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Another filipino made it til Summit in the name Romi Garduce. This simply say no matter what obstacles of life Filipinoes are born to excell in any fields of edeavor.

AN OVERVIEW OF The first Filipino to reach the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere

Romi Garduce(a native of Balanga, Bataan). Just another name to some Filipinos but to the mountaineering populace he is the new hero who gave the country new found honor. “Garduch” afterall, is not just a climber they look-up to. He is the Pinoy Spiderman who recently conquered the

highest mountain in South America, Mt. Aconcagua, worthy of his countrymen’s adulation for being the first Filipino in history to have reached the highest altitude on record.

Aside from being an IT systems manager for a multinational company, Garduch is an all-around adventurer. His love for outdoor sports led him to mountaineering in 1991 and he has been climbing mountains ever since. “I’m really into outdoor sports, scuba diving, kayaking, white-water rafting, mountain biking; but lately I’ve been more into mountain climbing since I noticed that there are only a few of us climbers who take on the challenge of conquering mountains, and there’s so much opportunity out there to do so,” Garduch says with much gusto.

Apart from giving the country honor now, he also shares his achievement with cause-oriented groups who are recipients of his fund-raising climbs. While looking back to his formative years as a mountaineer, Garduch can only be proud of how far he has come. Reminiscing on his first training climb on a less challenging mountain, he noted that it was barely a 1 1/2 hour climb on Laguna’s Mt. Nagcarlan. Nowadays, he’s taking three-week, dangerous treks to the summit, just as he did to reach the top of Mt. Aconcagua and fulfill his own share of charitable work.

His recent duel with the mountains was a not an easy feat since Mt. Aconcagua is an expedition level mountain that has an altitude of 22,842 feet. with very treacherous conditions. “At 13,000 feet, there’s already no vegetation to be seen, it’s very windy, very chilly with temperature dropping to –20 or lower,” Garduch shares.

Along with the harsh conditions Mt. Aconcagua showed them, they also had to deal with their disappointment due to the bad weather. They got trapped in the snowstorm for two nights after spending two weeks acclimatizing their bodies and working hard to prepare themselves for the ascend. Their team of fifteen members decided to abort the climb, leaving him and a Swedish national to continue their way to the summit. “It was such a big disappointment that we couldn’t even attempt to climb, so when we went down everyone felt bad but at the same time most of them were relieved that they’ll be going home to party for the New Year. I on the other hand couldn’t leave, it’s just me and the Swedish guy who couldn’t take it that we won’t be able to climb,” he says.

However, that disappointment did not dampen his spirits. He continued scaling to Mt. Aconcagua’s summit. “You can’t ignore the fact that you endured the harsh conditions because you were able to sustain your activity. I heard of those who had to quit climbing because of the discomfort they feel, like dealing the very windy and chilly weather. I could have experienced the same thing if I did not have the proper equipment. But everytime I ascended I’m in full battle gear with four layers of clothing--undergarments, fleece, The North Face down jacket and The North Face shell jacket so I have everything with me,” he narrates. And since the Mt. Aconcagua climb is serious business for Garduch, he made sure that he had the best gear from shoes, bags and tent. “Actually, this is the first time that I had the complete The North Face gear. This is a serious climb so I needed the technology, otherwise it is already a question of surviving the elements. It’s a good thing that The North Face is there to help us out because being equipped with technology is definitely a factor in a successful climb,” the mountain conqueror revealed.

All covered up from head to foot in protective gear, Garduch climbed to the summit with an outrageous game plan. Instead of following the proper sequence of climbing from high-camp one to three as the Swedish did, he went straight to high-camp two, skipped three, continued his climb to the summit and on the same day went down to the base camp. The North Face Athlete walked from 6am to 10pm just so he could place the Philippine flag atop the Western Hemisphere’s highest peak and claim triumph.

What’s next on his agenda is still a secret but Garduch hints that it’s going to be the 6th or 14th highest mountain in Nepal or Tibet. He says that if he can’t do it this year, he’ll be climbing either April or May of 2006. But as early as now, he is already preparing for the expedition. “It has been my personal plan to scale the Seven Summits or the highest peaks in the seven continents and so far, apart from this climb I’ve already done two – Mt. Kilimajaro and Mt. Elbrus, although I had to abort the Elbrus climb at 5400m due to white-out weather condition. So we’ll see what comes up next. I’ll continuously be having my endurance training but I also have to train on site since I need longer time to adjust in the environment. But for now, I’ll be asking my boss for permission to take a leave since the next climb is going to take two months,” he says with a naughty laugh.

The North Face (Uniglobe Travelware, Co. Inc.) Brand Manager Roel Chan shares his admiration for the esteemed climber, “We congratulate Mr. Garduce and take pride in his honorable effort and victorious climb, not only setting a great achievement in Philippine history but also helping our less fortunate brothers in the best way he can. Mr. Garduce and other visionary athletes can rest assured that The North Face never stops exploring with them as it continuously supports their commendable endeavors.”

His success may be one for the books, but Garduch believes he is not the only one who can achieve the same feat. He encourages other mountaineers to venture out so that they would not remain to be just a handful who seek climbing opportunities outside. “Everest is a big barrier but once we conquer it, it will open a new door for us to do something else extraordinary like conquer north pole, south pole, and I’m not only pertaining to mountaineering but other adventure-related activities as well like crossing the Sahara desert, paddling the rivers of the Amazon. These are things I also plan on doing. So I hope the enthusiasts out there would be serious in their adventures. Hopefully, through this we would get the right support structure in place to help us to do more adventure sports and eventually make the Philippines known,” he encourages.

Though his face may be badly burnt, his body aching for its much-needed rest, Romi Garduce’s passion is ever burning that it is already scaling its way towards conquering yet another majestic mountain somewhere in the world.

Source:http://www.thenorthface.com/aunz/news/news-romigarduce.html