The man who climbed Mayon... over 600 times

MANILA, Philippines - Respect the mountain, and do not tempt fate.

This was the message of a veteran climber who has combed the rugged and treacherous terrain of Mayon volcano at least 600 times since 1941.

Now 77 years old, Ricardo Dy gave the sage advice to everyone, including tourist guides, who might be considering a trek up the volcano to experience its rumblings up close.

“Never dare trek the 8,078-foot mountain while its overall condition remains abnormal,” Dy cautions, following reports that local and foreign tourists, accompanied by neophyte guides, continue to sneak past the checkpoints authorities had set up and braved the danger to watch Mayon’s spectacular lava flows at close range despite the government’s no-human activity policy within the permanent danger zone around the still restive volcano.

Dy’s exploits as the oldest living Mayon climber and tour guide have been documented and published in a number of internationally-circulated mountain climbing books and magazines. 

While still a young student, Dy, referred to by fellow climbers and tourist guides as the “Mayon King,” began trekking the active volcano in 1941, establishing safe trails up the tricky slope in order to reach its summit crater.

“While I was up the mountain, I saw Japanese war planes flying at 2,500 feet elevation, now popularly known as Mayon’s Camp One,” Dy told STARweek.

Dy says that Mayon’s rugged terrain poses real danger to climbers and anyone daring to venture near its foot, as the 10-, 15-, 30-, 45- and even 90-degree inclines are treacherous, and at anytime volcanic materials could loosen or cascade down the slopes at varying and unpredictable speeds and direction. This is especially true during its abnormal status – as is the case now – when there are a lot of volcanic materials deposited on the slopes after eruption episodes.

After at least 600 ascents up its various slopes with over a thousand people that he has guided, Dy has not grown complacent or thinks that he knows the volcano well enough. He reveals that Mayon’s perfect symmetry viewed from a distance may lead one to think that climbing it is simply a trek straight up, when the truth is quite the opposite.

“Most people, especially tourists and mountain climbing enthusiasts, are lured to trek Mayon volcano because of its postcard picture-perfect beauty. But the truth is a dangerous experience awaits anybody who will climb it without a veteran guide, because it will be as if you were groping in the dark,” Dy says. 

He recalls that in 1992, he and a team of equally trained climbers had to rescue French climber Remie Eschew, whom they found almost lifeless after a frantic six-day search. They found the Frenchman some 6,000 feet up Mayon’s slope, at the dead end of treacherous terrain known as the knife’s edge.

Dy, who was assistant director of the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol until 1998, started guiding tourists and scientists up to the crater of Mayon during normal conditions in 1958. His last climb was in May last year when he guided a group of Bantay Kalikasan workers. 

Among the dignitaries he has brought to Mayon’s summit were US Press Corps volunteer to the Philippines Gerry Molin, a judge from Hong Kong, and a member of an English royal family. He has also guided groups of students doing research, as well as researchers and scientists who conducted studies of the open-vent volcano. 

Dy says that the so-called “blank-wall” is a 90-degree terrain at Mayon’s upper slope that every mountain climber dreams of conquering, but he quickly adds that whenever volcanic debris come loose in this portion, they fall downslope at very high speed.

In 1984, it was Dy who tipped off volcanologists that Mayon might erupt anytime, based on his actual observation of animal movement and the foul odor he smelled when he trekked the volcano. It indeed erupted just weeks later. 

“Under alert level three, Mayon is still very critical,” Dy warns. “Nobody should be allowed to enter the danger zone. It is best for people to view this magnificent volcano from a distance, such as in the city or town proper,” Dy said.