Take me Home, Atimonan: Atimonan Rock Climbing
April 9, 2014- It is another holiday and many outdoors enthusiasts are surely not going to waste a beautiful day indoors. Many are going to explore some trails and chase summits or spend time soaking the sun at the beach. As for me, I joined the group of Des- a hiker I met during last January 2015 Mt. Purgatory Traverse- to try to climb the beautiful rock faces of Atimonan.
Our day started early: we met at about 2:30 AM and left Jac Terminal, Cubao at 3:30 AM on a bus bound to Lucena City, Quezon Province. There were five of us in our team: Led, Ed, Des, Ella, and I. I don’t know anyone except Des, but I have no worries because I know that we will be friends once the magic of the outdoors work its way on each us.
We slept all the way and when we woke up, it was 7:30 am and the bus was already at the Lucena Grand Terminal. There we met Pastor Noel Sumisitrado- the man behind the establishment of Atimoman Rock Climbing. We also met two other groups who will be climbing as well. Surprisingly, these people were aboard the same bus we took going to Lucena.
We went to Brgy. Tinandong, Atimonan after our quick breakfast and by 10:00AM, we were already at the jump-off, preparing to climb. There was a quick orientation where Pastor Noel explained the basics of rock climbing and introduced us to the walls of Atimonan. He mentioned that for that day, he will be setting-up four(4) routes at the northern part of the Tinandong walls. The routes are named Take me Home, 50 First Dates, Yema, and Laid Back. Take me Home is the “easiest” of the four with a rating of 5.6, and Laid Back, with a 5.10 rating, is the most difficult route.
The rocks are so beautiful and I can’t wait to start. I am usually the shy one who will opt to be the last to try, but this time, I can’t help but volunteer to be the second one to climb. I tried “Take me home” first. It was a nice warm-up climb- there were many hand and foot holds to help the climber up. Also, there were big cavities on the rock face where the one can rest before proceeding again.
After some rest, I took on the “50 first dates”- a level 5.8 climb. It was higher and tougher than the first one. I never reached half of the length of the wall when I gave up because I can’t find another foothold. I went down feeling so bad but I resolved to climb it again after lunch. Good thing I finished it on my next try because it gave me enough courage to try the remaining walls.
The next route was the intimidating level 5.9 “Yema” route. While looking at the creamy white color and the almost smooth surface of the rock, one wonders where the hell the hand and footholds on the surface of the rock are. I was the third one to try and boy it was scary. There were just a few hand and footholds and they were so small that until now I don’t know how they held our weight. I was stuck at one point, paralyzed by fear, but the encouragement of the group pushed me up. As I reached to touch the carabiner at the end of the climb, I almost cried out of sheer joy- not really because I reached my goal, but because I was able to defeat the fear inside my head. It was the most meaningful climb of all.
To cap the day full of lessons and adventure is the “laid-back” route. Being just beside “Yema” the walls almost share the same characteristics: small and few hand and footholds. However, in terms of height, “laid-back” is higher and one has to use a different technique to ascend it. I never finished the wall because my arms and hands just gave up pero itinataga ko sa bato: tatapusin ko and pader na ito pag balik ko.
By 5: 30 PM we were already going down to the small, inviting house near the highway. There we refreshed ourselves and celebrated a wonderful day full of learnings, “hugot”, laughter, and friendship with two cases of beer and many rounds of stories.
Time passed so fast. Before we know it, it was already 8:30 PM. Nobody wanted the day to end (in rock climbing language, nobody wanted to “let go”)- it has been an awesome day but as Pastor Noel said, we have to leave something to look forward to next time. As we took the bus back to the bustling city we recounted what happened earlier. Rock climbing, more than the happiness brought by the adrenaline rush, is a very profound and meaningful activity- it is almost spiritual to me. I believe it changes people to something better.
We are all hoping for more rock climbing experieice. Take us home again, Atimonan!
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P.S.: Thank you very much to Pastor Noel for the never ending patience in coaching and encouraging us to beat our fears. Thanks also to Levi and Carlo for the friendship and for belaying us all day under scorching heat.
This trip to Atimonan is one of the most important trips of my life to date. I will always look back at the moment I was stuck at the “Yema”route- my body paralyzed by an unexplainable fear, and the time I decided to just do it and trust the solidity of the rock under my foot. I will remember that moment every time I am afraid. Fear is only inside the mind. We can always defy ourselves and our limits.
