Extreme Adventure 007: The MakRock Encounter

Rock Climbing 101 in Libis

with Makiling Rock Group

Venue: Libis, Los Banos, Laguna

Adventure Date: July 28, 2013

It had been almost a year since my first time and the last time I went rockclimbing. The polishing that I had been through at the predictable indoor walls had to be put in test at the unpredictable environment of the outdoor rocks.

So when the opportunity knocked itself at my FB newsfeed, I just had to answer the call. Many wanted to join me, but only fellow MCAPer, Jay Felix was able to go with me on the day itself because the others were either down with the flu or had to be somewhere.

I am thinking of organizing RC 101 with MakRock soon. Watch out for the announcement, mga Lalabs!

The experience had been fun. We had three American friends joining us. We tried four different routes for the beginners (namely: The Holy Water, The Pendulum, The Freelance, and The Gecko), which I think were those for intermediate climbers.

The Holy Water was the first and the third route I tried climbing and twice had I finished it. On the second try, I was tasked to unclip the route. The second route I had to take was the pendulum. There was what I call the 10-sec challenging part that if one surpassed it, then, getting to the top would be pretty easy. The Pendulum other challenging part was roping down after tapping the top, which is basically a branch of the tree where the anchor was. You'll learn the art of letting go in the route. I had again proven myself to have issues with letting go. I was too afraid to let go because I didn't want to swing around with the rope. I let out a loud scream as I broke myself free from it. The fourth one, just before lunch break, was called the freelance. Three-fourths way to the top, I was able to let go of the handhold and asked for "tension," a command that I couldn't get my mind to remember at the time that I needed it most. The cause of forgetting it? Panic. Well, I was able to get to the top after swinging at the rope once.

After lunch, I gathered my stilettos and my dress and headed to the gecko route to have my photo-shoot session with Sir Jhong Fontanilla. It rained hard during lunch break, and it was still drizzling when we started the route. It was pretty muddy and some of the hand- and footholds were wet. That didn't stop me from getting to my goal.

...because I wanted to climb with my stilettos on.

The instruction was to get halfway through the route in a dress and climb barefoot. I needed to get to a small ledge, where I can put my shoes on. Getting to the ledge was a challenge. Putting the shoes on was another challenge. Pretending to climb with the stilettos on was the third challenge. After some photos had been taken and it was time for me to rope down, I asked my belayer if I could do it with my stilettos on as I got really lazy taking them off and luckily, Sir Laudz agreed.

Our American friends were cheering on the other side of the area while I was doing it. The American girl even told me that she would do something like that when she could already climb like me.

When asked why I have my photos taken at the summit or while climbing wearing a dress and a pair of stilettos, I answered, "I wanted to convey a message that even the pretty and girly girls could still engage themselves in outdoor adventures."



In the said event, I was also able to meet the great Joel Tanangonan (JT, whom I have heard so much good stuff about) and the rest of the MakRockers who were amazingly accommodating and fun to be with.

Meeting no less the Professor X in flesh.

We ended the session early because there was a heavy downpour during and after lunch, but I was already able to climb five times, was able to belay, and we even had to rappel on our way down to the base.

We stayed at MakRock's leader, Russel Pajaro's place to have our early dinner and socials. I spent the rest of the time talking to the American Latina guest, Dayra, whom I had easily gotten connected with.