3 Pinoy At Mount Everest

Dear Me,

This is kinda late but all I want to say is congratulations to the 3 Filipinos who made it on top of the Mount Everest.

To Leo Oracion, Pastor Emata and Romi Garduce, hail to you all! You made us all proud of being Pinoy! =)


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42 climbers summit Mount Everest
Posted on 18 May 2006 - 19:44

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Forty-two climbers took advantage of improved weather Thursday the 18th of May, to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, from its Nepalese side, mountaineering officials said.
American, Australian, Austrian, British, Canadian, German, Korean, Philippine, Polish, Spanish and Swiss climbers, along with their Sherpa guides, reached the 29,035-foot summit, said Rajendra Pandey at Nepal's Ministry of Tourism in Katmandu.

Teams using the popular south route to the peak had been holed up for days at base camp because of heavy snow and high winds, but a break in the weather allowed at least 15 climbers to scale Everest on Wednesday the 17th of May.

Climbers on the northern side in Tibet, meanwhile, have experienced better conditions and were able to begin summit attempts earlier.

May is considered the best month to climb Everest. Climbers in Nepal have to complete their mission by May 31 before the weather deteriorates during monsoon season.

Since Everest was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, more than 1,400 climbers have scaled the peak, and some 180 people have died trying.


Leg amputee conquers Everest
Posted on 18 May 2006 - 14:54

A New Zealand mountain climber who lost both his legs to frostbite has become the first double amputee to conquer Mount Everest, despite breaking one of his artificial limbs during the ascent.

Mark Inglis, 47, called his wife, Anne, on Monday night to tell her he was standing on the summit of the 8,850 meter (29,035 foot) peak, the world's highest mountain, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

"He's dreamed of this all his life, probably. He's over the moon," the the newspaper quoted Inglis's wife as saying.

Media reports said one of Inglis's carbon-fibre legs snapped while climbing at around 6,400 meters and was forced to repair it with spare parts.

In 1982, Inglis lost both his legs from below the knees due to severe frostbite suffered after a blizzard trapped him and a fellow party member in a cave in New Zealand's Mount Cook for 14 days.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark hailed Inglis's climb.

"To reach the summit of Everest is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for any climber, but for Mark Inglis it will be even more satisfying," she said in a statement.

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to conquer Mount Everest in 1953.


Garduce makes it triple treat for RP
1st Everest conqueror Hillary hails 3 Filipinos

GARDUCE has climbed 15 other mountain ranges around the world including Cho-Oyu (26,906 feet) in the Nepal-Tibet border in September.


First posted 01:08am (Mla time) May 20, 2006
By Alcuin Papa
Inquirer

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the May 20, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

AND ROMI GARDUCE makes three.

The Philippines' most accomplished mountaineer has achieved his dream and added Mt. Everest to his cap of accomplishments, capping a banner week for Filipino climbers.

New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, who first reached the peak of Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, congratulated all three Filipinos for their feat.

"I have nothing but the greatest respect for the [Filipino] expedition, for the determination and the will to battle on and go to the summit," Hillary, now 87, said in an interview yesterday with GMA 7.

"My heartiest congratulations to Leo, Romi and Erwin for their success in getting to the top. Very good luck to them. They must have been strong and determined," he said.

Garduce, 37, made it to the top of the world's highest mountain at 11:20 a.m. Nepal time (1:20 p.m. Philippine time) yesterday with the aid of oxygen despite deteriorating weather on Everest's south side.

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