GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 31 March) — A 66-year old Mindanawon retiree’s dream to reach the world’s highest peak has so far brought him to the summits of the Philippines’ three highest mountains, to Japan’s Mount Fuji and lately, to Mount Jade (Yu Shan), Taiwan’s tallest and northeast Asia’s highest peak.
Retired engineer Feliciano Legara told MindaNews he did all the arduous climbs — major and minor ones — in less than two years despite a lack of experience in climbing mountains before his first climb.
MT JADE. At 66 years old, Feliciano Legara conquers Taiwan’s highest peak, Mount Jade (Yungshan) on March 19, 2024. Photo courtesy of Feliciano Legara
By conquering the 3,952-meter Mount Jade amid a biting cold weather on March 19 this year, Legara surmounted the second leg of his Asian Trilogy Peak Challenge. Accompanied by his son Fourth, Legara was the only elderly in a group of 19 mostly young doctors who climbed Mount Jade that day.
Legara reached the peak of the 3,776-meter Mt. Fuji on August 8, 2023. Despite his senior age, he reached the Fuji summit ahead of a group, half of whom failed to reach the peak.
MT FUJI SUMMIT. Feliciano Legara, the only elderly in a group of climbers, prepares for his final ascent of Japan’s Mt. Fuji on August 8, 2023. Photo courtesy of Feliciano Legara
As a final leg of the trilogy challenge, Legara will climb in May the 4,095-meter Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia, enroute to an icy trek to the 2,228-meter Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak come August, also this year.
First climb a major climb
Legara narrated that months before reaching retirement age of 65 in 2022, a group of younger colleagues invited him to join them in climbing the 2,938-meter Mount Dulang-Dulang in the Kitanglad mountain range in Bukidnon, considered by mountaineers as a major climb.
Legara’s lack of mountaineering experience and having only a scant idea on the dangers that go with it did not deter him from joining his younger colleagues in climbing the Philippine’s second highest peak on September 29 and 30, 2022.
ATOP MT. DULANG-DULANG. Lacking experience in mountaineering, retiree Feliciano Legara reached the peak of the Philippine’s second highest mountain on September 30, 2022. Photo courtesy Feliciano Legara
After Dulang-Dulang, Legara said he developed a keen desire in conquering mountains, to include the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. He said the Dulang-Dulang climb exposed him to that incredible feeling of being on top of the world, boosting his confidence.
“I was thinking that if I made it to the Philippines’ second highest peak in my first attempt, maybe I can make it in other major climbs,” he said.
Highest peak
In February 2023, five months after Mt. Dulang-Dulang climb, Legara gathered his gears and set out for his second major climb: Mount Pulag, the Philippines third highest at 2,928-meters, famous for its sea of clouds and a view of the Milky Way at early dawn.
The Pulag climb in the Cordilleras was followed by an ascent to the summit of the 2,954-meter high Mount Apo, the country’s highest peak, on March 25, 2023.
Legara would scale smaller mountains in preparation for major climbs, like Fung Wong Shan, Hongkong’s highest peak before his Mount Jade ascent.
Before his Mount Fuji climb, Legara had preparatory treks to Mount Mamuyao and other mountains in Luzon, even while Typhoon Egay was battering the country, then to Mount Takao in Hachiōji, Tokyo.
In less than a year, the neophyte elderly mountaineer was able to conquer the country’s three highest peaks, not to mention the treks on smaller mountains before embarking on major climbs.
“Everest on my mind”
After the major climbs in the Philippines, it became my dream to be on top of Mount Everest, said Legara who hails from Cotabato City but now resides with his family in Cagayan de Oro City.
Legara, however, said that he is always reminded of his family’s apprehensions that “the risk is way too high for an elderly like me.” Mountaineers, he said, always consider there is one percent fatality rate and a 25 percent rate to fail.
He recalled some difficulties due to extreme heat during a climb to Mount Batulao in Batangas, preparatory to his Mount Fuji ascent. A lady climber perished at the summit in that climb due to heat stroke and it left a grim reminder to him not to take things for granted.
In each of his climbs, Legara said he puts in the same efforts in the preparations, whether it is a major climb or a minor one.
He said trekking to the Everest Base Camp (EBC) alone, which is nestled at 5,364 meters, would require great determination, sustained physical endurance and mental resilience. “I anticipate it as quite challenging, but tremendously rewarding,” he said.
Legara hopes to climb Mt. Everest in October this year.
“Keep climbing Dad!”
Upon retiring from government service in December 2022, Legara took to mountaineering instead of going into lucrative business or farming as his engineer-accountant wife Emedita and their children had expected him to pursue.
His daughter Erika Fille, a widely acclaimed data scientist, said the family discussed what her father will do after retirement. Out of the blue, Erika said, his father told them “I want to climb mountains!”
LOVE MESSAGE. From Mt. Pulag, Feliciano Legara greets his wife, Emedita, on their 40th wedding anniversary in February 2023. Photo courtesy of Feliciano Legara
According to Erika, what surprised them is that his father did not have any experience climbing even a single mountain before he made that choice.
Mountain climbing is a dangerous activity and too risky for elderly persons. Even experienced mountaineers face challenges in trying to reach the summit, his worried wife Emedita said.
Legara’s daughter Erika has a deeper view of his decision, saying it is not just about climbing mountains. ”It is about a guy who’s been hustling since he was a kid,” Erika said.
Legara’s father died when he was five years old. At 10, he had to sell newspapers to help augment the family’s income. His mother washed clothes for a living.
In his retirement, Erika said her father decided he has more mountains to conquer, both literally and figuratively, showing everyone that there is no expiry date in chasing dreams.
“Keep climbing, Dad!” she quipped. (Rommel G. Rebollido / MindaNews)
