MT. SEMBRANO (745+ MASL) in Pililia, Rizal looks deceivingly easy to climb when viewed from down the highway going to the reclusive town of Jala-jala.  Even before reaching the jump off point, some members of the Delbros AB Normal Club were already declaring it to be a relatively uneventful climb ahead. Ironically, these premature estimations came from the relatively newer members of the club.  The veterans knew a lot better than to underestimate a mountain.  Experience has taught them that there is no such thing as an “easy” mountain.  Every mountain deserves respect.  Its relative height has nothing to do with how difficult it is to climb.  Each mountain offers its climbers a unique set of challenges.

The concern that everybody seemed to agree upon was how not to get burned by the scorching heat of the sun. It was already a few minutes past 10am when the group reached the jump off point at Brgy. Malaya on Feb 28, 2009.  It was a very sunny, hot, and humid day when the members of the Delbros AB Normal Club went ahead to conquer their second mountain for 2009.

It was, in fact a relatively easy climb.  Of course “relatively easy” is not the same as plain “easy.”  After having climbed about a dozen or so mountains, the Delbros AB Normal Club is yet to find an easy one.  Mt. Sembrano is not an exception. The continuously long ascent going to Peak 1 left most of the climbers gasping for air and almost completely spent. But Peak 1 wasn’t the objective because it isn’t the summit. Peak 2 is, and it looked very distant still from Peak 1. Some of the climbers were tempted to just stay in Peak 1, for to proceed to Peak 2 would mean a very long hike down Peak 1 only to climb up again to the summit which is Peak 2.

Nevertheless, at the end of the climb the climbers declared that it was a relatively easier climb compared, for instance, to Mt. Malipunyo (1,005+ MASL) of the Malarayat Mountain Range, or perhaps Mt. Pico De Loro (664+ MASL) in Cavite/Batangas, or Mt. Batulao (811+ MASL) in Batangas.

What sets Mt. Sembrano apart is its very windy summit and its magnificent 360-degree view. Mt. Tagapo (438+ MASL) in Talim Island, which the Delbros AB Normal Club intends to also climb soon, looked so inviting from not so far across Laguna de Bay.  Mt. Makiling was clearly distinguishable south-south-west from Mt. Sembrano’s summit.  Further south are the mysteriously enchanting twin giants — Mt. Cristobal (1,470+ MASL) and the majestic Mt. Banahaw (2,158+ MASL).

By the time the Delbros AB Normal Club started their descent of Mt. Sembrano, plans have already been laid to climb Mt. Cristobal before this year’s climbing season (Jan-May) ends.  Mt. Banahaw is already in the calendar for 2010.

Note:

• Altitudes in MASL were taken from www.pinoymountaineer.com.
• A similar article first appeared in www.awonderfulblog.com.

THE YEAR 2008 was a relatively active year for the Delbros AB Normal Club.  They went on to summit two mountains — Mt. Batulao (811 MASL) and Mt. Pico De Loro (664+ MASL) before the rainy season started in June.  And then they played ‘hide and seek’ with Super Typhoon Cosmein Baguio City and Pangasinan in May as they sneaked deep and high into Benguet to see theMummies of Mount Timbak (2,717+ MASL).

The Delbros AB Normal folks usually go on “hybernate” mode from June to early November.  They are a crazy bunch but not careless.  Climbing a mountain during the rainy seasons is a no-no.  Not only that it is so much more dangerous.  It is also too inconvenient.  They go for adventure not discomfort.  A climb in late November to early December is feasible but the circumstances of the Delbros AB Normal Club members late last year made another climb impractical.

And that is why they were eager to welcome January, the official start of a new climbing season as far as the Club is concerned.

Determined to start early, Ed Delgado, the Club’s founder and his lieutenants planned and set into motion a January climb as soon as the smoke of New Year’s eve settled down.  Target:  the highest peak of the Malarayat Mountain Range in Batangas (accessible via Lipa City).

The Malarayat Mountain Range has three major peaks:  Mt. Manabo, Mt. Susong Dalaga (Young Lady’s Breast), and Mt. Malipunyo.  Mt. Malipunyo is the highest at 1,005 MASL.

Just a handful of Delbros AB Normal Club members were able to participate in the first climb of the year.  Some Boy Scouts, both young and old, joined them.  All in all, it was a small climb party of about 20 people.  But a climb is never measured by the number of climbers.  The mountain does not become an easier mountain to climb if there are more people climbing it (in fact the opposite may even be true).

No two mountains are alike, too.  Just like the other mountains that the Club climbed before, Mt. Malipunyo is beautiful and majestic in a way that cannot be fully described by words.  You have to climb it and commune with it to fully appreciate it.  Perhaps that is why people who have never climbed a mountain before look at people like the members of the Delbros AB Normal Club and see a bunch of lunatics.

SEVEN HOURS.  That’s the time it took the Delbros AB Normal Club and their Boy Scout companions to complete their Mt. Malipunyo Climb, from the jump-off point to the summit and back.

As it is, Mt. Malipunyo is just a preview of more mountains for the Delbros AB Normal Club to summit in 2009.  After all, the year has just started.

Note:  A similar article first appeared in A Wonderful Blog.

MT. MAKILING, LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA

Facilitated and closely-supervised by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) Mountaineering Club, the activities included a 30-foot high wall climb, 40-foot high and 50-foot long flying fox, 30-foot high and 25-foot long canopy walk, 30-foot high and 15-foot long horizontal ladder, 40-foot high rappel, and 30-foot high free fall.

These tower and tree-top activities forced the participants to confront their fears (of falling from at least 30 feet high). At the same time these gave them a rare and extraorinarily “high” feeling for accomplishing challenges that are completely different from the cerebral challenges that IT professionals are accustomed to facing in the workplace.

But that was just for the morning part of the day-long teambuilding session. After lunch and in the middle of a heavy downpour, the group proceeded to the Challenge Valley, an extreme obstacle course designed to test the physical limits as well as mental skills of Boy Scouts.

Bong Saculles, Chief Information Officer of Delbros Inc., organized and led the teambuilding activities. He was joined by Medel Castro, (outgoing) SSG Manager; Sherwin De Jesus, Systems Development Manager; Mark Obra, Database Administrator; Ford Ordoñez, Senior Technical Support Specialist; Edmond Deus and Rolly De Guzman, Technical Support Specialists; and programmers Marcel Divinagracia and Howard Manalastas. The group was also joined by Jayson Gungon from the Delwater purchasing department as guest participant.

Through the extreme physical challenges they were exposed to the Delbros IT personnel were subtly taught how to adapt to fast-changing situations and how to formulate practical solutions quickly.  The extra-ordinary challenges the group went through in Mt. Makiling also inculcated in them the values of supporting and assisting each other in tight and trying situations.

The facilitators from the BSP Mountaineering Club were led by Derek Bonifacio and Sophie Castillo, both professional staff of the BSP National Office.

Prior to their Mt. Makiling caper, the Delbros SSG members went to 100 Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan in February 2008.

Related Articles:

• Geeks on a Weekend Adventure, Part 1 (Geek Fear Factor)
• Geeks on a Weekend Adventure, Part 2 (Challenge Valley)

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MAY 17, 2008. A small band of Delbros and Delwater managers and some friends left Baguio City for Atok, Benguet to climb the ninth highest peak in the Philippines, Mt. Timbak, also known as Mt. Singakalsa (2,717+ meters above sea level).

Jose Antonio C. Delgado (JED), President and CEO of Delbros, Inc. and Delbros Waterfront Leasing Co., Inc. (Delwater), led the group of 11 who braved the now infamous super-typhoon Cosme. 

The other members of the group were:  Gig Hagad, Delwater National Maintenance Manager; Bong Saculles, Chief Information Officer of both Delbros and Delwater; Arvin Velbis, Delbros Quality Enhancement Group Manager; Sherwin De Jesus, then IT Consultant to Delwater and now Systems Development Manager of Delbros; Edirey Reyes, JED’s driver and personal assistant; Sophie Castillo and Derek Bonifacio of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines; and the Johannots – Daniel, Petty, and their daughter Florence.

The Mummies of Mt. Timbak.  Mt. Timbak is best known for its well-preserved mummies

JED posing with one of the mummies

Mummy Tomb.  Each tomb/cave is resting place of several mummies, with their coffins piled on top of each other

Braving Typhoon Cosme

The carers and the curious.  The Gambulao family, the officially designated caretakers of the mummies of  Mt. Timbak, provided food, shelter, and warm friendship to the rain-soaked climbers.

Stopover at Philippine Pali, the highest point in the country’s Highway System

The same photos and related articles first appeared in the following blog posts:

A Wonderful Blog:  The Mummies of Mt. Timbak

A wonderful Blog:  Philippine Pali – Highest Point in the Philippine Highway System

(Note:  This story first appeared in “A Wonderful Blog”)

The Delbros AB Normal Club climbed Pico De Loro (aka Mt. Palay-palay; 664+ MASL) on March 29, 2008. It was the Club’s second climb this year as well as the second for the month of March alone. We must be avid mountaineers, or eager-beaver neophytes jumping at every opportunity to climb. The more palatable explanation has to do with timing. And it has been all figured and planned out by our climb leader and AB Normal chairman and founder, Jose Eduardo C. Delgado (JED), a seasoned and highly-experienced mountaineer and outdoorsman. The summer season was quite short (it is now officially over) and we wanted to maximize our mountaineering adventures while it was still safe and pleasant to climb. Our photos from the climb tell all about it. Except for one important detail perhaps.  But that one is a story on its own.

Our Pico De Loro climb begins at the Cavite side, as pointed out by a “local.”

The Delbros AB Normal Club is a jolly bunch.  And clueless on the difficulty that lies ahead.

Thank goodness there are road signs.  At least we wouldn’t get lost.

LOST!!!

Looks do deceive.  From this vantage point Pico De Loro looks like an ant hill.

On all fours.  Is it for real?  Or are they simply faking it?  Cheats!

Rest Stop.  This portion of the trail is particularly treacherous.  Right at its base an AB Normal climber lost consciousness.  He had to turn back.

The last stretch leading to the summit.

Almost there.

A few more steps to glory.

Finally, the Summit.

Father and daughter team – JED and Camille – first to summit.

Haggard and hungry. Tired and thirsty. Wan and weary.

Two “locals” tagging along with the AB Normal Club all the way to the summit.

Playful.  Camille and Anton Delgado at the summit.  “Careful kids.  It’s a looooong way down the slope.”

SMB endorser.  “Kahit saan.  Kahit kailan.  Kaibigan.  Maasahan.”

The AB Normal Club, then and now.  JRC represents the “then” [i.e. veterans]; RUS/Bong represents the “now” [i.e. the neophytes].

All together now.  Almost. Three people didn’t quite make it to the summit.

ED and MOC doing their “BD KORE” at the summit.

For the record.  The AB Normal Club descends the summit, successfully conquering Pico De Loro.  But not without casualty.

Sweepers.  The last group of AB Normal climbers descends Pico De Loro

 Into the parrot’s beak.

At the base of the Parrot’s Beak.

A look back at the summit.  “You mean we came from all the way up there?  How did we do that?”

Booze and Beach.  Our Pico De Loro climb culminates at Nasugbu in Batangas.

Camp Site @ Nasugbu Beach.  Rest at last.

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