Garduce resting before final trek to Everest peak

After successfully reaching Mount Everest’s Camp 3 and completing the acclimatization process, Filipino mountaineer Romi Garduce is now resting while working out the strategy he will use on the final leg of his journey to the top of the world’s highest peak. The GMA Team Everest and the Sherpas helped Garduce, who returned to the Base Camp to rest and prepare for the summit assault, map out his plan. Garduce is hoping for good weather to help him reach the summit without encountering problems. But before reaching the Camp 3, which is 24,000 feet above sea level, Garduce had to overcome Lhotse face, a 4,000 feet high wall of ice, which he scaled using ropes. Because of the vastness of the wall, Garduce could no longer see his companion who went ahead and another companion who was behind him. The long climb and slippery surface of the mountain slope took its toll on Romi who could not hide his exhaustion in front of the camera they brought. “Hindi siya ganoon kadali. It was very difficult," he said. Garduce’s tiredness was aggravated by the thin air and high altitude. “Sa ganitong slope, sa ganitong altitude, tatlong hinga isang hakbang. Kanina mga anim (na hinga), mahirap ‘to, man," he told his companion. Romi should be cautious even when doing such a simple task as drinking water so that he would not run out of oxygen. “You can see Camp 1 and Camp 2 from here," Garduce said when he was near the topmost part of Lhotse face. Garduce is the first Filipino to reach Camp 3, and GMA7 is the first Philippine television station to broadcast images of the third highest camp, with the help of a Sherpa the station had provided with a videocamera. The mountaineer left the camp the next day to return to Base Camp. He passed through Lhotse face on his way back and again experienced the difficult descent. “Ang Base Camp parang paraiso. Ang layo niya kumpara sa high camps, kaya I look forward makarating sa Base Camp para masarap ang pagkain, magandang pahinga at medyo relaxed. Ngayon sobra akong pagod," he said, while scaling down the ice wall. Garduce reached Khumbu Icefall, another dangerous part of the mountain, at around 3 p.m., Nepal time. Filipino delicacies danggit (dried fish) and tinola (chicken stew) awaited Romi at the Base Camp. Garduce is expected to continue his climb after five days of rest. He said he only have two to three weeks to reach the summit before the hot season in Nepal begins. - GMANews.TV