The History of Mountaineering has been a product of resourcefulness and improvisation. Faced with the lack of equipment and early introduction to the harsh environment of Gawahon, the Singarong Backpackers (SB) nurtured its inner resources and develop an attitude of non-reliance to purchasable equipment to achieve its objectives - mainly nonguided exploratory treks in the beginning.
* The 4th member, Joel Berina joined the party that went on an unguided trek to Tingaong Dagat (Mt. Mandalagan) in August. While several mountaineers lost their way in the Alimatok Country Trail (from Patag to Tinagong Dagat), this party with very little idea of what this 'hidden sea' looked like or how exactly to get there found it by sheer guts and luck. Of course, they paid for it by setting up emergency bivouac along the trail in heavy rain and without a portable stove to prepare their supper.
* Although Dennis Ella had been practicing as a freelance mountaineer since 1993, the Four Original Members didn't have the benefit of a formal training in Mountaineering 101. Virtually, the group learned the rudiments of mountaineering on their own and through the hard way - learning from mistakes. They learned practically in Gawahon, a harsh mountain area in Victorias, with its dense forest, steep ravines, very high rate of rainfall (Gawahon rains even in summer) and absence of any system for guide/porter services.
Barely two years in existence, the SB achieved an unsurpassed record in terms of the intensity with which it conducts its exploratory treks in the Northern Negros Forest Reserve (NNFR). Moreover, the SB as a rule explores without the aid of local guides - a rarity in the NNFR, if not in the whole country.
* In March, Nathaniel Dichoso (5th member) and Federico Nacion (Honorary Member) joined the party that explored for a passage to Sulfatara from Tinagong Dagat across the jagged outback of Mt. Mandalagan. Setting 'firsts' in local mountaineering, the party discovered the top edge of the 300-foot Malirong Falls and underwent the nerve-wracking traverse across the knife-edged ridge of Tinagong Dagat. Rising above two sheer faces, the ridge is only a foot in width.
* In a number of multi-day explorations in July, the Ella-Dichoso Exploration Tandem started exploring the strips of forest in Gawahon that had never been touched by other mountaineers before. In a 5-day exploration jaunt, the Tandem went though five days of continuous rain.
* By August, the Tandem went through probing in Sicaba north of Gawahon. The duo discovered the Sicaba-Tuo Falls, the Triple-Drop Falls (in Sicaba-Wala) and finally the breach to the Eastern Interior or Ubak Valley, culminating a year of search. Capping its career, the Tandem set the unequaled 7-Day Gawahon-Sicaba-Binintigan-Gawahon Loop.
* The 6th and 7th member respectively, Pedro Palabrica and June Cristal joined in a guided trek to Sulfatara, one of the most speactacular place in Mt. Mandalagan and the country at large in August.
* Roger Sildres became the 8th member in December. He joined the two-man party that discovered Pulang Tubig Creek and Puting Tubig Creek in Ubak Valley east of the Gawahon-Calaptan Wall. (It is a mountaineering approach that precedes the guided BBMS trek across the area later in 1998.)
Early in the year, the SB ventured for the first time outside its home-province by going on a backpacking tour in Bohol. Nonetheless, the most important development for the SB for this year is the shift of its focus from a 'horizontal' to 'vertical' mountaineering. The SB formed its Messner Team to specialize in nonguided tropical peak climbing.
* In July, three (3) SB members led a guided party that climbed the 6,168-foot Marapara Peak, the highest point in Mt. Mandalagan and the whole NNFR.
* In three trips for the month of August, the SB was able to connect a forest trail from Guinbuslan in Cadiz City to Kampuestuhan in Talisay - the greater part of the long axis of the NNFR. (This feat remains unrepeated.)
* With the First Southwest Ascent of the 4,802-foot Calaptan Peak on Sept. 21, 1998, the Messner Team was born. Practicing nonguided tropical peak climbing, the Messner Team (MT) has the following pioneering members - D. Ella, P. Palabrica and R. Sildres.
* The MT represented by D. Ella and P. Palabrica climbed Gawahon Peak through the NW Ridge on Oct. 2, 1998 and Dinamlagan Peak through the First Buttress /West Face on Oct. 3, 1998.
* J. Cristal became the 4th member of the MT. He joined in the First Attempt of South Face Peak (then thought of as Mt. Silay official summit) on Oct. 15-18, 1998.
The SB tested its nonguided climbing expertise in the most remote regions in the NNFR. Its First Mountaineering Ascent of South Face Peak and First Ascent of Sewahon Peak are so daring and committed - classics that question the validity of challenge in guided climbing of even the major peaks in the country.
* While looking for an easier route down the South Face, the MT crossed Nagabusay Col and set up an emergency bivouac on the official summit of Mt. Silay (5,033 ft.). (This fact was recognized by the MT 1 1/2 years later.)
* The MT set the harrowing First Ascent of Sewahon Peak on Aug. 31, 1999. The greatest feat of the Singarong Backpackers so far, the Sewahon ascent was accomplished after canyoning down the Kagang-Bukay Valley (the most secluded region in Mt. Silay), traversing for 1 1/2 days across the bariw-covered Bakiras Ridge and spending seven days in the mountain for a climb prepared for only five days.
The SB climbed two major peaks in the country - Talinis in Negros Oriental and Mt. Madja-as in Antique. Yet, neither of the two guided climbs of major peaks could be more fulfilling to the SB than the First Ascent of the 5,039-foot Sicaba Diotay Peak, the highest point in Mount Silay. The latter was climbed true to form - without guide.
* The Victorias Climbing Party composed of Jeffrey Legaspi (NTCI), D. Ella (SB), M. Porras (SB) and E. Defino (KSDM/SB) climbed Mt. Madja-as in Antique and Mt. Hamugnaw in Iloilo, successively in August.
* The MT earned, in the second attempt, the First Ascent of the 5,039-foot Sicaba Diotay Peak (highest point in Mt. Silay) on September 15, 2000. The Team is composed of D. Ella, P. Palabrica and M. Porras who skipped the final assault.
Early in the year, the SB achieved the First Mountaineering Ascent of the trail-less South Face of Mt. Manaphag in an island in Iloilo. This is the prelude to scheduled climbs of national sites such as Mt. Guiting-Guiting in Romblon and Mt. Baloy in Antique. For the Messner Team, in line are new unclimbed routes in Dinamlagan Peak, Dalayapan, and Magkurog - all in the NNFR.
* Four applicants to the MT attempted the South Ridge of Dinamlagan in April 2001. A member-climber fell over while ascending the ridge. Luckily, he survived with minor bruises and slight bleeding on the forehead. The climb was aborted because of this accident.
* MT-applicants, Aaron Cristal and Joseph Magdato, joined D. Ella and M. Porras in June in the attempt of Tiniphagan Ridge (formerly SE Ridge) of Dinamlagan Peak. Insufficient time caused the failure to complete the ascent of this peak with several obstacles and turned out to be unclimbed. The party is just 300 feet short of the summit.
