“IN the distant horizon, I could see my landmark, the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest, on the other side of the ridge. I was told that you have to see it to ensure that you are on the highest point in Cho Oyu. At last, I can see the summit. I saw two flag markers so I quickened my pace to finally walk and stand on top of Mt. Cho Oyu. The goal, to put the first Filipino on top of the 8000m peak, was now complete. There I was….. savoring the feeling of euphoria of being first from my country at the world's 6th highest mountain."

Basking in the glory of his achievement, information technology professional Romi Garduce had difficulty believing he really made it on top of Mt. Cho Oyu, considering that only a few days back, he was bed ridden and vomiting non-stop due to acute mountain sickness (AMS).

DEATH ZONE
Mt. Cho Oyu stands at 8201m/(26,906ft) and is one of the 14 peaks above 8000m. It straddles the border of Tibet and Nepal in the region called the Himalaya. Access to the summit is normally thru the northwest ridge, in the Tibetan side of the mountain.

In altitudes of 8000m peaks like Cho Oyu lies an area above 26,000 feet commonly referred to as the death zone. The human body starts to die at this altitude due to thinning oxygen in the air (~40% and less as you go higher) causing vital organs to slow down and even shut down. An advanced form of AMS such as pulmonary and cerebral edema are very real dangers for mountaineers. Here, body fluids leak into and flood the lungs and brain. This danger makes climbing at extreme altitudes a formidable challenge.

CLIMB FOR A CAUSE
Romi’s climb was not simply a mountaineer’s passion to scale heights being satisfied. It was also meant to benefit indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines. Every meter he climbs up the summit generates funds for programs for IPs.

Like the mountaineer’s death zone, IPs constantly face the threat of entering a day to day death zone.

Unicef's Innocenti Research Center reports that indigenous communities often live under severe cultural and social stress. Lack of opportunities, cultural discrimination, inadequate social support, loss of land, and difficulty integrating into the dominant culture contribute to low self-esteem and loss of identity. Indigenous children are also at risk of human trafficking, sexual and labor exploitation, and being at the crossfire of armed conflict and civil unrest.

There are an estimated 300 million indigenous persons worldwide. They inhabit every region of the globe, originating in some 70 countries and speaking three quarters of the world's 6,000 languages. About half of the global indigenous population live in Asia; an average of 10 million live in the Philippines.

Indigenous groups are marginalized because of lack of real choices. They are driven to the remotest areas out of reach of urbanization and development. In the Philippines – like in any other parts of the world - indigenous lands, waters, languages, health and cultures, long devastated by the legacy of colonial oppression, continue to be under threat. The lack of access to basic services pushes them to the brink of a virtual death zone.

Cartwheel Foundation addresses this threat by providing education to indigenous children and communities in the country. It provides preschool assistance, college scholarship grants, alternative learning sessions to adults and out-of-school youths, and emergency feeding and teacher training.

INSANITY OR EXTREME ADVENTURE?
At the last leg of Romi's attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Cho Oyu, he was confined to the advance base camp (5700m/18,800ft) for three days due to acute mountain sickness and was too weak to go on. At this altitude, weakened bodies are usually not able to recover fully. The human body, with the exception of a few ethnic groups like the Sherpas of the Himalayan region, has not evolved enough to survive in these altitudes. Romi seriously considered aborting the climb but remembered his motivation for this extreme adventure challenge.

Romi attaches a purpose to his climb of the world's highest peaks. Faced with extreme conditions during the Cho Oyu climb, Romi admits to drawing strength from friends, colleagues and the indigenous people served by Cartwheel Foundation. These are the people whom he wished to serve by the thing he does best: mountain climbing, and in doing so, setting a record in Alpine climbing by a Filipino.

Through his climb, Romi hopes to inspire others to support the IPs' right to education by pledging financial support for Cartwheel's programs. As if his record-breaking feat and financing his own climb is not enough, Romi also pledged an amount out of his own pocket.

NO CHOICE
Compared to other sports like adventure racing, triathlon or indoor sports, Romi said that giving up in Alpine mountaineering halfway is not as simple nor straightforward as simply stopping. One will still need to get down the mountain, facing the same dangers one encountered on the way up.

Unlike Romi, young Tala-andig and Cartwheel scholar Jomer Dogia almost gave up on the attainment of his lifelong dream – to obtain a college degree so he can serve his fellow Tala-andigs - because he simply had no choice. Coming from a community where persons who drop out after grade 5 can be chosen to lead as datu or barangay captain, a college degree seemed too lofty for him to reach. After all, his farmer parents could barely make ends meet, much less support him through college.

"My hopes were pinned on any miracle that would somehow guide and inspire me to become a successful individual in my community. Then Cartwheel came and became that miracle. Now it is my wish to become a responsible individual in the service of others," says Jomer.

From its humble beginnings in putting up an early childhood school for an indigenous community in the foothills of Mt. Kalatungan and Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Cartwheel makes a bold leap of serving more indigenous communities through the establishment of an Indigenous Peoples' College called Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples Education in Mintal, Davao City.

Together with partners University of South Eastern Philippines (USEP), ILAWAN Center for Volunteer and Leadership, Assisi Development Foundation, Office of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Region XI, the school will provide college education to IPs who dream of an education rooted in their life, culture and aspirations as a nation. Through the Pamulaan Center, Cartwheel hopes to bring education where it is needed most.

NO LIMITS
Nearing the peak of Cho Oyu, Romi's team decided to climb straight to the summit cutting short the normal acclimatization time. It is a potentially dangerous move as the lack of acclimatization could lead to cause edema but, as Romi would say, "That's what climbing is all about – taking risks to reach a goal."

The record set by the first Filipino to climb an 8000m peak is a clear mark that we can go beyond our limits, and that we can try to achieve something greater. After all, Romi's burning desire to raise the Philippine flag in an extreme altitude summit is aimed to show that we too can reach lofty goals despite extreme conditions, and that we too can achieve what we can dream!

Postscript: Romy Garduce, “Garduch” to his friends, left Manila on March 8, 2006 for Nepal. He has set his sight on being the First Filipino to set foot on Mt. Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,850 meters/29,035 feet. As of press time, he is acclimatizing at Camp One and meticulously preparing for his push to the rooftop of the world. In typical Romi-style, his inspiration and motivation for the climb of his life are the indigenous peoples and the indigent patients in the Philippine General Hospital’s Children’s Ward and the GMA Kapuso Foundation. There will be more updates on Garduch’s climb in the next issues of One Phil (ed).