Are You a Real Mountaineer?

It has been a puzzle to me when people put that much weight on the question: What is the essence of being a real mountaineer? While the others put too much stress on environmental responsibleness that a mountaineer should bear him/herself obliged to, any dictionary or probably even the encyclopedias would merely describe a mountaineer as either someone who lives in the mountains or someone who enjoys climbing mountains as a hobby or sport.

With the current issues concerning irresponsibility of some mountaineers, I think that it’s time to rephrase the question into something that would invoke quality answers from different mountaineering personalities–popular and ordinary ones alike.

Pag malaki ang backpack, mountaineer na?

The question should have been: Who deserves to keep climbing mountains? With this question, I guess the aspect of becoming stewards of nature and protectors of the environment can be injected. If one cannot bring his garbage down from the mountain or simply follow the regulation of DENR in some mountains that are on rehabilitation, then we can safely say that he/she doesn’t deserve to keep climbing unless he/she realizes the importance of preserving them…If one doesn’t equip him/herself with the knowledge, skills, and attitude of a responsible mountaineer, not only to the mountains but also to him/herself and his/her climb buddies, then he/she should not be allowed to continue climbing. If he/she is not willing to submit him/herself to the a BMC or similar courses that will help him/herself survive the wild, then he/she should probably stop climbing altogether.

If one doesn’t respect the laws of the land concerning environmental protection, then he/she shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy nature. If he/she is headstrong and doesn’t want to follow the LNT principles, then we can tell the person that he/she doesn’t have the right to explore the mountains and rape them…

Each one of the mountaineers might have committed one violation or another to the poor mountains, but what makes them deserving to keep climbing is owning up to these shortcomings and doing something to avoid making the same infringement to mother nature.

Afterall, we are merely borrowers and not owners of these Edens on earth. Our children are generous enough to lend us the beauty of mother nature… Mahiya naman tayo sa kanila.