Missing mountaineer, rescued. (Joey Vergara)

Joey Vergara, the mountaineer who was reported missing after he went on a trek last Sunday, was found and rescued Thursday, a police official said.

Police Senior Inspector Joel Laraya said Vergara, 32, was rescued at the Biak na Bundok area of the Malarayat Range in Batangas province with injuries sustained from a “shot gun trap for wild animals.”

“He is now undergoing first aid medication,” Laraya said.

The police official did not elaborate on the injuries Vergara sustained, but according to Daryl Comagon, one of the rescuers, Vergara "had eight pellet wounds on his left leg.”

“We had to carry him in a hammock," Comagon said in a report on PinoyMountaineer.com.

According to an official police report, Vergara left home in Calauan, Laguna, with seven other mountaineers last Sunday afternoon and headed to Lipa City to climb Mt. Malipuño. The group went down on the same day, but Vergara chose to stay behind.

After three days, Vergara's father Jess went to the Lipa City Police Station to report his son was missing.

Laraya said two search and rescue teams composed of police personnel and rescue volunteers were formed to locate Vergara. The teams were dispatched at 8 a.m. Thursday.



Source:GMAnews

Search for missing mountaineer called off

SAN PEDRO, Laguna—The week-long search for Victor Joel Ayson, the mountaineer who disappeared while trekking on Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas Easter Sunday, has been called off.

But Aj Zarate, who was with Ayson in the Manila-based hiking club Backpackers United, said this did not mean they were giving hope of finding their fellow mountaineer.

Ayson, a computer mainframe designer from Quezon City, went missing during a solo hike on Mt. Maculot on March 31.

“(Ayson’s) father (Samuel Ayson) was the one who decided to call off the search. We have virtually covered the whole area and it would be inefficient if [we] keep on going back to the same places already covered by the search,” Zarate said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Zarate said the search team composed of police and Army personnel, village watchmen and volunteer mountaineers, pulled out of Cuenca late Sunday, although a group of Cuenca-based mountaineers remained n the vicinity.

But the local mountaineers, she said, returned to the “Rockies” on Monday and searched again both the eastern and western flanks of Maculot’s steep, rocky slopes, but found no traces of Ayson.

“The father also asked us to give the mountain a rest and time to recuperate. If you’ve gone there this past week, maawa ka rin naman sa bundok at sa trail (you will pity the mountain and the trail),” said Zarate as there were more than 100 people all at once, who camped and stayed up on the mountain.

Senior Supt. Rosauro Acio, Batangas police director, earlier said the search efforts had shifted from rescue operations to retrieval operations.

Ayson’s family continues to ask for prayers for their missing son, Zarate said.

Ayson was last seen on Easter Sunday, before he left a group of mountaineers at the Batangas City port and traveled alone to Cuenca.

Before his ascent to Mt. Maculot, Ayson left his backpack at a mountaineers’ store at the foot of the mountain and took only a smaller bag with his camera for his day-hike.

A post on the blog site Pinoy Mountaineer—which Zarate said serves as a guide to Filipino mountaineers—said the influx of hikers during the Holy Week had left the trail of Mt. Maculot “very slippery, due to the accumulation of sand and dust in the steep portions.”

The blog site also recalled a 2003 incident similar to that of Ayson’s when hiker Elyovic Gutierrez from Cavite disappeared without a trace on Mt. Madjaas on Panay Island.

“In the case of Victor (Ayson), the response of the mountaineering community has been to support the rescue operations, as it has done in the past incidents,” added the blog site.

A few issues were raised, however. For instance, some have suggested that “solo climbing should be avoided as a lesson that ought to be learned, while others have argued against a generalization,” said the site posted on April 8.

Source: InquirerNews

Mountaineer na tatlong araw nang nawawala matapos umakyat sa Mt. Maculot sa Batangas, patuloy na hinahanap

DENR plans to open parts of Banahaw for climbers, trekkers

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines—The mystical Mount Banahaw is still close to the public until February 2015 but the management board overseeing the protection of the mountain and the adjacent Mount San Cristobal is planning to reopen parts of the mountains for trekking and climbing, according to an environment official.

Salud Pangan, the park superintendent for Banahaw of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, disclosed that the Protected Areas and Management Board (PAMB) for Banahaw and Mount San Cristobal has drafted a plan for the “potential reopening” of the mountains for trekking and climbing.

She said the board would likely open mountain spots, which were not included in the restricted sections of Banahaw.

“Some parts of Mount Banahaw are still closed until 2015,” she stressed. She said camping, praying and other religious activities would be allowed only in designated areas.

She said the PAMB’s plan was approved by DENR-Regional Executive Director Reynulfo Juan after a meeting held on March 14 in Nagcarlan, Laguna.

Pangan said the planned reopening could pose a “unique challenge” to the park’s eco-tourism management.

She said they would have to map out all the trails, firm up regulations, decide on the fees and tourism products, and put all of these in place for the selective opening.

In a phone interview, Pangan said the plan would be immediately implemented within 2013 upon the completion by the PAMB of all the preparation.

In a statement, Juan, also the PAMB chairman, said their initial assessment showed the protected landscape was able to recover during its last nine years of closure.

He said, however, that threats to the landscape have not been eliminated and that Mount Banahaw would need more time to rest.

“During the Lenten season, Banahaw is most threatened,” said Juan.

He reminded pilgrims not to enter the restricted area, observe proper waste disposal and not to engage in vandalism.

Many religious believers would climb Banahaw, particularly during the Lenten season, believing it is inhabited by heavenly spirits.

Mount Banahaw, a traditional pilgrimage site for religious devotees and mountaineers, straddles the municipalities of Lucban, Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria and Dolores in Quezon and parts of the towns of Rizal, Nagcarlan, Liliw and Majayjay and San Pablo City in Laguna.

Most of the 2,177-meter mountain, which spans an area of 11,133 hectares, remains closed to the public until 2015.

Banahaw, which used to be visited by about half a million people during the Holy Week, has been closed to the public since 2004 to allow areas damaged by slash-and-burn farming and littering to recover.

Source:Inquirer.net

Martsa bilang protesta

Mga mountaineer na nag martsa bilang protesta sa pag lalagay nang hagdanan sa Mt.APO

Source: GMAnetworknews

New policies and updates for Mt. Guiting-Guiting

Mt. Guiting-Guiting National Parkabout new policies and updates on the mountain which were approved last February 28, 2013. Here are the major highlights:

1. Everyone is required to register in the Protected Area Office (PAO) before hiking to sign a waiver. Those who fail to comply with this will not be issued a permit, and will not be given a climb certificate. This requirement covers all hikers, including those who are doing a Guiting-Guiting traverse.

2. It is highly recommended that hikers arriving by ferry would proceed to the market to buy supplies, then to Tampayan proper to secure guides. The tricycle ride is P300/way. The official jumpoff is the DENR Park Office.

3. Entrance fee is P300 for local and foreign visitors. Lodging at the Protected Area Office (PAO) Complex is P500/room/day (maximum 3 persons) or P200/person.

4. Guide fee is P1,000/day for foreigners, and P800/day for Filipinos. Porterage fee for foreigners and locals is P600/day.

5. For the regular trail (via Mayo's Peak to summit), the required ratio is 1 guide and 1 porter for 1-5 mountaineers. For the traverse trail, the requirement is 1 guide and 1 porter for 1-3 mountaineers.

6. As per the carrying capacity assessment conducted by the DENR-ERDS and the Guide Association recommendation, 128 persons are allowed to camp the campsites in Mayo's Peak during peak season and 32 during off-season; 18 at the summit, and 18 at Traverse Camp 3.

7. For more information, the new contact numbers of Park Superintendent (PASU) Malvin Rocero are 09359419563 (Globe) and 09496516340 (Smart).

by Mr. Andy Regla

Source: PinoyMountaineer

Kidapawan City to build 7-km stairway to Mt. Apo's summit

The online news portal of TV5

KIDAPAWAN CITY - The Kidapawan City government is set to build a 16,620-step trail step - to be called "Hagdan ni Apo" - ascending to the peak of majestic Mt. Apo, to facilitate tourism while also discouraging the establishment of new, unsanctioned trails.

Apo's summit, the country's highest at 9,692 feet, overlooks the city 20 kilometers to the west.

The project, which was presented to the Kidapawan City Tourism Council and media last week by the city government's Investment and Tourism Promotions Office, would cost at least P2.5 million.

Tourism Officer Joey Recemilla said the trail steps would cover at least seven kilometers, starting from Barangay Ilomavis in Kidapawan City where the Mindanao Geothermal Production Field of the Energy Development Corporation is located.

As a safety feature, protective ropes will be included along the steps, said Recemilla.

Hanging bridge over Marble River

The city government is also set to build a hanging bridge across the Marble River, one of the longest rivers in North Cotabato.

"The project also includes the construction of state-of-the-art public rest rooms at the Marble River and Lake Venado," the plan shows.

The Welcome Center would be located at the entrance of the Mandarangan trail, one of the trails used by climbers to reach the summit. Plans also include the construction of a Research and Conservation Center in the area.

In North Cotabato, the Mt. Apo summit can be reached using trails from Kidapawan City and from towns of Makilala and Magpet.

The mountain is one of the most popular climbing destinations in the country.

"This time, we will make the tour to the peak a lot easier for tourists by constructing a permanent stairway," Recemilla said.

"Also, by building structures along the pathway leading to the peak, it would discourage tourists and local to create a new trail and other mode of activities that will further destroy the natural park. At least 64,053 hectares of the mountain is considered part of the Mount Apo Natural Park," explained Recemilla.

The project, said Recemilla, will strengthen the conservation and preservation of the mountain and at the same time, “bring economic gain in the local tourism industry” through jobs creation, livelihood projects, and increase in local taxes.

"It will also position Kidapawan City as a major tourism hub in North Cotabato and in the entire Central Mindanao," said Recemilla.

With initial funding of P1 million from the city LGU, Recemilla said work on the steps will begin "anytime soon."




Source: interAksyon

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