Cho Oyu and Beyond ...

Cho Oyu climb for a cause is an awareness and fund-raising campaign aimed to help provide much needed education to our often neglected indigenous children in the remote parts of the country. The climb objective is to set a new altitude record, an attempt of the 6th highest mt & one of the peaks in the death zone. This event intends to bridge the education gap, and hope we provide our indigenous children a better future -- safe and away from a possible 'death zone'.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Experience Nepal part II

As promised, we will have an 'open climb' next summer (March or April) for anyone who wishes to experience the beauty of Nepal Himalaya. I may or may not have a Big climb, but for sure, this trip will push thru..

Last post-monsoon (Aug2005), we have a tiny group of 5 Filipinos (including me), who trekked and climbed around Langtang valley.
You may view this site to find out what this Langtang trip is all about.

You may also visit the websites of the 2 Langtang members -- John and Ching; they put up a blog-site documenting their Nepal experiences :)


So what's for 2006?
(revised Dec6)
"Experience Nepal" part 2
Dates: March (or April) 2006
Location: Khumbu, Nepal
Number of Days: ~17 on-site.

Trip Options

Highlights: magnificent views of Mt. Everest; exhilarating feeling of standing on top of a 20,000ft snow-capped mountain; experience the culture of the remote villages in Nepal - see the local people, the yaks, Buddhist temples, and a lot more.

A. Trek-only (2 batches, ~20 days apart).
Here’s your chance to see the beauty of the Himalaya. We’ll be trekking in remote villages, and will stay overnight in “tea-houses” (mini-hostels). It’s a good venue to mingle with the locals – see their way of life and experience the culture.
The trek offers superb views of the great Himalayan mountains, including the magnificent south-face of Mt. Everest.

B. Trek and Climb.
Several 6000m peaks are in the vicinity of the trekking route. This is a good chance to try summit-ing a significantly high altitude alpine peak. Whether you’re the serious mountaineer-type who wishes to bring his experience to another level, or a fit-enough enthusiast who wants a top-of-the-world experience – this climb will definitely suit your need.
The plan is to spend 1-2 days near the basecamp of the target mountain, and do a basic training on alpine mountaineering. This will include practice of using crampons and ice-axe, rope-works, glaciology 101, etc. Then the highlight of course is a summit attempt of a 6000m mountain (~20,000ft). This sounds high, but it’s actually classified as a ‘Trekking peak’ (beginners have climbed this before).

Trek and Climb sub-groups will trek together, but the climb group will be off the teahouse route for ~6 days (for the actual climb). The 2 sub-groups will re-join after the climb.

Note: Trek-only participants can likewise spend their time with the climbing group, this will offer a unique opportunity to camp near the mountain, or even explore the nearby glaciers.

Fitness Requirement
TREK-ONLY. If you can comfortably walk for 6-7 hours a day (slow-to-moderate), then you'll be fine. I would recommend a long-walk exercise prior to this trip, maybe 4-6hours with 10kg pack (flat or up-hill is fine) - longer or heavier is better. Do 3 or 4 weekend routines before the scheduled trip, rest on the last week (or last 2 weeks) prior to your flight date.

TREK AND CLIMB. This, of course, would require better level of stamina than Trek-only, especially since we’re expecting walks on snow/ice in a high altitude environment. Practice climbing a hill with a 20kg or heavier pack; or do a flat-walk of 6-7hrs w/ the same load. Avoid going downhill with a heavy pack to save your knees. Better kick out the yosi-habit for a few weeks prior to the big climb, if you’re the heavy type – lose weight. If you’re the lean-type, gain some weight (you’ll lose some kg for sure).

Interested?
Send me an email at ph_climbforacause@yahoo.com
I'll regularly post updates regarding this trip.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

My Cho Oyu climbing team. ltr: Romi (Phils), Phura (Nepal), Mike (S.Afr), & Pete (Australian). The German took the shot. CHECK OUT THE UPDATED PHOTO ALBUM (see Links, right hand-side) Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Bulletin Board

(entry added , with 'NOV14' under Media)
Upcoming Activities / Events / News:

  • - The ever-bitin Photo exhibit is postponed to December (mall schedule problem, o well). This is an extension of the charity campaign (cartwheel photos), plus a photo exhibit of the climb (Cho Oyu).
  • - We're thinking of selling Calendar-postcard (see previous post) as part of the on-going fund-raising campaign. We're still not quite happy with the generated fund so we have to do something extra ;)
  • - Gimmick (with live bands) - for a Cause parin, now postponed to Feb (haay tagal).
  • - Funny, I got an email today which says that I am receiving a Merit Badge award. Check this out
    http://www.mbcenter.org/downloads/certs.php?tp=C&nm=20051107_03

Media / Articles / Stories

  • - Ey hey, Chinggay A. will interview me (live) this coming Sat, RX radio, 3pm. (postponed to next Sat, nov19)
  • - Magazine interviews: People (Asia), PUMP (yeebaaa! might as well send my nude pics), Planet Philippines (abroad)
  • - (NOV14) Check out this write-up from Cartwheel http://cartwheelarticle1.blogspot.com/

Blog updates

- I have moved the Cho Oyu photo url to 'Links' section (right-hand side)

- I've changed the Blog title to "Cho Oyu and Beyond", until I switch to a new Blog site for the next 'project' .

Climb Updates

  • I'll be organizing an 'open climb' next year for anyone who wishes to try a good trek in Nepal or, experience an alpine climb (20,000ft mountain). Beginners or advanced mountaineers (climb), or office-slaves (trek) are all welcome to join in. Maybe around April or March. Email me if you're interested (ph_climbforacause@yahoo.com). I'll switch to a different Blog site to cover these next scheduled climbs.

Monday, November 07, 2005


Souvenir postcard-calendar 2006. It's an idea to extend fund-raising by selling this types, but with a picture of me in there... nah - may not sell at all.. haha!� Posted by Picasa


Post-climb in TNF rockwell shop, mid-Oct05. Cartwheel giving Romi a plaque (read: "where's the charity money, Romi?!") hahaha Posted by Picasa