I’ve climbed several mountains and yet I never had a course in Basic Mountaineering. My entry into the world of mountaineering in the mid 90′s was influenced by my friends, I won’t say that we were unprepared, but looking back, it could have been beneficial to me (or us) if we had the training.

Our journey to Anawangin Cove starts with a 4 hours trip from Manila to San Antonio, Zambales. This was my first trip to the cove, I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about the place since 2007 but never had a chance to visit. We went with the group of (Pinoy) tourists who availed the tour package.

Twenty (20) mountaineers from SMB Mountaineering Group converge at Chowking Fastfood Restaurant along the National Hi-way of San Pablo City early morning of January 14, 2012. Nine (9) of us came via Lucena Lines bus from Pasay, the others via private vehicles.

The year 2011 might not look eventful, at least as far as this blog is concerned. There were less entries compared to the previous years that I was blogging, this might be attributed to what they call as “writer’s block”. Having been writing on this blog from more than 7 years, each time I try to write, the urge of making the next article (or photos) better than the previous always...

I’ve known them only by their nick’s at the forum, I’ve never ever met anyone of them in person. They call themselves (collectively) as SMB Mountaineers, I found the site while googling for a mountaineering club.

Just hours before the start of the traditional early morning mass (Simbang Gabi) to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Typhoon Sendong brought its wrath to Eastern Mindanao. The rainfall was so enormous that it flooded and swept majority of Barangays in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Over 600 people died and several others are missing, houses were left into rubble, crops &...