BMC 101 - Version 2.0

The Skookum Mountaineers has held its 2nd Basic Mountaineering Course 101 at the "Loud House ni Jaime" in Roxas District, Quezon City last January 23.

First, we had a boodle fight for dinner courtesy of Sir Allan, our ever-reliable Skookum chef. We really enjoyed the food. Then, the lecture and discussion immediately followed.

The event was graced and conducted by Sir Roy Dela Cruz, former President of the Globe Adventure Club, and also a past-President of the FEU Outdoors. He is also one of the stalwarts of the Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines, Inc. (MFPI).

Some of us belonging to the 1st batch of inductees already had our BMC 101 prior to our induction climb in Mt. Ugo last year, but still we chose to participate to at least refresh, or even widen our knowledge of mountaineering.

It was really a fun-filled evening as we even had a boodle fight during dinner. It was really a worthwhile experience for us to continue to hasten our knowledge of mountaineering, and of the outdoors as well.

Mt. Balungao - Small but Terrible

As our yearend climb, we decided to traipse up the slopes of Mt. Balungao last December 31. In case you are wondering, Mt. Balungao is located in the town of Balungao in Pangasinan.

Mt. Balungao taken from the winding road heading to the Balungao Hilltop Adventure

Mt. Balungao...taken from the TPLEX...clearly resembling a woman's breast (Susong Dalaga)

We arrived at the Balungao Hilltop Adventure (previously knows as Mt. Balungao Hot and Cold Spring Resort) at about 0730H and were gleefully assisted towards the registration area. After signing waivers, we secured a guide (Joven was the guide assigned to us) and put on our hiking gears.

The trail is located at the back of the hall cum registration area. While Mt. Balungao is just a shade below 400 meters in height, it is known for its incessant assault from base to summit. The good thing is that the trail is established and forested up until the grassland just before the summit. As such, many mountaineers especially those based up north have included Mt. Balungao among their training climbs.

It was 0815H when we started the climb. From the base, we scaled rocks and boulders (maybe a sign of its volcanic past...yes Mt. Balungao is a dormant volcano) and even had to cling on to the roots of trees for support. There are a lot of kakawate trees in this part of the trail. This rocky/bouldery trail shall continue until the upper portions, where you will pass by a bamboo grove (similar to that in Pico de Loro). This will then give way to the grassland, which signifies that you are already very near the summit.