Dale Abenojar

Background

Dale was a former member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers. He was the first Filipino to publicly announce the intention to climb Everest in 1994. His intention drew criticism from Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines headed by Rolando Francisco. The MFPI then wrote a letter to the President of the Philippines not to support his Everest Expedition.

Everest Expedition

After 10 years he resumed his bid to climb Everest. He pawned his car, a Range Rover to support his climb. During the early stage of his expedition he took a short alpine mountaineering course provided by his Sherpa and was given proper acclimatization. In performing the first acclimatization in North Col Dale spewed blood due to lung infection. He was brought down with the assistance of two Sherpas and treated by the Indian doctor in Base Camp. After recuperating he then proceeded to assault the summit. His summit assault was monitored by radio communication between Monterosa Treks and Expeditions camp manager Ram Krishna and Abenojar's lead trekking guide Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa from China Base Camp at 5400m on May 10, Advance Base Camp at 6400m on May 10, North Col-Camp 1 at 7000m on May 12, Camp 2 at 7900m on May 13, Camp 3 at 8300m on May 14 and on the summit day at 8848m on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 a.m. Beijing time.

Upon arriving in the Philippines he and his Sherpa were brought to Cardinal Santos Hospital. Because Dale was suffering from severe frostbite climbing Everest, his left big toe had to be amputated while his Sherpa had frostbite to all his toes and had to be amputated as well. Sports medicine surgeon Dr. Gar Eufemio and his team had waived all their professional fees to help the cash-strapped Abenojar. Lucio Tan, a sponsor of FPMEE visited him, paid the hospital bills and praised his achievement.

Summit First News

GMA7 TV reported on April 28 that Mountaineers Romi Garduce, Del Adelujar (spelled correctly as Dale Abenojar), and the Philippine Everest team are the acknowledged Filipinos currently on Mt. Everest to try their luck in becoming the first Filipinos to reach the peak of the mountain.

On May 11, GMA7 News said that Filipino mountaineer Dale Abenojar has not backed out of an international expedition to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, Abenojar is part of a 15-member team from different countries which would take the North Col, the route from Tibet.

On May 15, Abenojar's summit date, GMA7 News reported that another Filipino mountaineer Dale Abenojar was seen climbing the mountain from the Tibet side.

Newspapers in the Philippines reported a bitter rivalry between the maverick Dale Abenojar, who claimed the first Filipino ascent via the Northeast Ridge on May 15, and a national team that reached the summit from the south side two days later. The news was first reported in Philippine media on May 17, 2006 by GMA 7 and ABS-CBN, but actually first came to light through a posting on May 16, 2006 by Outdoor News Wire and Mt. Everest.Net.

The Filipino climbers on the South Col. (Leo Oracion, Erwin Emata and Romeo Garduce) had reached the peak of Everest, all of whom had climbed the Nepalese side of the mountain. For this, Oracion and Emata were awarded Athletes of the year by the Philippine Sportswriter Association. Garduce on the other hand was awarded Order of Lakandula by Malacañang. However, Abenojar was not included in these awards.

Summit proofs

1. The Himalayan Database published by American Alpine Club had included Dale in the list of Everest North summitteers for Spring 2006 on May 15. Dale summit feat is disputed based also on the same list.
2. China Tibet Mountaineering Association - Abenojar was certified by the CTMA on May 20, 2006 to have summitted Everest via the North Col on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 a.m. Beijing time or 8:45am Nepal time. In contrast, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal had awarded Leo a summit certificate making his Mount Everest South Col summit ascent on May 15, 2006.
3. Elizabeth Hawley - On Hawley's interview at GMA-7 she said "I met him myself. I interviewed him at his request. I believe he reached the summit. I believe him. It has been disputed, but he has photos and I have copies (of the photos)". One of the photos, Hawley said, clearly "showed Mt. Makalu in the background. Mt. Makalu is not visible anywhere below 8500m on the North side". Mounteverest.net states that the investigative body in Everest who have earned the respect of International Mountaineering community is Ms Hawley. Another organization who gathered information on Everest is EverestNews.com. Their website have kept summit list from 1950 to 2005.
4. Summit/Near Summit Witnesses

Timeline

2007 Sherpa controversy

Sherpas say Abenojar did not reach summit. According to Dr. Ted Esguerra, the erstwhile FPMEE expedition doctor of the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) team revealed that the Nepali Sherpas (Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa and Pasang Dorchi Sherpa) who escorted Dale Abenojar, the 43-year-old Filipino adventure sportsman who claims to have reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain last year, are now denying that he accomplished the feat. Dr. Esguerra who is now in China Base Camp in Tibet providing support to the three Filipinas attempting to become the first Southeast Asian women to reach the top of Mount Everest this 2007 climbing season, he had talked with Abenojars' Sherpas and gotten their statements that Abenojar had climbed only up to the height of 8,000 meters of the 8844.43-meter or 29,017-foot-tall mountain last May (2006). "We have the video interview", Esguerra told The Philippine STAR newspaper reporter Allan Rainier Ronda in a text message from China Base Camp in Tibet.

Sherpa denies saying Abenojar failed in Everest attempt. A Nepali porter and guide (Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa) denied telling the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) that 44-year-old Filipino adventure sportsman Dale Abenojar did not reach the top of Mount Everest on May 15, 2006. In a telephone interview from Nepal made by Philippine STAR newspaper reporter Allan Rainier Ronda, Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa told The Philippine STAR he had not spoken with Dr. Ted Esguerra, the erstwhile expedition doctor of FPMEE or anybody from that group. "I didn’t talk to anybody", Tshiring said. "He (Abenojar) reached the top. That is the truth." Tshiring, who guided Abenojar to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, said the summit certificate issued by the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) to Abenojar should be accepted as final authority. "They (CTMA) interviewed Dale and asked him about his experience, Tshiring said. "I was also interviewed. But not together, you know. And the other climbers who climbed to the top on that day were interviewed. And from the interviews, they issue the certificates." According to Abenojar’s certificate, the CTMA certified that he had reached the summit of Mount Everest in the morning of May 15, 2006 through Tibet, China or north slope or north col of the legendary peak. The FPMEE has persistently disputed Abenojar’s feat of outracing their two members Leo Oracion and Erwin "Pastor" Emata, who had climbed to the top of Mount Everest via the Nepal side or the south slope and reached it on May 17 and 18, 2006. The FPMEE had dismissed Abenojar’s CTMA summit certificate as a "forgery" and his claim a "hoax", and maintained that Oracion and Emata were the first and second Filipinos to conquer Mount Everest.

Highlights of the documentary film

SYNOPSIS:

Dale Abenojar: Did He or Didn't He Scale Mount Everest - "CHILD IN EVEREST": A DOCUMENTARY

Many are skeptical that he made it to the summit and was actually able to scale the highest mountain in the world. Dale Abenojar, whose lifelong dream it was to conquer Mount Everest, and was the First Filipino to publicly announce his intention to do so back in 1994, claims he did and has proof to show for it.

On May 15, 2006 at 10:45 am Chinese time (8:45 am Nepal time), with neither financial backing nor high altitude mountaineering experience, Dale made it and indeed fulfilled his lifelong dream of getting to the top of Mt. Everest. It wasn't easy. He had lost his left big toe to frostbite.

With him were Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa and Pasang Dorchi Sherpa. The two extraordinary Mt. Everest guides who assisted our own independent Filipino climber in his Mt. Everest expedition. The two-time Everest summiteer Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, successfully climbed both the North and South side, led Dale all the way to the summit for his third time. Unfortunately, Pasang Dorchi Sherpa- a two time Everest summiteer who lost all his toes to frostbite did not make it.

Abenojar's feat had been certified by the Mountaineering Association of Tibet of the Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and corroborated by a respected Himalayan expedition American chronicler, Ms. Elisabeth Hawley. But the long and arduous task of making people believe without a doubt that indeed he made it to the summit of Mt. Everest has just begun.

The documentary "Child In Everest" is set to be a highlighted feature on ABC News & Public Affairs, airing on Friday, March 23, from 10 to 11 p.m. According to Robin Mendoza, the Executive Producer and Media Manager for "Child in Everest," the documentary presents an unvarnished and truthful depiction of Dale's significant climb at high altitudes. The production team included Gene Buenaventura overseeing production management, Orly Lavardo in charge of editing, and Gus Cruz directing. "Child in Everest" chronicles the critical moments of Dale and his team as they navigate the treacherous North Face of Mt. Everest, including Dale's time at North Col with Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa at 7000 meters, a view of Mt. Makalu at 8463 meters in clear weather, background scenes from the 2nd Step at 8600 meters, and footage of his descent just below the summit. Did or didn't Dale conquer the North Face and reach the summit? See for yourself on Friday, March 23 at 10 p.m. on ABC 5.

The documentary also showed revealing and contrasting interviews of Abenojar's wife Lisa and Ramkrishna Tripathi, the Nepalese camp manager of the Monterosa International Treks and Expedition. The interview highlighted the contrast on opinion and observation including locations, Liza in Manila and Ram in the heart of Kathmandu. It also includes Canadian-Australian Vince Waters, who actually was the key person that made Elisabeth Hawley eventually convinced on the summit issue.

May 15 summit schedule

Note: All times are based on Kathmandu Standard Time (UTC+5:45)

Family

Dale Abenojar is married to Liza Abenojar. They have four children namely Alexandra, Katrina, Daniela and Rafaela. He is the eldest among the four children of Dantes and Leticia Abenojar. He has three siblings, Nuel, Ariel and Leda.

Religion

Dale Sto. Tomas Abenojar was baptized as a United Methodist [7]. Dale, his wife and children are now part of Victory Quezon City, a local church under Every Nation Ministries.

Recognition

Future plans

Mountains climbed

List of Philippine Adventure Sports