Oracion conquers Everest

It was a race of sorts between the country’s top broadcasting networks to scale the world’s highest mountain.

Veteran mountaineer and triathlete Heracleo "Leo" Oracion, backed by ABS-CBN, became the first Filipino to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Another Filipino climber, Romeo Garduce, covered by rival network GMA-7, has yet to reach the top.

Oracion reached the summit of the 8,848-meter mountain at 3:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. in Manila yesterday).

He reached the top and planted the Philippine flag after negotiating the Hillary stretch of the mountain, the route taken more than 50 years earlier by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first Westerner to climb Everest.

"The Philippine Eagle has landed at the summit of Mt. Everest," said Arturo Valdez, leader of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition, quoting Oracion.

"We have shown the world that the Filipino can," he added.

Valdez said the 32-year-old Oracion left Camp 4 past 9 p.m. Tuesday (11 p.m. in Manila) and went to conquer the top of the mountain with Sherpa guide Pemba.

Camp 4 is the last stopover before the summit of the Earth’s highest peak.

He said Oracion reached the Hillary stretch of the mountain at 12:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. in Manila), about 1,000 meters away from the summit.

Valdez explained a climber usually takes an hour to reach the summit from the Hillary stretch but Oracion negotiated the route in a brisk, careful step.

"The wind there is so thin. The wind in the area has only one-third oxygen (composition)," Valdez said.

He added the temperature at the summit ridge is about -30 degrees Celsius.

Valdez said Oracion would start descending the mountain on Thursday.

Oracion’s teammate, Erwin "Pastor" Emata, had also reached Camp 4 by 2:30 pm. (4:30 pm. in Manila). He said Emata would push for the summit along with four Mallorcan mountaineers by 8 p.m. (10 p.m. in Manila).

Valdez, along with the rest of the team and ABS-CBN News correspondents Abner Mercado and Vince Rodriguez, are stationed at Everest Base Camp.

A video from ABS-CBN later showed Mercado interviewing Oracion at the top of the mountain with the Philippine flag waving behind them.

Garduce, on the other hand, has reached Camp 2 of the mountain on the same trail. He left at about 7 a.m.

Garduce, who arrived at the Everest base camp in late March, clarified that he was not competing with Oracion and his group but stressed his climb is dedicated to all Filipinos.

Climbing on thin air requires "three breaths for every step," he said.

Last Tuesday, Oracion was at Camp 4 at 26,300 feet of the popular South Col route and closest to the summit. Garduce, on the other hand, was at Camp 2 at 21,000 feet.

Both ABS-CBN and GMA-7 have spent lavishly on sponsorship deals and deployed on-location crews to provide blow-by-blow accounts as the climbers acclimatize and store up supplies and provisions on the upper slopes of the 29,028-foot mountain.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo hailed the efforts of the Filipino mountaineers in conquering the world’s highest peak.

"I extend my heartfelt congratulations on behalf of the Filipino people to Leo Oracion on his spectacular achievement. He is the very picture of hard work, tenacity and courage. He has shown the world the stuff Filipinos are made of," President Arroyo said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita added the Oracion’s accomplishment showed "the indomitable spirit of man, especially if they are Filipinos."

"Since Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in the world, you can imagine how the world would be looking at Filipinos being able to plant the Philippine flag on top of Mt. Everest," he said.

Ermita said President Arroyo would likely invite Oracion and Garduce, along with the rest of the Philippine team who reached the summit, to Malacañang.

Oracion’s father, Guillermo, said he was proud of his son’s accomplishment.

"I couldn’t be prouder of my son Leo. We can’t help but be worried, but we have faith in his strength as a climber, as well as his determinations as a person," the elder Oracion said.

Fellow mountaineer James Tagara of Manila-based AMCI club said Oracion and Garduce, along with the rest of the Filipinos who reached Mt. Everest, will be treated national heroes.

Tagara claimed the two separate efforts to climb Mt. Everest should not be considered a race.

"I don’t consider it as a race, because mountaineers know when to quit or to pace themselves," Tagara added. - ABS-CBN website, Paolo Romero, Joey Villar, AFP