Romi Garduce to wrap up 'Seven Summits' quest in Antartica

Romi Garduce is about to finish what no other Filipino has done before: climb the seven highest summits on seven continents. The Born To Be Wild host will leave days before Christmas for Antartica in the South Pole to conquer the Vinson Massif.

 

Garduce climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa first in 2002, followed by Mt. Aconcagua in South America in 2005 where he almost declared an "unsuccessful" climb after failing to reach the summit of the 22,000-feet mountain in his first attempt. He decided to try once more, thereby reaching the second highest summit in the world. He reached the top of Asia's Mt. Everest in 2006 and Europe's Mt. Elbrus in 2007. In 2008, he reached the summit of North America's Mt. McKinley and in July this year, he conquered Oceania's Carstenz Pyramid. Only five months later, he is out to complete the summits with the Vinson Massif expedition.

 

The Vinson Massif is the fifth highest peak in the world, 16,067 feet high. It's 24-hour sunlight does not aid climbers much with the region experiencing negative thirty degrees (-30) Celsius during the summer months.

 

Garduce will be accompanied by fellow UP mountaineer and environmentalist Levi Nayahangan in his final climb. — RAF/JVP/HS, GMA News