Garduce expects to reach Everest peak Friday

Right on schedule, Filipino mountaineer Romi Garduce arrived on Thursday 2 p.m. (Nepal time, 4 p.m. in the Philippines) at Camp 4, the last of the four camps between Everest Base Camp and the summit. He will rest there for two hours before resuming his trek upwards, expecting to summit at around 2 p.m. local time on May 19. The date is 10 days before the 53rd anniversary of the successful climb of New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who first reached the world's highest peak May 29, 1953. Garduce's historic moment will be captured live by his "video Sherpa" and may be aired on Philippine television. In a meeting last week with the press through teleconferencing, Garduce detailed his plan to reach the summit on third or fourth week of May. Explorersweb.com said Garduce decided to follow a more regular pace in his journey to the top. The next crucial area for Garduce is The Balcony, a small platform 1,000 meters (a little over 3,280 feet) above Camp 4. After The Balcony, 27,700 feet (8,442.96 meters) above sea level, is the dangerous South ridge, a small table sized dome of ice and snow with an altitude of 28,700 feet (8,747.76 meters). Hillary step at 28,750 feet is the last section before the final assault on Everest's peak. From here a mountaineer climbs up using ropes. Arturo Valdez, team leader of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPME), said his team is praying for Garduce's successful climb. "I think this climb will not be complete without all Filipinos making it to the world's highest peak, and that includes Romi Garduce," Valdez told GMA 7's Jiggy Manicad, who is reporting from Everest Base Camp. Surprise mixed with jubilation was the reaction of Erwin Emata's relatives in Davao when they heard the news that he had just become the second Filipino to summit Mt. Everest. Emata's wife Mary Ann said she had been confident from the start of her husband's Everest journey that he would make it to the top. She plans to climb Mt. Apo with her husband when he comes home. - GMANews.TV