Barely a month after the 1st Philippine Mount Everest Expedition Team member Leo Oracion reached the peak of Muztag Ata (7,546 meters/24,902 ft) in China, another Filipino climber, Romi Garduce, summited Cho-Oyu in Nepal. At 8,201 meters (approximately 27,063 feet), Cho-Oyu, “The Turquoise Goddess,’’ is the sixth-highest peak in the world. It is the highest recorded altitude reached by a Filipino climber, and his second Alpine peak after previously climbing Aconcagua (6,962 meters/22,841 feet) in Argentina earlier this year.
Following a few weeks of acclimatization around Nepal, Garduci joined an expedition in Kathmandu that included climbers from Germany, Australia and South Africa. Blessed with mostly good weather, the team climbed the mountain in stages, from Advanced Base Camp, set at 5,700 m (18,810 ft), Camp 1 (6,400 m/21, 120 ft), Camp 2 (7,000 m/23,100 ft) and Camp 3 (7,500 m/24,750 ft).
The attempt to the summit was made on Sept. 26. Leaving Camp 3 at 1 a.m. Respecting the dangers of the so-called "Death Zone’’ (the thin air altitudes above 25,000 feet), Garduci and another companion climbed on bottled oxygen. He and his fellow climbers climbed the final 700 meters to the summit, passing the technical rock and ice section known as the "Yellow Band’’ on fixed ropes.
The entire trip to the summit took a grueling 9 hours, even with bottled oxygen, although he was urged on by the fact that each step higher set a new climbing record for the Philippines. He finally reached the summit at around 10:30 a.m., before returning back to the relative safety of Camp 2 by 5 p.m. The pride of his accomplishment was similarly felt by his Nepali guides and fellow climbers, who were quite happy to be with him during this climb as well.
Garduce’s long-term goal is to climb the world’s "Seven Summits,’’ or the highest peaks of the world seven continents. These include Kilamanjaro in Africa (5,895 m/19,453 ft), Denail in North America (6,194 m/20,440 ft), Elbrus in Europe (5,642 m/18,619 ft.), Aconcagua in South America (6,962 m/22,975 ft), Carstansz in Oceania (4,884 m/16,117 ft), Vinson in Antartica (4,897 m/16,160 ft), and Everest in Asia (8,850 m/29,205 ft.).
Of these, Garduci has already reached Kilamanjaro and Aconcagua. Having climbed Cho Oyu, the next logical challenge, according to him, is Mt. Everest.
"I was walking the last few meters of the summit plateau, towards the real summit, towards East, and then there it was, looming in the distance – the greatest mountain of all – Everest (8,848m). The summit of Cho Oyu seems to be just a doorstep, and standing on its top, I was hypnotized by the sight of the mountain next to it, it’s bigger, it’s higher – and it made me wonder, how it’s like to climb the next 600 meters – how it’s like to climb… the top of Mt. Everest…’’
