We have our own Mt. Everests to conquer!

Once more we saw the "can do" spirit of the Filipino because of the group of Filipino mountaineers who are now on top of the tallest peak in the world, the 29,028-foot high Mt. Everest. Mr. Heracleo "Leo" Oracion, the Cebu-based veteran mountaineer and former lifeguard at the Shangri-la's Mactan Island Resort was the first Filipino to reach its peak, declaring, "The Philippine Eagle has landed" and planting the Philippine Flag on top of Mt. Everest. This was announced by Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) undersecretary Arturo Valdez, the leader of the team.

We've been sort of following their slow ascend to Mt. Everest in the past few weeks, but it is only now that I learned that apparently, there were two teams of Pinoys scaling the world's tallest mountain. Oracion apparently belonged to the group funded by ABS-CBN, while the other group led by Mr. Romeo Garduce is sponsored by GMA-7; hopefully as of press time; he too made it to the top. So now it can be told, even in this highly-dangerous climb, the competition of the rival television stations are being played for all the public to see.

There is no question that climbing the world's tallest mountain entails a lot of cost because of the logistics needed for the climb, not to mention the need for Sherpa guides and all that oxygen you need to carry. Indeed climbing Mt. Everest is no walk in the park simply because of its height where even airplanes need oxygen. For Pinoys, it's even a bit harder than most westerners because we are not used to cold weather, more so harsh winter blizzards with wind chill factors below zero. Therefore, we need to acclimatize ourselves even before you start your trek up the mountain.

Again our congratulations to Leo Oracion for his feat and to the team led by Arturo Valdez because only few people in this earth have reached the top of Mt. Everest. This is a very exclusive club of great men like New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese Sherpa guild Tenzing Norgay who 53 years ago on May 29, 1953 became the first human beings to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Before these two, many expeditions were done in Mt. Everest and all have failed.

It's been 53 years since Mt. Everest was conquered, which is why it's no longer considered an unconquerable feat. But Leo Oracion would still make in the Philippine record books as the first Pinoy to reach its peak. Like I said, few people on this earth have reached its summit… but there's a good number who have seen it from an airplane.

Perhaps I 'm one of the lucky few to ever see Mt. Everest from an airplane. Way back in 1995, I was returning from my trip to Europe on a Lufthansa Boeing 747, which had a digital map to show the passengers exactly where the plane was. Since the map showed the Himalayas, I peered out my window on the left side of the plane and saw literally a sea of clouds and a solitary mountain jutting out of it like an island. I checked the plane's altitude and it read 36,000 ft. and since Mt. Everest was at 29,000 ft. there were no other mountains that jutted out of the clouds except for Mt. Everest.

Yes, I will not forget that feeling. I was thanking God for giving me the opportunity to see Mt. Everest without the hassle and the discomfort of climbing it. Most of the passengers with me were asleep since it was around 3AM Nepal time. Thanks to a very good weather, plus the bonus of a full moon, one could see very plainly the world's tallest mountain.

Perhaps you may want to know what pushes people like Leo Oracion, Art Valdez or Romeo Garduce to climb a mountain that other people already conquered 53 years earlier? Well, when Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Roosevelt Field, New York to Paris solo on the his Ryan plane dubbed The Spirit of St. Louis, he became a national hero not because he was the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean, but rather he was the first to do so on that flimsy contraption called an aeroplane. No doubt there are new unconquered frontiers left on this earth for man to claim.

But to ordinary folk like you and me, we too have our own Mt. Everests to conquer, be it a struggle to attain holiness against temptation or mastering our exams or attaining a high position either in government or in private work? It could also be an addiction that we want to get rid of?

But life is an everyday struggle. For many people in the poverty level, just having to find their once-a-day meal is a struggle enough. The rich ones have different struggles, where to literally throw their money away! Whatever your struggles, the most important thing to remember is, too often you think that you are alone in this endeavor, but I assure you that God is always with you in your daily struggle in life.

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