Narrative Report
On November 25, 2017, a seminar regarding hiking was conducted in Del Pilar
Academy’s covered court. The seminar was entitled “Hiking 101: Basic Mountaineering
Course”. The speaker was Mr. Dennis M. Vidar, a teacher who is also a mountaineer.
The program flow is as follows:
Prayer Jemina Gracilla
National Anthem Jenesis Languisan
Special Performance Khyla Tapawan and Richelle Del Mundo
Introduction of Speaker Emirie Advincula
Talk Mr. Dennis Vidar
Question and Answer Mr. Dennis Vidar
Closing Remarks Eddielynn Toledo
Mr. Vidar discussed 10 Tips on How to be a Good Climb Participant.
1. If you’ve committed to join a climb, don’t back out.
He said that it is no easy job being a coordinator of such a big activity like a climb. It is
specially difficult for the organizers to allocate funds to the participants, and if one backs out,
it is hard to find someone to cover the cost that should be shouldered by the back out dancer.
Back out dancer is the term mountaineers use to refer to people who back out from the climb.
2. Join the pre-climb and make an effort to know as much as you can about the hike.
It is important to join pre-climb talks specially if you are inexperienced. The experienced
mountaineers will discuss what needs to be done before, during, and after a climb. You
should not depend on the group leaders to know essential details about the hike.
3. Don’t be late
A mountaineer’s promise to not be late is one of the most important promises for them.
Before a climb, everything is already set and planned, and not being on time ruins the
experience for everyone in your group. If for example you targeted to reach the summit
during lunch time, but you arrived late, the whole plan was put to waste because of your
failure to be punctual.
4. Be prepared
As Mr. Vidar said, prepare, prepare, prepare. Being prepared does not only pertain to
having complete tools for the hike. It also pertains to wearing appropriate clothes, bringing
trail food and enough water, being mentally and physically ready. Also, it is important to
make sure you wear the right kind of shoes because “your shoes will save your life.”
5. Do your own research
When going to a climb, be very particular about the characteristics of the mountain you
are going to explore. Every mountain differs from one another: their days required to climb,
specs, difficulty, and trail class are different and it is important to be knowledgeable regarding
those things.
6. Try not to be a liability to the team
“Be an asset to your team, not a liability.” Being a liability means you are the one who
always need to be minded and taken care of. Your team will not be able to enjoy if they
always need to look out for you. As much as possible, know your stuff to avoid being a
burden to your team.
Remember the LNT Principle or the Leave No Trace Principle. Take nothing but
pictures, kill nothing but time, and leave nothing but footprints.
7. Share your skills, knowledge, and trail food to others
When you are an experienced mountaineer and you are grouped with inexperienced ones,
you should be educating them with the experiences and knowledge you obtained through
multiple climbs. You should also instill them some information of the skills you have, and
most importantly, you should always share your trail foods to your team. You should not keep
all your foods to yourself. Examples of excellent trail foods are jelly ace because it is rich in
liquid and is sweet, mixed nuts for potassium, and chocolates for energy source.
8. Be open and honest
There is this term called “Take Five”, it means you are tired and want to have a short
rest. When you are not feeling good, you should not think twice about informing your team. If
you feel like you cannot climb anymore and you will only hinder and slow the team down,
you should tell them if you want to stop or go back. By being honest and open, you are not
only saving yourself, but your whole team as well.
9. Respect the privacy and intimacy of your group
During a climb, many embarrassing things can happen. Instances where you need to
suddenly defecate or pee will occur. It is also common to get your clothes ripped during a
climb and those kinds of moments are just normal for mountaineers. If such things occurred,
you should not subject the person to further embarrassment.
10. Appreciate the effort of your team leaders and organizers
Like I mentioned earlier, it is no easy job organizing a big activity like a climb. Just
taking a photo with them after a climb is already a big thanks to them.
Positions in a group:
Guide- usually a local who guides the mountaineers to the right path
Leader- the one who leads the team
Midman- connects the leader to the sweeper
Sweeper- grabs all the stuff that fell down and brings back to the starting point the
members who refuse to continue and who are feeling unwell
After the talk, there were two questions raised:
1. Sir, meron po bang mga guides or locals na nagliligaw sa mga mountaineers?
2. Meron po bang Abusayaf ‘don?
Mr. Vidar’s answer to the first question is that he has not experienced a guide before who
fools mountaineers. He reminded everyone that they just need to be courteous to the locals
and respect their culture.
For the second question, he said that Abusayaf is not the term, but there are rebels in
some mountains. Men carrying guns may be encountered, so they just assume they are
hunters to save themselves from worry.
Mr. Vidar also recommended two mountains for people who want to climb:
1. Mt. Batulao
Where: Nasugbu, Batangas
811+ Meters Above Sea Level
Jump Off-point: Everest Golf Course
Days required: 1 day/2-4 hours
Specs: Minor Climb
Difficulty:4/9
Trail Class: 3/5 60-70 degrees assault
2. Mt. Talamitan
Where: Nasugbu, Batangas
630+ Meters Above Sea Level
Jump Off-point: Sitio Bayabasan. Brgy. Aga (KM 83)
Days required: 1 day/ 1.5-2.2 hours
Specs: Minor Climb
Difficulty: 3/9
Trail Class: 1-3/5 with steep assault
The seminar was wrapped up with picture takings.
Narrative
Report
Submitted by:
Jared U. Tolosa
ABM 12
Submitted to:
Mr. Juver Jimenez
Physical Education Teacher