MT. KITANGLAD CLIMB 2011

Mt. Kitanglad climb is a completion of Bukidnon’s two heaps that was started early this year. After a successful climb to Dulang-Dulang last January, LOGSAC and two affiliates completed two of Bukidnon’s pride by scaling Mt. Kitanglad last May 14 and 15.

A very unique mountain at that because of its being home to many communication towers including huge networks GMA and ABS-CBN, Mt. Kitanglad is the 4th highest peak in the Philippines. The summit is resided by technical personnel which made the mountain far-different from other summits. When you get there, you don’t need to set up a tent because there are available bunkhouses where mountaineers can opt to stay overnight. As Ella would put it, “Mt. Kitanglad is a unique mountain. It’s the only mountain where you can see flowers, bunk houses and even basketball court”.

Adjacent to Mt. Kitanglad is the towering Mt. Dulang-Dulang, the country’s second highest mountain and has formed part of the magnificient panorama of the Kitanglad mountain range which also includes the Kalatungan peak.

“Mt. Kitanglad has really made my climb hard and funny,” said Josephine. Certainly, the steep angle going to the summit plus the cold weather due to heavy downpour in the first day were reasons or our severe exhaustion. We started trekking at 9:00 AM and the first to arrive in the summit was Pawiks at 2:40 PM. Our sweeper arrived at around 5:30 PM. One good thing about Mt. Kitanglad is the ladders established made of angle bars for easy assault.

Another interesting thing about Mt. Kitanglad is its almost untouched, thick forest vegetation. It has so far one of the widest forest in Mindanao and in fact records show that Philippine Eagle Foundation is liberating some of its species within the Mt. Kitanglad mountain range. Hopefully this stature of Kitanglad will remain unspoiled in the coming years.

The temperature of Mt. Kitanglad is comparable to that of Mt. Dulang-Dulang. While having our early morning peak tripping, we enjoyed the splendid overlooking spots of the city of Malaybalay and the island of Camiguin, adding vital pieces to this already-memorable adventure climb.

SPECIAL NOTES: Many thanks to the members of this expedition Josephine, Ella, Irvhin, Papong and Pawiks (it was Pawiks’ first mountain climbing experience outside Mt. Apo). The experience you’ve provided was major flavor to make the climb more appetizing.

JONAS, JULPANZ JOIN ABOITIZ FUN RUN

A fun run for the next generation was initiated by Davao Light and Power Company, a subsidiary of the Aboitiz Corporation. Its primary purpose was to create promotion on healthy lifestyle and to heighten its awareness on energy conservation. The fun run was conducted on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at Victoria Plaza compound, Davao City.

There were more or less 3,000 healthy lifestyle advocates who joined the fun run which includes LOGSAC mainstays Jonas and Julpanz who got involve in the 5k and 3k category.

Other categories of the race were the 21k and 10k. Registration Fee was pegged at 250 pesos per participant inclusive of race singlet, race number, raffle coupon and breakfast.

APRIL IS ECO-ADVENTURE MONTH IN STA. CRUZ

This article has to do with April in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur being a month full of activities related to eco-adventure. Aside from the very hectic schedule of preparations for the 1st International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge, holy week also fell within the month for which influx of tourists have flocked to Mt. Apo as one of the prime Lenten destinations in the Philippines. This column will especially mention some activities conducted, assisted and facilitated by LOGSAC last April 2011.

Refresher Course on Basic Life Safety. This activity was scheduled on April 17-18, 2011 at the Municipal Training of Sta. Cruz. It was conceptualized by the LGU to equip its manpower regarding basic life safety techniques as one of the groundwork for the Boulder Face Challenge. Pool of participants was selected that were also eventually became the race marshals of the race. LOGSAC members who joined the training were Papong, Pawiks, Irvhin Joy, Jonas, Iris and Grace.

Mt. Apo Holy Week Climb Monitoring. Already a perennial activity of LOGSAC, Lenten climb monitoring this year was exceptional. Going to Tumpis as our abode area for 4 days (April 21-24) was not an easy task. We had to go through our usual trail from Sibulan to Colan via Tingting. Although it took us only 30 minutes to climb Tingting, its steepness and technicality had posed a threat like any other mountain climbing experiences. In fact, one of our companions Irvhin almost plunge to the cliff while trekking in a strenuous face-the-wall portion of Tingting during our descend. The monitoring team was composed of the following: Papong, Niloy, Jongjong, Dra. Raygene, Pawiks, Pagong, Jopacs, Dancel, Dockie, Irvhin, Jacko, Jonas and Tolits.

Apprehending illegal climbers was our main task. Rescuing injured climbers was secondary. And we did just that. We seized climbers using Sta. Cruz as exit point without permits from LGU, most of them registered in Digos City. We also used to rescue one injured climber from Darong, Sta. Cruz. Some typical problems noticed during holy week include solid waste management for irresponsible climbers, among others. Nonetheless, the monitoring team of Sta. Cruz was able to withstand all those problems.

For the sake of those mountaineers who will be using Sta. Cruz as an entry point, please take note that we are imposing a 500-peso registration fee per climber and 200 pesos exit fee. Exit fee has been one of the reasons for misunderstanding between LGU authorities and climbers in the mountain when conducting monitoring. If you don’t want to pay exit fee, please don’t use other trails when going down.

After an exhausting holy days, the monitoring team had converge in our familiar hideout at Tajos Beach Resort for a post-event bonding on an Easter Sunday.#

TINIKARAN OUTDOOR SHOP – Creating New Dimension in Outdoor Shopping for Sta. Cruz Mountaineers

A new outdoor shop is now open located in Salandanan St., Poblacion Zone 3, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur to cater the needs of mountaineers and other outdoor devotees in Sta. Cruz ezpecially to those who want to climb in Mt. Apo using Sta. Cruz trail.

Owned by a seld-proclaimed mountaineer himself and TRIMMOC Sta. Cruz Chapter President Dockie Enot, Tinikaran Outdoor Shop is now one of the region’s official distributor of outdoor items such as Higher Ground, Mulatto, Groundzero, White Peak, Sandugo, Conquer and Lagalag, to name a few. It also sells butane gas for camping stoves.

Aside from having a complete parcel of items for outdoor shopping, one nice thing about this store is that it offers lay away purchase mode to selected items for Sta. Cruz customers.

For informations, the shop is open everyday and everybody is welcome to visit.

TEAM CARMEN DOMINATES 1ST INTERNATIONAL MT. APO BOULDER FACE CHALLENGE

STA. CRUZ, DAVAO DEL SUR. The trio of Jonathan Pido, Angelito Sibayan and Edwin Bueno of Carmen, Davao del Norte has dominated the recently-concluded 1st International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge on April 29-30; an extreme adventure race from the heart of Sta. Cruz to the summit of Mt. Apo through disciplines of mountain biking, trekking/running and water tubing. Pido and company completed the race route with a total time of 22 hours, 51 minutes and 42 seconds beating highly-favored teams Merrel 1 and 2.

Team Merrell 2 composed of last year’s champion Christopher Eyao, Dexter Nonato and Dennis Ararao was at far second place with a total time of 24 hours, 10 minutes and 48 seconds while Team AMOSS (Francis James Labanon, Paul Mendoza and Albert Calo) finished third place completing the race at 25 hours, 34 minutes and 30 seconds.

The top six race finishers are Team PMI of Quezon City (Jhomilodin Lucman, Rayzon Galdonez, Anelia Lucman), Team Climb Apo/Mulatto of Digos City (Franklin Nere Ponce, Marcial Catangui, Jeser Paro), Team Bugsay Dabaw (Arvie Kane Abejuela, Gideon Demafeliz, Niño Uyanguren), Team MKRTGA of Bukidnon (Jay Ian Leduna, Walter Galasanay, Diomedes Diagro), Team Bibwak of Bukidnon (Francis Emmanuel Toyrada, Jessie Bert Sulatan, Julie Ann Cabang) and Team Franklin Baker (Michael Palmes, Dioscoro Genonsalao, Joey Capapas).

Team Bibwak of Bukidnon was also the first recipient of a prestigious Sportsmanship Award.

The champion received a cash prize of 150,000 pesos plus trophies while the second and third place were given 100,000 pesos and 75,000 pesos, respectively. Finishers also received a consolation prize of 10,000 pesos each and medals.

Foreign teams who joined the competition were from Indonesia and Australia. There were nineteen teams actually joining the challenge that include the Pastour Emata-led Team Merrell 1, Team PNP Manila, Team Tinikaran of Davao City, Team Kagrupo of Digos City, Team Panahik of Bukidnon, Team Climb Apo Tour and Services of Digos City, Team DOLE Philippines from Polomolok and Team BG of Tagum City.

“Aside from raising awareness on environmental protection, the race also aims to promote the spirit of sportsmanship,” said Sta. Cruz Mayor Atty. Joel Ray L. Lopez.

The 1st International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge is an initiative of the Local Government of Sta. Cruz as a highlight event of the annual Pista sa Kinaiyahan celebration. It is strongly supported by the Provincial Government of Davao del Sur, Department of Tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Trade and Industry, Mountaineering Federation of Southern Mindanao, San Miguel Brewery and Aboitiz Power. (Report from JULIUS R. PANER)