Mt Silay, Negros Is, the Philippines
Location :
First Ascent :
Features :
Approaches :
Significance :
3km NW of Sicaba Daku Peak in Cadiz City, Negros Occ.
(Probable) July 18, 2002 by Singarong Backpackers team
Despite of the presence of old logging road on its slopes (one is 720ft below the summit), Dalayapan is thickly forested except in the lower W slopes where few inhabitants are confined. The steepest side, the North Face rises 1,300ft above the northenmost source of Sicaba River, offering possibilities for rock climbing. Covered by dense jungle, the South Face overlooks Sicaba-Wala, the major source of the River.
South - a logging road provides access from Bo. Gawahon in Victorias City to Sicaba-Wala, the southern base (1 day, adequate water-sources)
North - a saugan, a track for logs drawn by carabao, links Bo.Guinbuslan in Brgy. Mabini in Cadiz City to the logging road 720ft below the summit (4.5hrs, uphill, without water-sources)
West - a foot-trail on walk-up cogonal slope (3hrs) followed bya level logging road (1hr) to the headwater of Aluyan (the water-source) at the base of the 70-degree trail on a buttress
Southeast - an untracked ridge, mostly covered by dense bariw from Sicaba Daku Peak to Talaba-an Peak, adjacent Dalayapan, provides for a classic traverse (2 days without water, a lifetime commitment)
The most "interior" of the 8 major peaks of Mt Silay
(Other Northern Negros Peaks)
(HomePage)
of Dalayapan
* Talaba-an Peak (3,674ft)
* Dalayapan West Pk (3,542ft)
Although a logging road traverses its northern face, Dalayapan remains thickly forested. The real challenge, the North Face of Dalayapan is a sheer massive wall rising above a ravine and the half-closed valley called Tinagong Banua (hidden town), a former base of the NPA's, that separates it from Lantawan Peak to the north.
A small party of aspiring mountaineers (Dennis Ella, Ronaldo Germino and Alfredo Guiza, Jr.) unwittingly climbed it up to its middle reaches from its western base in 1993. A bungling climb , it nonetheless had remained as the sole mountaineering venture in Dalayapan until 1997 when the Ella-Dichoso exploration tandem (SB) touched its inerior southern base in Sicaba-Wala. It took another year for a substancial mountaineering venture to accur in Dalayapan when the SB while pursuing the Gawahon-Sicaba-Mabini Traverse in 1998 passed on its logging road, at one point, is only about 720 feet below the summit.
South Route (November 30-December 2, 2001)
Singarong Backpackers : June Cristal, Pedro Palabrica, Aaron Cristal, Joseph Magdato, Dennis Ella (backup)
and Mariebelle Porras (backup)
Nonguided Exploratory Climb
A challenge for the leadership of J. Cristal and P. Palabrica, this climb relied mainly on the directions of D. Ella who has tracked the SW approach in 1998.. On the second day, D. Ella and M. Porras backtrack from the first-day camp across Sicaba-Wala River (4hrs from Gawahon, the jump-off point). On their own, the four pursued a hardly recognizable logging road in the morning of that day. Confusion and fear gripped the climbing team, leading it to turn west away from Dalayapan Peak - about 2kms from the targeted logging road on the North Face. In the ensuing traverse westward (unwittingly below the logging road), the team had to negotiate on a trail-less section and climb a steep slope with hardly any hand-hold forcing it to use a rope. Crossing five creeks, the team set up a campsite at dusk on an island about 1.5m above the water. The dark and fatigue made the better of them despite of ligering fear about the hazard of the camp which could possibly be swept by a torrent in heavy rain.
By the third day, the remaining objective of the team is to find the nearest point accessible to transportation. They found a sparsely populated settlement without any name before noon and by lunchtime the barrio of Sto. Domingo east of Manapla town. They took a ride on a tricycle to the hi-way in the boundary of Manapla and Victorias City, thereby completing a record traverse - Gawahon-Sicaba-Sto. Domingo Traverse.
The first SB attempt of Dalayapan is a failure.
South Route (July 5-8, 2002)
Singarong Backpackers : Dennis Ella, Pedro Palabrica and Mariebelle Porras
Nonguided Exploratory Climb
Despite of the route-knowledge of Pedro in the 2001 attempt and Dennis in the 1998 traverse, the team almost lost cognizance of the direction of Dalayapan. On the third day, from a final assault camp at 3,214ft ASL Pedro, the Trail Buster, hacked a way to the ridge and went south across dense 'bariw' growth under the direction of Dennis, the Navigator. Wind gusts ranges from 90 to 120 kms per hour on the summit ("Hambalos" and "Gloria" rages N of Luzon). While the final push was done in 2hrs despite of resistance from the thick growth of the untracked route, the descent to the W was a 7-hour ordeal in the fourth day. Climbing down 1,500ft of a 70-degree trail on a buttress, the team got the scare of rappeling beside a beehive (close at 3ft). At 12:58pm, the team made its first human contact with tribal-like mountain dwellers inhabiting in makeshift shelter in upper Aluyan. For the 4-day period, the team encountered 3 snakes including the pit viper which was only a foot from the abdomen of Pedro.
Post-climb analysis resulted to the conclusion that the team actually ascended the wrong Dalayapan, a peak 0.8km W of the true one. The climbed peak feeds the Talaba-an River to its E, hence the SB offered it the name Talaba-an Peak (1,120m or 3,674ft). At any rate, the climb completes the "Gawahon-Aluyan-Bo. Dalayapan Traverse".
Belle's Buttress /South Face (July 16-19, 2002)
Singarong Backpackers : Dennis Ella and Mariebelle Porras
Nonguided Exploratory Climb
From Gawahon, the team arrived in Sicaba-Wala, the southern base (Elev. 2,165 ft), at 10:56am in the second day. Along the forest, the team saw a dead 'magkal', a big snake, 3m long. After fording the river, the team hacked a trail up to the logging road on traversing the South Face (Elev. 2,493 ft) and moved E to a buttress (named Belle's Buttress by the team). On several tries, the team found a passage up the buttress with a 45-degree slope with scant signs of passage. By 3:43pm, the team with an hour to spare for effective climbing opted to set up camp (Elev. 3,124 ft).. The angle overhead steepened to 70 degrees, offering least chance for a campsite despite of their tarp-hammock shelter. Furthermore, the condition of the succeeding route deters a full backpack load. Carrying much of the load, Dennis agonized with 6 liters of water, the food supply, shelter and personal equipment.
The next day, July 18, 2002, the team carried out the final assault with minimal load - meal and water for lunch and emergency shelter equipment. The final push was characterized by profuse trail-markings to avoid prospect of loosing the track on the return. The foliage on the summit-wall obliterates the view of the buttress and distant view was marred by perpetual fog. Barely 2hrs later, the team reached the summit-ridge and, by moving E, touched the highest point at 10:27am. The team stayed for only 5 minutes on the summit, just enough to place the green SB pennant and an empty butane canister.
The return to Gawahon took more than a day and was uneventful except for the fact that it rained hard thereby delaying the breaking of camp by 1hr.
The team found no more signs of passage above the final assault camp - a vertical strech of 656 ft. Contrary to a previous notion, the summit is trail-less and remains in pristine state. Its vegetation is palms with abundant "alimatok". This climb is the first recorded ascent of Dalayapan Peak (a probable first ascent).
South Base (September 11-13, 2002)
Singarong Backpackers : June Cristal and Joseph Magdato
Nonguided Exploratory Climb
The plan involves an alpine-style ascent of the South Face of the unnamed and unclimbed (to mountaineers) West Peak (3,542ft) of Dalayapan. It also includes a grand loop, if not a traverse, from Gawahon through Benintigan.
Unfortunately, the Climb Leader, June Cristal, failed to appreciate the importance of pre-climb conditioning. Backbreaking load deterred the tandem to reach the S base of the peak on the first day. Devastated psychologically, the tandem retreated after reaching Sicaba-Tuo, about 3kms short of the base, on the second day.
North Face (March 25, 2005)
Singarong Backpackers : Dennis Ella, Joseph Victor Magdato, Glenn Sorbito, Tristan Opinion, Trivon Opinion, Nolan Hinolan,
& Jhon Paul Salcedo; Northern Trekkers Club, Inc: Jeffrey Legaspi
Nonguided Exploratory Climb
On the first day, 6 hours had been committed for the approach of the first day camp in Sicaba-Wala in the southern base of Dalayapan Pk, about 300 ft above sea level. During this novel approach, a diversion from the customary route, 4 hours had been utilized for the trek along the 2-km stretch of the boulder-strewn river. On the seond day, the team positioned at 600 ft below the summit on the North Face after circling the peak through the logging road and commenced the final assault at 11:30 a.m. Almost vertical the short stretch of trail-less slope was covered in one and a half hours of scrambling. The peak was ascertained by moving westward along the summit ridge. While descending, Joseph almost fell over aan exposed section where the rest used
a piece of rope. Further descent on the west on the western side of the peak o proved to be very risky despite presence of a trail. On the Dalayapan Rock Dome with several exposed sections, the team members resorted to climb down on sit-up position when others would have rigged a rope for protection. The descent was final completed on the third day, past a 2-hour stretch of cogonal slope after getting out of the forest in one hour.
This climb is the second mountaineering ascent of Dalayapan and the first on the North Face. The climb also sets the seond traverse from Brgy Gawahon in Victorias City to Hda. Dalayapan in Cadiz City, eclipsing the 2002 traverse.
Website