Romi Garduce - Garduch to his mountaineering friends - is a pride of the Philippines. Aside from being one of the first Filipinos to climb Mt. Everest in May 2006, he has climbed alpine mountains from all over the world. His notable climbs are those in the Seven Summits' list: the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents. In order of his conquests: Kilimanjaro - Africa (2002); Aconcagua - South America (2005), Everest - Asia (2006), Elbrus - Europe (2007), and McKinley or Denali Peak - North America (2008).
Sir Romy, who turns 40 in 2009, is a member of the UP Mountaineers and works as an IT consultant in Proctor & Gamble Philippines. (PinoyMountaineer.Com)
Broadcast company GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) supports veteran mountain climber Romi Garduce in his quest to be the First Pinoy to have scaled and summited the seven highest mountains in seven continents.
GMA's "Seven Summits Expedition of 2011" will capture Garduce as he climbs the last two mountains before attaining the prestigious Seven Summits record in Mountaineering.
To date, he has successfully climbed six of the famous seven peaks: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa (2002); Mt. Aconcagua in South America (2005); Mt. Everest in the Asian continent (2006); Mt. Elbrus in Europe (2007); the Denali Peak in North America (2008); and Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia (December 2008).
This July, Garduce furthers his quest by climbing the 16,023-foot Carstenz Pyramid in Indonesia. Carstenz, the tallest mountain in the Australasia/Oceanea geographical region is considered a more challenging climb by seasoned mountaineers and is the alternative to Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia.
By climbing both peaks, Garduce joins an elite group of mountaineers to achieve this feat and is prime to complete his Seven Summits campaign in Antarctica later this year.
Since 1991 Garduce espoused environmentalism through close encounters with Mother Earth as a member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers (UPM). And two decades after his first climb, Garduce continues to raise awareness for the environment through his treks.
"The expedition is a testament that we Filipinos value our tenancy on Earth. This is also my serious attempt to put the Philippine flag on this world renowned record," Garduce said.
A mountaineer for almost half his life, he knows the rigor of preparing for a climb, which takes much longer than staying on the summit. "It takes more than competence and training to be a winner in this adventure sport. We derive meaning only if we back the summit with a cause," he added.
By December, Garduce will end his 10-year odyssey by attempting to conquer the formidable Vinson Massif—a 16,067-foot mountain near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula in harsh below-zero temperatures—and would become the first Filipino to successfully climb the world's Seven Summits.
Catch a detailed account of Garduce's expedition this July and December 2011 as GMA News and Public Affairs takes the lead in adventure sports coverage.
by: PEP
