GAWAHON PEAK (Mt. Silay , Negros Island, Philippines)

Location : Elevation : Gen. Features : First Ascent :

Eastern border of Victorias City, Negros Occ., Philippines 4,297ft (1,310m) Largely covered by dense forest (upper slopes with stunted pines and noncommercial wood); inhabitants are confined in the lower W slopes; sheer summit wall with thin buttresses Unknown; first ascent by mountaineers on Oct. 2, 1998 with the nonguided exploratory tandem of D. Ella and P. Palabrica through the NWR

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Gawahon Jump-Off          Gawahon is the Chamonix of the Singarong Backpackers. More than one hour of ride on scheduled trips from the Victorias City proper, it has played a a major part in the honing of the climbing and overall mountaineering skills of the SB. Most of the nonguided climbs of Mt. Silay peaks by the SB utilized Gawahon as the jump-off point.             Aside from being free from the hussle of securing a climbing permit, Gawahon unlike the commercial entrances in the NNFR such as  Patag and Kampuestuhan has no system for commercial guide/porterage services.

Gawahon was once called as Alipo-op which means 'a fog'. Before commercial logging that destroyed its primary-growth forest (except at the summit ridge), Gawahon used to be under perpetual dense fog and continuous heavy rain. Although it is has lost most of  its hostile characteristics, any climb of Gawahon, particularly on its west Slopes, remains a great challenge. It still has a high rate of rainfall.

General Mountaineering History in Gawahon Pk

The short-lived Victorias Environmental Assocaiation of Mountaineers and Explorers (VEAME) introduced mountaineering in Mt. Gawahon in the eastern border of Victorias in the early 90's. At its demise, many of its members quit mountaineering while some continued and founded in 1997 the Northern Trekkers Club, Inc. One former member joined the Singarong Backpackers which was in turn organized in 1996. Both NTCI and SB unanimously consider Gawahon a home mountain. Specifically, the SB traces its very birth, growth and developement in this mountain with a very thick forest cover (predominantly second-growth with patches of mossy groves), a very high rate of rainfall, one particular ravine with several falls and an atmosphere of wilderness freedom (untrammeled by the stiff regulations enforced in Patag, Kampuestuhan and the Kanla-on entrances) that is very conducive to the self-realization of a mountaineer of his fullest potentials. Interestingly, despite of these laudable characteristics, Gawahon has remained the enclave of the hometown mountaineers. Among the local clubs frequenting it are the Kaabyanan sa Dabok Mountaineers, the Green Knights of La Salle College-Victorias, and other self-proclaimed mountaineering bands.

WHO HAVE CLIMBED GAWAHON PEAK?                                                                                           (In order of precedence)             Name                                          Date                                                           Comments   1. Dennis S Ella  (SB)                October 2, 1998                      First Mountaineering Climb through the Northwest Ridge 2. Pedro F. Palabrica (SB)          October 2, 1998                                                         -do- 3. Ernina Defino (KSDM)          June 13, 1999                         Guided by P. Palabrica through the NWR 4. Mariebelle Porras (SB)           June 13, 1999                                                     -do- 5. Roger A. Sildres (SB)              June 13, 1999                                                     -do- 6. Angie Barrientos                     July 25, 1999                          Guided by D. Ella, M. Porras and P. Palabrica (NWR) 7. Warnel C. Tagnile (SB)          May 21, 2000                         Guided by P. Palbrica through the NWR 8. Serela  Bernabat                      May 21, 2000                                                         -do-   9. Arlone Dumandan                 April 29, 2001                        Guided by P. Palbrica through the NWR 10. June Cristal (SB)                  April 29, 2001                                                    -do- 11. Aaron Cristal (SB)                 May 26, 2001                          NWR: Not guided from Ridge Camp to the summit 12. Joseph Victor Magdato (SB)  May 26, 2001                                                            -do- 13. Victor Sotelo                           May 26, 2001                                                             -do- 14. Glenn Sorbito (SB)               December 27, 2002                 NWR: Guided by J. Cristal, J. Magdato & A. Cristal (partial) 15. Mark Anthony Maja (SB)    December 27, 2002                                                              -do- 16. Nolan Hinolan                     December 27, 2002                                                              -do- 17. Tristan Opinion (SB)            March 30, 2003                     NWR: Guided by Glenn Sorbito 18. Gilmar Almirante (SB)         March 30, 2003                                                 -do- 19. Frederick Gaylon (SB)          March 30, 2003                                                 -do- 20. Cherylyn Guarra (RAMS)    September 23, 2003               NWR: Guided by Joseph Magdato and Aaron Cristal 21. Johnny Sepida (RAMS)       September 23, 2003                                                          -do- 22. Ernesto Brillantes (RAMS)  September 23, 2003                                                           -do- 23. Yuri Divinagracia (RAMS) September 23, 2003                                                           -do- 24. Maritess Masoda (RAMS)    September 23, 2003                                                           -do- 25. Jeffrey Torres                        September 23, 2003                                                           -do- 26. Jhon Paul Salcedo               January 8, 2005                     NWR: Guided by Nolan Hinolan and J. Magdato (partial)

Situated in the ravine, the Gawahon campsites have claustrophic appeal. Only the Gawahon Twin Falls Camp put up by Dennis Ella and Martin Pingcale in 1997 offers a vista such as this view.

RECORD CLIMBS

"First SB Bottleneck Ridge Attempt" Bottleneck Ridge on West Face (Feb.1-2, 1997) SB: Dennis Ella, Joel Berina, Reggie Pingcale and Joel Laudato Nonguided Exploratory Trek               Gawahon Peak, the prominent peak north of the Gawahon Ravine (site of the several falls) was then thought of as the peak belonging to Sicaba. ) Going off-trail from Kabolohan Falls, the party discovered the ridge (south of the adjacent Northwest Ridge) which earned the monicker, Bottleneck,  after the unpassable narrow ridge section barred by a giant tree in the middle. Abandoning the summit attempt, the party negotiated down the north face of the 1,000-foot cliff without protection. About 100 feet down, the party backtracked and Ella met a near-fatal accidental slip; he could have died on the fall had he not secured his left hand on a `cabo negro' that held him in mid-air. Failure.

"First Conquest of the Gawahon West Face" NTCI Ridge, West Face (March 15, 1998) NTCI : Jeffrey Legaspi and Jojo Delfin Nonguided Exploratory Trek                  From Camp-I, southeast of Gawahon Ravine, the tandem climbed the steep wall and reached the Gawahon-Calaptan ridgeline. Consequently, the tandem set foot on the Ronel Peak.                                                                                                              Contributed by Jeffrey Legaspi                                                                                                                       northtrek@yahoo.com

"Jojo Palomo's Party Attempt of the Botteneck Ridge" Bottleneck Ridge (July 1998) Jojo Palomo's Party : Jose Ma. Palomo and Aaron Cristal Nonguided Exploratory Climb                 From Gawahon Ravine, the party attempted the prominent peak in the northeast, which they believed was the Silay, and in the process found the Bottleneck Ridge.  Palomo's party encountered the same `bottleneck' - the unpassabale ridge section barred by a tree. His party had to backtrack. Failure.                 (UPDATE) On-site review of the reported route conducted by the SB reveals that the Palomo party didn't actually take a Bottleneck Ridge climb route. Instead, the party take a Little Baguio route northwest of Calaptan Peak. The party accessed Little Baguio from Twin Falls by heading southward through the logging road passing Cigarette Falls; from the road-end overlooking the southern head-source of Quinaruyan River, the party moved eastward through a foot-trail and, touching the falls, climbed the northern bank.                  Interestingly, the SB (Ella-Dichoso Exploration) from 2nd Falls reached ths road-end earlier in 1997 by passing through the steep foot-trail connected to the logging road (skipping the Cigarette Falls). On the other hand, an NTCI party (J. Legaspi, C. Sumatra and J. Azucena) established a camp near the Little Baguio falls in 1998.                                                                                                                    Contributed by Joemar Jalandra                                                                                                                                      j2rj@yahoo.com

Angie and Belle  pose on a clearing in the dense forest of Gawahon Peak

"Northwest Ridge: First Mountaineering Climb of Gawahon" Northwest Ridge (October 2-3, 1998) SB: Dennis Ella and Pedro Palbrica Nonguided Exploratory Climb                Passing on the logging road, the tandem bivouacked on Ridge Camp and hacked a trail across the sloping forest of the summit. This is the First Mountaineering Climb on Gawahon Peak.

"Second SB Bottleneck Ridge Attempt" Bottleneck Ridge (January 2000) SB: Dennis Ella, Mariebelle Porras and Roger Sildres Nonguided Exploratory Climb              Equipped with climbing equipment in preparation for a technical traverse to solve the `bottleneck', the team decided to withdraw before reaching the `bottleneck'. Sluggish movement (Ella was ill-fit for suffering with a flu) and the uncertainty to fininsh the objective on an allocated time caused the cancellation of the plan. Failure.

"First West Face Ascent" North Stream Route /West Face (May 15, 2003) SB: June Cristal, Joseph Victor Magdato and Aaron Cristal Nonguided Exploratory Climb             On March 23, 2003, Joseph was among a 4-man scouting party that explored the trail alongside the North Stream of Twin Falls. This party went beyond the end of the trail in the dry source of the stream and scrambled up a slope with loose rocks and  retreated later at about 400 ft below summit - according to estimate.               On May 14, 2003, Joseph returned to Gawahon in a 3-man party to climb the West Face through the North Stream route. Poitioning near Twin Falls (2,000 ft below summit) at 7:01 p.m. on the first day, the team pursued the climb on the second day at 6:25 a.m. By 9:30 p.m., they reached a west ridge (likely the upper part of Bottleneck Ridge) under 30-foot visibility in the fog. The team reached the true summit at 10:10 p.m. Immediately, it went down over the Northwest Ridge for the descent.                This is the first successful ascent of Gawahon West Face (the March 1998 NTCI party conquered the West Face but failed to touch the true summit).

"First Southwest Ascent" Ronel East Face /West Face (April 24, 2005) SB: Joseph Victor Magdato, Nolan Hinolan & Jhon Paul Salcedo Nonguided Exploratory Climb               On April 23, 2005, a 3-man team led by Joseph Victor Magdato set out from Brgy. Gawahon for the eastern side of Calaptan Pk, initially by climbing the Gawahon Northwest Ridge. After descending a distance to the eastern side of Gawahon Pk, past Ridge Camp, the team moved southward, using a logging road it discovered .               On the second day, the team climbed the Ronel East Face (midway the Gawahon Pk and Calaptan Pk that shared a N-S summit ridge), thinking that it was the Calaptan East Face. After topping the Gawahon-Calaptan summit-ridge, the team, in confusion,  moved northward and touched Gawahon Pk by lunchtime. Discovering the fact that Calaptan Pk lies to the south and realizing its failure to climb the Calaptan East Face, Joseph made a last-ditch effort to climb Calaptan Pk by going back southward along the summit-ridge. Unable to persuade his teammates who were too tired to care, Joseph moved his team down the northern side of Gawahon Pk, thereby completing a loop on the Gawahon NW Ridge.                Although done half-knowingly, this climb marked the third climb route ever established by mountaineers over Gawahon Pk.