Climb 015: 2011 Freedom Climb

with Alliance of Filipino Mountaineers (FIMO)
DESTINATION: Mt. Natib 1,287 MASL

JUMP-OFF POINT: Brgy. Tala, Orani, Bataan

SPECS: Major climb, Difficulty 5/9, Trail class 1-3

CLIMB DATES: June 11-12, 2011

Josh, Khen, Damien, and I joined R4TS to be able to climb Mt. Natib for the 2011 Freedom Climb. We prepared against the leech attack by buying insect repellent lotion and spray as well as alcohol spray, which i think was actually an overkill. 

Wala man lang dumapong limatik sa aming tatlo, except for Damien--dugong bughaw lang yata ang dinadapuan ng mga limatik. 

We had some courtesy visit with the soldiers stationed at the foot of the mountain. The first thing that we noticed from the jump off was a vast farm for fighting cocks. When we arrived at the water source called pinagbutasan, we met other groups who were very friendly. We knew that we were going to have a fun socials session that night.

When we arrived at the base camp, The Shining Mountaineers (TSM) had already started with their socials and they were playing some music, using a guitar. The sun was still strong at 3pm, so I took a nap until theheat of the sun was tolerable enough.

Later, the Lyceum Drinking Team (LDT) arrived at the area. We weren't wrong, the socials session was great--one I can consider the best in my entire mountaineering experience. The camaraderie among mountaineering groups was evident. Around midnight, some more groups of mountaineers arrived. One of them, the Malaya Mountaineers, even hand-delivered cooking oil to our group. 

The following day was even bigger! Damien joined us in assaulting the summit (even wore the freedom climb shirt) and was amazed as he listened to us singing the National Anthem. On the way down from the summit, he was humming it.

One of the best climbs ever! Thanks FIMO, Inc. for paving the way...