Three Filipinas made history Wednesday by becoming the first ASEAN women to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.
Noelle Wenceslao was the first to reach the summit at 6:10 a.m. Nepal time (8:10 a.m. in Manila) followed by Carina Dayondon at 6:20 a.m. (8:20 a.m. in Manila). The two stayed on the summit for 20 minutes, taking photos and admiring the view.
"Naabot na ng Pinay ang tuktok ng mundo (The Filipina has reached the top of the world)," Rodriguez quoted Wenceslao as saying.
The third Filipina, Janet Belarmino, reached the summit at 11 a.m. Manila time. Belarmino was delayed as she had to fall in line because a lot of people wanted to reach the summit.
"The women were going at their own pace. They weren't all moving at the same time. What happened was - Noelle and Carina actually reached the summit earlier than expected. They reached it at 8 a.m. They were supposed to reach it at 10 a.m. so I think the two other girls were moving a bit faster than Belarmino," he said.
He said Wenceslao sounded "like an overjoyed kid" when she radioed him about reaching the summit. He added that the three have started their descent on the south side of the mountain.
Rodriguez said the three members of the "Kaya ng Pinay" Everest Team reached Advanced Base Camp at 6,400 meters on Sunday. He said the three Filipinas started their final ascent from Camp 3 at 8 p.m. Manila time.
Health problems
Rodriguez said the climb to the top of the world's tallest mountain was difficult for the Filipinas. Wenceslao suffered from altitude sickness or pulomonary edema while climbing.
He said the team physician recommended that Wenceslao descend to 5,000 meters for her to recover. All three Filipinas were ordered to stay at Advanced Base Camp for three days to eat, rest and sleep.
The Filipinas are also poised to set another record in Everest history by becoming the first women to have crossed the mountain from Tibet to Nepal. Rodriguez said the women climbed and summitted from the North, Tibetan side, instead of the southeast side in Nepal, a route taken by Filipinos Leo Oracion, Pastour Emata and Romy Garduce to reach the summit last year.
The Nepal side is arguably the more dangerous route because landslides are more frequent on the Khumbu Icefall, a part of the glacier that climbers must cross to reach the summit.
Crossing the mountain from Tibet to Nepal has only been done by a handful of mountaineers – all of them men. The traverse poses a bigger challenge for the women as they will be passing an unfamiliar route to come down the mountain.
Rodriguez said Oracion will be stationed at Base Camp in Nepal to welcome the women and accompany them back to Kathmandu. He added that he expects all three women to reach Base Camp on May 18, Friday.
At 29,035 feet, Mount Everest looms as the ultimate challenge to human endurance. The mountain sits on the border of two countries, Nepal and the Tibetan region of China.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topoftheh...?StoryId=77392
3 Pinays on top of the World
Originally Posted by lestat1116
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