The Relevance of Friendship Climbs
( Hindi po intelektwal na diskusyon ito. Akala nyo siguro mabigat na topic ito. Aktwali, parang usual e-mail lang ito. Parang sulat sa mga kaibigan. At Taglish din siya. .)
Masaya yung climb noong weekend sa Mariveles( Mar.10-11 ) . Marami kaming nakilala. Maraming nakausap sa trail pa lang. Mahirap din yung trail. Yung mga trail ni Sky ay hindi naman pang softie - o pang “occasional” climber talaga. Pag wala kang “mountain legs”, malabo na .Kadalasan, kahit nag-gy-gym ka, di rin ubra. Going to climbs at least twice a month conditions you mentally and physically , I believe . Attitude counts a lot in this business. Pero, siguro kailangan ding pag-usapan-bakit ba may mga Friendship Climbs? I think, if I’m not mistaken, the organizers – Wena and the rest decided to do this to start reaching out to other clubs, other mountaineers para misconceptions and bad impressions, or even wrong information about each other’s club is dispelled, matanggal, mabura,maiba. Samting like dat.
During the climb, various clubs had the chance to talk to AMCI members- nakita naman nila maraming normal na tao sa AMCI, at sa AMCI naman nakita rin nila na maraming okey na kasama sa ibang grupo. The problem with climbing only with our own groups is that we fail to appreciate the beauty of being with different people. There were some very funny people. Lunch by the SCAJ waterfalls was shared with extraordinary folks who gave fresh insights and gave new meaning to “ barkadahan” .There were the occasional irritating “flies in the ointment” ika nga - mga taong hindi nakikipagkuwentuhan sa hindi nila kilala. But it’s their loss if they do that continually. Sayang yung panahon na pwede kang makipagkaibigan. Sumama ka pa! Also there were the students and seasoned climbers alike. The stories ranged from old stories you probably heard before and some new ones that continue to enthrall any outdoors person interested in the local Pinoy mountaineering community and history. Whew! Hebigats ba? The veteran climbers talked about the heyday of mountaineering . That was when NOT everybody could call themselves a mountaineer. But that’s another story.
The trail was also great for getting oneself together. You could tell how bad you’ve been to yourself by seeing how you perform while trekking. Hirap daw sabi ng isa. Pero, if it wasn’t that difficult, would people appreciate reaching the summit? Probably not. Anything difficult or hard to attain is worth having . Doesn’t that rule usually apply to almost anything in our lives ?
Back to the relevance –yes, it was great to be with other climbers on that mountain trail. Relevant ba yung climb? Yes. I heard that people got to network with other fellow climbers regarding itineraries and climbing plans. Perhaps there will be some who will be “guides” and there will be the “guided”. Maybe there will be other friendship climbs that will be patterned after this one. The exchange of ideas, stories, anecdotes, experiences as we see each other along the trail, while taking a gulp of that cold water from the Papaya River or while resting and watching that little snake slither past Gerryvee at the forest before the cogonan---those are all important beginnings for future climbs, and will hopefully fill that gap that yawns between each club. Perhaps now, impressions about each other will slowly change. If that’s too hopeful, then let’s have more friendship climbs and continue to encourage multi - club climbing so that we get to know each other better and perhaps influence each other in building a more responsible mountaineering community.
Kaya, happy trails sa lahat ngayong summer!
Kat Palasi/AMCI
Quezon City
March 2001