The Campaign Starts Now

Thru Kapuso Foundation, we'll try to raise charity money to help our struggling countrymen. You may visit Kapuso link to check out how they spend their fund to help the needy.

Be a part of this great adventure!

As before, you can help in my campaign by simply donating any amount. We're accepting outright donations as early as now, either thru me, or to the foundation, or thru the shops of The North Face in Rockwell or Shangrila Mall.

Alternatively, if you want to complicate things, hehehe - you may pledge an amount (email ph_climbforacause@yahoo.com or post a comment here w/ ur email) and the highest altitude that I'll reach will dictate how much you'll donate. We'll collect that post climb. Some people do this so the money raised is really based on my performance in the climb. So it's like an additional 'pressure' or push for me to go higher. =)

I will make an attempt via Southeast ridge of Everest, in the Nepal side. This is the "Hillary and Norgay" route (1953), Mallory attempted the Northeast ridge in Tibet side (1924). I'll fly in to Lukla (from Kathmandu Nepal), and will start the trek from there. The first 6 locations listed below are villages where we'll stop over 1 or several nights. I will include interesting and difficult challenges in the route, instead of simply doing 'pledge by 1000ft'.

The highest location or spot that I will reach will dictate the multiplier of your pledged amount. For example, if you pledge 100pesos, and if i reach camp4 (that's #12 in the list below), 100p X 15 = 1500p is your total pledge. (You donate this to the foundation). If i fall and got injured in the Khumbu Icefall, that's only x8 = 800 bucks. But if i reach the summit, that's 2500p. Still cheap :) Why don't you bring up the challenge to 500p? hehe

My route:
1. Phakding (1st village from Lukla) Altitude of 2500m. ('pledged amount' x 1 = xxx)
2. Namche Bazaar 3400m (x2)
3. Tengboche 3867m (x3)
4. Dingboche 4350m (x4)
5. Lobuche 4930m (x5)
6. Gorakshep 5160m (x6)
7. BASECAMP 5400m/17400ft (x7)
8. Khumbu Icefall 5800m (x8)
--> Most number of deaths in Everest is right before Camp1, while attempting to cross the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. Ice avalanches, deep and wide crevasses, and falling ice-seracs as big as a house.
9. Camp1 6065m (x9)
10. Camp2 6500m (x10)
11. Camp3 7400m (x11)
--> Many climbers cannot even go past Camp3 and would sadly end
their expedition here.
12. Camp4 near South Col 7920/26,000ft (x15)
--> With the Yellow rockband and Geneva Spur as major obstacles from C3 to C4, and sometimes wind speed in excess of 50kph even on non-stormy days - this small climb is already a feat in itself. We consider this place already as Death Zone, and so we'll use Oxygen even while sleeping.
13. "The Balcony" 8400m (x16)
This is already higher than my Cho Oyu climb (w/c is 8201m), a new Filipino altitude record.
Upon reaching this point, some will call it quits, and turn back.
14. South Summit 8750m (x17)
15. Hillary Step 8771m (x18)
--> A 40-foot vertical obstacle ascended via rope. Few dead climbers were seen dangling in this wall.
16. SUMMIT of Everest 8850m / 29035ft (x25)
--> Our dream peak!

Whew, reading thru these already made me nervous and exhausted..

So there, i'll do the climbing, you do the money thing. I wish to raise a bigger amount so it matches the difficulty of the mountain. 100% of all donations goes to the foundation - promise i will not use them to buy gears haha!

So, are you ready for the challenge?!
Am I ?! :p