Dale Abenojar

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Dale Abenojar
Dale Abenojar

Dale Sto. Tomas Abenojar (born April 27, 1963) is a mountain guide by profession. On May 30, 2006, he was recognized by veteran Himalayan expedition chronicler Elizabeth Hawley as "the first Filipino" to reach the summit of Mount Everest. According to Hawley Dale reached the summit on May 15, 2006.[1] Abenojar was certified by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association on May 20, 2006 to have summitted Everest via the North Col on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 AM Beijing time.[2]

On August 4, 2006, Dale's documentary film "Child in Everest" was shown to family, friends, supporters, media and representatives of the Philippine government. Curator of Malacañang Museum is now evaluating of giving Dale the presidential citation and recognition of "Champions for Life."[3].

The Himalayan DataBase published by American Alpine Club[4] had included Dale in the list of Everest North summitteers for Spring 2006 on May 15,[5].

The Discovery Channel though its Footage Source director Margaret Majorack has confirmed via e-mail to ABC 5 TV station's News & Current Affrairs Chief Atty. Dan De Padua that they had a 30-minute video footage of Dale at Camp 3 which is 8,300mtrs (27,390ft). The film has a tag price of PHP 7 million[1].

Contents

[edit] Background

Dale was a former member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers. He was the first Filipino to publicly announce the intention to climb Everest in 1994. His intention drew criticism from Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines headed by Rolando Francisco. The MFPI then wrote a letter to the President of the Philippines not to support his Everest Expedition.[6]

[edit] Everest Expedition

After 12 years he resume his bid to climb Everest.[7] He pawned his car, a Range Rover to support his climb. During the early stage of his expedition he took a short alpine mountaineering course provided by his Sherpa and was given proper acclimatization.[8] In performing the first acclimatization in North Col Dale spew blood due to lung infection. He was brought down with the assistance of two Sherpas and treated by the Indian doctor in Base Camp.[9] After recuperating he then proceeded to assault the summit.[10] His summit assault was monitored by radio communication between Monterosa Treks and Expeditions camp manager Ram Krishna and Abenojar's lead trekking guide Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa from China Base Camp[8] at 5400m on May 10, Advance Base Camp at 6400m on May 10, North Col-Camp 1 at 7000m on May 12, Camp 2 at 7900m on May 13, Camp 3 at 8300m on May 14 and on the summit day at 8848m on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 AM Beijing time.[8]

Upon arriving in the Philippines he and his sherpa were brought to Cardinal Santos Hospital. Because Dale was suffering from severe frostbite climbing Everest, his left big toe had to be amputated while his sherpa had frostbite to all his toes and had to be amputated as well. Sports medicine surgeon Dr. Gar Eufemio and his team had waived all their professional fees to help the cash-straffed Abenojar. Lucio Tan, a former sponsor[11] of FPMEE visited him, paid the hospital bills and praised his achievement.[12].

[edit] Summit First News

GMA7 TV reported on April 28 that Mountaineers Romi Garduce, Del Adelujar (spelled correctly as Dale Abenojar), and the Philippine Everest team are the acknowledged Filipinos currently on Mt. Everest to try their luck in becoming the first Filipinos to reach the peak of the mountain[2].

On May 11, GMA7 News said that Filipino mountaineer Dale Abenojar has not backed out of an international expedition to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, Abenojar is part of a 15-member team from different countries which would take the North Col, the route from Tibet[3].

On May 15, Abenojar's summit date, GMA7 News reported that another Filipino mountaineer Dale Abenojar was seen climbing the mountain from the Tibet side[4].

Newspapers in the Philippines reported a bitter rivalry between the maverick Dale Abenojar, who claimed the first Filipino ascent via the Northeast Ridge on May 15, and a national team that reached the summit from the south side two days later.[13] The news was first reported in Philippine media on May 17, 2006 by GMA 7[14] and ABS-CBN,[15] but actually first came to light through a posting on May 16, 2006 by Outdoor News Wire[16] and Mt. Everest.Net.[17]

The Filipino climbers on the South Col. (Leo Oracion, Erwin Emata and Romeo Garduce) had reached the peak of Everest, all of whom had climbed the Nepalese side of the mountain. For this, Oracion and Emata were awarded Athletes of the year by the Philippine Sportswriter Association.[18]. Garduce on the other hand was awarded Order of Lakandula[19]by Malacañang. However, Abenojar was not included in these awards.


[edit] Summit Proofs

  1. The Himalayan Database published by American Alpine Club[20] had included Dale in the list of Everest North summitteers for Spring 2006 on May 15[5]. Dale summit feat is disputed based also on the same list.[21]
  2. China Tibet Mountaineering Association - Abenojar was certified by the CTMA on May 20, 2006 to have summitted Everest via the North Col on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 AM Beijing time. CTMA had awarded Dale Abenojar a summit certificate [6] listing his Mount Everest summit ascent on the 15th of May 2006 at 8:45am Nepal time. In contrast, The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal had awarded Leo a summit certificate [7] making his Mount Everest South Col summit ascent on the 15th of May 2006.
  3. Elizabeth Hawley - On Hawley's interview at GMA-7 she said "I met him myself. I interviewed him at his request. I believe he reached the summit. I believe him. It has been disputed, but he has photos and I have copies (of the photos)". One of the photos, Hawley said, clearly "showed Mt. Makalu in the background. Mt. Makalu is not visible anywhere below 8500m on the North side".[1][22] Mounteverest.net states that the investigative body[23] in Everest who have earned the respect of International Mountaineering community is Ms Hawley.[24] Another organization who gathered information on Everest is EverestNews.com.[25] Their website have kept summit list from 1950 to 2005.
  4. Summit/Near Summit Witnesses
a) Vince Waters - Hawley said that Waters, a former Canadian Air Force officer, also testified to her that he saw someone wearing the same clothes as Dale at 7900m on May 16, 2006.[1] According to Mr. Waters, he spoke to Dale about letting him use the spare oxygen bottles Dale had left at his camp three tent just in case he needed oxygen later.[9] Dale reached the peak with Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa, Hawley added.[1]
b) Pasang Dorchi Sherpa - Two-time Everest summiteer and trekking guide Pasang saw Dale and Tsiring climb the 2nd step at 8700m until both of them reached the top of the step on the early morning of May 15, 2006. Pasang had to turn back from the base of the 2nd step after unloading two of Abenojar's spare oxygen bottles from his backpack because of severe frostbite to all of his toes. The top of the 2nd step to the summit is 148[26] meters.[8]
c) Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa - Tshiring said that it was he who took the photographs of Abenojar at the top of Everest[8] on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 AM Beijing time. Tshiring is a Himalayan trekking guide and a three-time Everest summiteer.
d) Discovery Channel production crew had interviewed Abenojar at 8300m near the place where David Sharp died/[27]

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Highlights of the documentary film

SYNOPSIS:

Dale Abenojar: Did He or Didn't He Scale Mount Everest - "CHILD IN EVEREST": A DOCUMENTARY[8]

Many are skeptical that he made it to the summit and was actually able to scale the highest mountain in the world. Dale Abenojar, whose lifelong dream it was to conquer Mount Everest, and was the First Filipino to publicly announce his intention to do so back in 1994, claims he did and has proof to show for it.

On May 15, 2006 at 10:45 am Chinese time (8:45 am Nepal time), with neither financial backing nor high altitude mountaineering experience, Dale made it and indeed fulfilled his life long dream of getting to the top of Mt. Everest. It wasn't easy. He had lost his left big toe to frostbite.

With him were Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa and Pasang Dorchi Sherpa. The two extra-ordinary Mt. Everest guides who assisted our own independent Filipino climber in his Mt. Everest expedition. The two-time Everest summiteer Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, successfully climbed both the North and South side, led Dale all the way to the summit for his third time. Unfortunately, Pasang Dorchi Sherpa- a two time Everest summiteer who lost all his toes to frostbite did not make it.

Abenojar's feat had been certified by the Mountaineering Association of Tibet of the Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and corroborated by a respected Himalayan expedition American chronicler, Ms. Elisabeth Hawley. But the long and arduous task of making people believe without a doubt that indeed he made it to the summit of Mt. Everest has just begun.

The documentary film, "Child In Everest" will be a special feature of ABC News & Public Affairs on Friday, March 23 at 10-11 PM. Robin Mendoza, the Executive Producer and Media Manager for "Child in Everest" says the video documentary is a raw and truthful account of Dale's momentous high altitude climb. (Gene Buenaventura handled production management , editing by Orly Lavardo, and direction by Gus Cruz.) "Child in Everest" shows Dale and his team's milestones as they climbed the perilous North Face of Mt. Everest, Dale in North Col with Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa (7000m), a clear day with background of Mt. Makalu (8900m), the background footage of the 2nd Step (8500m) and a video clip of his descent right below the summit. Did or didn't Dale conquer the North Face and reach the summit? See for yourself on Friday, March 23 at 10PM on ABC 5.

The documentary also showed revealing and contrasting interviews of Abenojar's wife Lisa and Ramkrishna Tripathi, the Nepalese camp manager of the Monterosa International Treks and Expedition. The interview highlighted the contrast on opinion and observation including locations, Liza in Manila and Ram in the heart of Katmandu. It also includes Canadian-Australian Vince Walters, who actually was the key person that made Elisabeth Hawley eventually convinced on the summit issue.

  • North Col with Tsiring Sherpa ( 7000m )[9]
  • Background footage of the 2nd Step ( 8700m )[9]
  • Disputed summit picture[36]

[edit] May 15 summit schedule

  • Himex Team 6:15a - 7:03a Nepal Time[37][5]
  • Turkish Team 7:00a - 7:30a Nepal Time[38] wiki[5]
  • Dale Abenojar 8:30a - 9:00a Nepal Time[5][39]
  • Valdimer Lande 9:00a - 9:30a Nepal Time[40][5][5]

Note : All times are based on Kathmandu Standard Time (UTC+5:45)

[edit] Family

Dale Abenojar is married to Liza Abenojar. They have four children namely Alexandra, Katrina, Daniela and Rafaela Dale.[41] He is the eldest among the four children of Dantes and Leticia Abenojar. He has three siblings, Nuel, Ariel and Leda.

[edit] Religion

Dale Sto. Tomas Abenojar was baptized as a United Methodist[9], a Protestant[10] denomination. Dale, his wife and children regularly attends church services at the Victory Christian Fellowship[11] in U.P. Diliman, Quezon City.

[edit] Recognition

  • Commended by Sen. Richard Gordon for his efforts to climb Everest[42]
  • Recognized by the Nepal Travel Trade Reporter[12] (Nepal's leading travel trade journal) as the first Filipino to scale the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest from North Col, Tibet side on May 15, 2006 (vol.IX/issue no.29/may29-june4,2006/feat section/page26,29)
  • Recognized by DZME[13] hosts Jessie Paredes and Manny Orlina as the first Filipino to summit Mt. Everest
  • Recognized as the first Filipino to summit Mt. Everest on the TV program "Pilipinas Ngayon Na[14]," hosted by Undersecretary Robert Rivera of the Malacañang Press Office and co-hosted Nikka Cleofe-Alejar

[edit] Future Plans

  • Climb Everest North side again in 2007 without the aid of supplemental oxygen.[9].[3]
  • Fund charities thru his Everest climb.[43]

.

[edit] Mountains Climbed

[edit] List of Philippine Adventure Sports

  • 1991 member of the first group (Anthropologist Padma Perez[15], London-based graphic artist Arnan de Leon, Australia-based rock climber Michael Angelo Duran) of mountain bikers to summit Mount Pulag
  • 1992 the first solo survival longtitudinal trek (East to West Coast) across the Palawan Island using the Mt. Cleopatra Needle (5,225ft 1,593mtrs) summit route, Saint Paul Mountain Range. The trek was monitored by Radyo Ng Bayan[16], Puerto Princesa[17], Palawan.
  • Dec 27, 1994 to Jan 3, 1995 member of the first mountaineering group (Congress Mountaineers -now called, The Association of Philippine Moutaineers) to traverse Mt. Pinatubo's crater rim and lake[18]after its eruption. The mountaineers led by Jules Calagui were sponsored by Panasonic[19] and Purefoods[20].
  • 1996 first motorcycle trials[21] summit ascent of Mount Apo[22]. Dale's summit photos was taken by George C. Tapan[23], one of the Philippines's well-known travel photographer. Dale was also featured in The Philippine StarWeek[24] Magazine (coverpage/sundaymagazine/vol.X/no.15/may26,1996/page9,10,11). and Asia Magazine(page3/nov1-3,1996/Asia magazine/GPO Box34, Hong Kong/(852)26808583).
  • 1999 over-all champion of the Bayfresh National 4x4 Off-road[25][26] Championship. Dale used a shortened wheelbase off-road race-ready 1977 Range Rover Classic[27].
  • 2001 over-all champion of the Tough Truck Challenge National 4x4 Off-road[28][29] Championship organized by the Manila Off-roaders Inc[30]. Dale used a shortened wheelbase off-road race-ready 1977 Range Rover Classic[31].
  • May 2004 first four-wheel drive vehicle ascent of Mt. Pinatubo's[32] Crater Rim using a rock crawler-modified 1977 Range Rover Classic[33]. The event was featured in the Philstar[34] motoring news.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e http://news.inquirer.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=79186
  2. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=256450
  3. ^ a b http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=268529
  4. ^ http://www.americanalpineclub.org/pages/page/39
  5. ^ a b c d e f g http://www.himalayandatabase.com/2006%20Season%20Lists/2006%20Spring%20A5.html
  6. ^ http://news.inquirer.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=78021
  7. ^ a b c http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/STORYPAGE.ASPX?STORYID=34568
  8. ^ a b c d e http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=258778
  9. ^ a b c d e f A Child in Everest
  10. ^ a b http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=2080>
  11. ^ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=40306
  12. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=260004
  13. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/01/13/smeverest113.xml&site=6&page=0
  14. ^ http://news.inquirer.net/sports/index.php?index=2&story_id=76371&col=135
  15. ^ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/STORYPAGE.ASPX?STORYID=39027
  16. ^ http://www.outdoornewswire.com/v/current/htdocs/etc/sa.php/63617465676f72794e616d653d436c696d62696e672663617465676f72794c6162656c3d436c696d62696e67266c6f636174696f6e3d323030362f30352f313134373830313339302672737349643d33363034
  17. ^ a b http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=1992
  18. ^ http://www.gmanews.tv/story/26003/3-Everest-climbers-among-awardees-of-PSA-SMC
  19. ^ http://www.op.gov.ph/photogallery_191206_pc7.asp
  20. ^ http://www.americanalpineclub.org/pages/page/39
  21. ^ http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/sports/view_article.php?article_id=53306.
  22. ^ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=41808
  23. ^ http://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/permit.htm
  24. ^ http://www.king-albert-foundation.ch/html/winners/98/hawley_bi.html
  25. ^ http://www.everesthistory.com/everestsummits/everestsummits.htm
  26. ^ http://www.explorersweb.com/sitemedia/images/everest/20060527everesthighnorth.jpg
  27. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=302828
  28. ^ http://www.theoceans.net/news.php?id=1978
  29. ^ http://www.himex.com/c_pub/en/news/2006/everest_dispatch_no_6.php
  30. ^ http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=2080
  31. ^ http://www.everestnews.com/everest2006/fileverest05202006.htm
  32. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=256450
  33. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200605300403.htm
  34. ^ http://www.gmanews.tv/story/6880/Mountaineer-Abenojar-recovering-from-frostbite-in-Kathmandu
  35. ^ http://www.gmanews.tv/story/8298/Mountaineer-Dale-Abenojar-back-in-RP
  36. ^ http://www.philstar.com/philstar/show_content.asp?article=256450
  37. ^ http://www.himex.com/c_pub/en/news/2006/reflections_on_everest.php
  38. ^ http://www.2006everest.org/cms_en/content/view/140/38/2006everest.com
  39. ^ http://www.monterosa-nepal.com/expedition/everest/2006/spring-international/
  40. ^ http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=7947
  41. ^ http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2006/06/11/MTNN2006061166595.html
  42. ^ http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2006/0602_gordon1.asp
  43. ^ http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/STORYPAGE.ASPX?STORYID=34568
  44. ^ http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=51776

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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