Another Himalayan Adventure!

After months of uncertainty, we finally booked our ticket to Kathmandu! 

Celine and I have been planning to return to Nepal since last year. Levi and Pen's Annapurna Circuit trek was too appealing not to experience for ourselves. An opportunity came when we heard some of the UPM "uncles" were also planning a climbing trip in the Annapurna area, up the Chulu Far East Peak (6000+m), and Dawa suggested we join that group so that everyone's expenses get lower. Unfortunately things didn't pan out for the others, and we were left scouting for other options. 

Along the AC trail (photo: Dream Himalaya Adventures)

Trek to Everest Base Camp Spring (Holy Week) 2018 - 17 days (12 hiking days)

More and more Pinoys are finding their way to the foothills of the highest mountains of the world. Don't be left behind!

Our partner, Dream Himalaya Adventures Pvt. Ltd, has a special offer for Filipino teams planning to go to EBC. DHA has been guiding Pinoys since the 2006 Filipino Mt. Everest expeditions. Email me to book your slot!

[#AmaDablamTour Days 13 - 15] Climbing Lobuche East

Day 13-15 - Lobuche East [October 26-28, 2015]

It's been two years since our trip to Nepal. Time and distance brings introspection. I'm concluding my story with the benefit of hindsight, though it takes away from the "spirit of the moment" but helps me relate my experience to the larger scheme of things. In more ways than one, returning to my comfort zone made writing about my experience less urgent. If anyone felt robbed of a conclusion to my story, my sincerest apologies for this late post. For those reading this blog for the first time, you may want to read the start of this story here. Thanks for your support! 

Recapping where we left off in the story, we just returned to Lobuche from Gorak Shep after the team's forays to EBC and Kala Patthar. From here we parted ways with the ladies and Ang Kami as they continued to Pheriche. Someone proposed that maybe we can delay our bid for Lobuche East by a day to recuperate and better adjust to the altitude. We managed to discuss this with Dawa, who gave the sobering news that the weather might turn in the next two days, and that if we didn’t climb as scheduled, there’s a chance that the weather won’t be favorable. No choice but to move on as planned.

Getting Back

Re-starting something after being away for some time is always hard (except maybe riding a bike, which they say you never forget). Even the thought of re-launching this blog, for example, is taking an extreme amount of energy. What more to actually start writing content again?

So after a year since my last hike of significant elevation gain, I headed back up a mountain. This time, the Pantingan Peak of Mt. Mariveles in Bagac, Bataan. I hoped that muscle memory will make up for the utter lack of hiking in the past six months. Pantingan turned out to be a mountain you should not restart climbing on.

The approach to Pantingan Peak (right-of-center)

Thankful to be alive!

Zero activity for the past year. Sorry about that.

A lot of adventures have happened since the last post; mostly indoor and rock climbing (had several trips since December to Atimonan and Wawa. yey!). Not a lot of biking and running, though I've had a few half-written articles about races I've joined with very poor physical preparation. The writing bug has left my system, unfortunately. But I heard it is contagious, so I'm just waiting for someone to infect me again.

Just checked in to say that I'm happy to still be writing here. It was a scary Sunday, and I'm thankful for all the support I've gotten the past couple of days.

I will be back again outdoors very soon, a little wiser, hopefully. Maybe by then I will be writing again at least once a week. I will definitely find ways to plant more trees,

Thanks guys! Stay safe!

- Dennis


Since you are here....

Please come to AkyatCon2.0, hosted by the UP Mountaineers! This will be on July 28 and 29 at the Institute of Biology, UP Diliman. Tons of interesting topics about the outdoors await.

To register, visit akyatcon.upmountaineers.org.