“Conquering these peaks [won’t just be] a personal victory, but a testament to human determination and the spirit of adventure—and (for) us Filipinos, that we can and we deserve to achieve this feat.”
