On Dale Abenojar

Dear Me,

The RP mountaineering circle is abuzz right now due to the timely and momentous participation of the Pinoys in the conquer of the glorious but deadly Mt. Everest. And if you are in that circle, it won't escape you to notice the enormous flow of praises, cheers, encouragement and prayers for the risk-takers. But then, there are some who throw the bad light to both the good and the bad eggs. Unfortunately, Dale Abenojar is the most popular - the bad light being cast upon him for he is perceived to be a bad egg. Dale got the bad publicity when he was thought to deceive and fool his previous sponsor a decade or some decades ago. Right after that, he continued to seek sponsorships, most of them internationally.

And with 2006 (though I think it is 2007 - please correct me, ok) as the year of Pinoy to attempt to conquer the impossible (a lot had died trying to reach the Everest) and not-so-impossible (it is still possible despite the odds) Everest, seemingly, Dale joined the spotlight amongst the brave. With the light on him, so does his bad credentials.

Below is an email I got from the group:

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This was Dale's Summary of Expenses for his Everest Expedition in 1994 which almost got approved by former President Ramos

MNL-LA-Seattle - $2,433
Stay in Seattle - $1,000
USA/Quito - $800
4 Equator Training Climbs- $1,950
flight QUITO-USA- $800
flight Seattle- Santiago - $2,000
flight Santiago-Punta Arenas - $500
Mt Vinzon climb - $25,000
flight USA-Chile - $2,000
Mt. Aconcangua - $3,000
flight Chile-Seatlle - 1,000
13 days Alpine Mountaineering Course and
27 days expedition training in Seattle - $6,450
Mt Baker Mountaineering School - $ 1,360
flight Seattle-LA-HK-Kathmandu - $4,137
Mt Everest - $ 65,000
flight Kathmandu-HK-Manila - $1,000
All Climbing Gear- $ 11,070
Reserve money - $10,000
4 WHEEL/ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE FOR MOUNTAIN TRAVELS - $45,000

NET COST- $ 184,500


additional neccessary documentation equipment:

3 sets NIKON F4S camera with 24mm & 300 mm lenses - $ 9,900
Fuji Films 300 colored, 300 b&w, 300 slides - $ 4,500
2 portable video cams w 12 extra batteries $ 4,400
100 video cassette tapes - $1,000

TOTAL COST $203,300

I got this info from the office of the president in 1994 and I kept the papers because I found it outrageous. I have copies of letters from dale to guingona, guigona to ramos. letters of bobot to Alpine Ascent. faxed letter from AAI disclaiming dale's supposedly "BY INVITATION" slot in AAI everest expedition. at that time the overall cost amounted to around 5million pesos na muntik ng ibigay ni ramos kung hindi kumilos si bobot tan torres at boboy francisco. nag share lang po ako ng info kung gaano kagaling mambola si dale abenojar.

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I got this photo from somewhere. Dale at the right; together with Sports Unlimited.

My heart goes for Dale in the sense that I saw him take-off, his wife and little cute girls at the airport. I still wanna think that he is not so stupid to do what he is doing now. I didn't think that his wife would even allow him to. He is making deals with Death, so to speak. Oh goodness. I still cannot and will not think that he just go out there, fly to another country, trek the Highlands, without even thinking about the thousand types of risks he is bound to face. I still want to believe that he really knows what he is doing. And if he really does, I just hope he emerges free from those accusations being hurled at him at the moment. Past is past and I hope that what he is doing now is different from that of what he did in the 1990s. I may believe you were a swindler then but I just hope you aren't now.

To all the Pinoy peeps bound for the Everest, may God grant you the courage, strength and glory.

my 2 cents' worth.