Adventure Sage

MT. GUITING-GUTING

LOCATION: Romblon Province
ELEVATION: 2,058 meters above sea level
LEVEL: Major Climb, Level III, Strenuous
JUMP OFF POINTS: Sibuyan Island, Romblon
AVERAGE DAYS REQUIRED: 7 Days (including travel time from Manila)
MINIMUM DAYS REQUIRED: 6 Days (including travel time from Manila)
DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS: Knife-edged Ridges

INFORMATION
Viewing the mountain from the town proper, one observes a jagged or saw-toothed outline, creating an impression of a vast and challenging terrain. Guiting-Guiting actually means saw-toothed. This is one of the few, if not the only mountain in the Philippines, where there are no recorded conquests of natives or locals prior to the famous first conquest of mountaineers. During that memorable day, the town of Magdiwang was on a festive mood, celebrating this magnificent breakthrough. Ever since the locals became fond of mountaineers that they are extra-hospitable to mountaineers who sets foot on the island. The local municipal library keeps scrapbooks of mountaineers who have successfully scaled the summit. These include the first conquest of mountaineers. Because of that, most sites or land marks in Guiting-Guiting where named after the first explorers like Mayo’s peak and Bulod’s Spring.

The thick forest cover offers sanctuary to mountaineers, loggers, animals, birds and insects. Stopping and appreciating the rich bio-diversity of the area is a must. Closely observe the different variety of trees and bushes as one nears the peak. Crossing the ridge is one of the highlights of the climb. You will do a lot of scrambling, balancing, and leaping from boulder to boulder and a bit of rock climbing. It is called Knife ridge because of the rocky path, which requires you to balance while traversing it. There are ravines on both sides. If you happen to be welcomed by the winds on both sides, take the opportunity to work on your acrobatic skills. Before scaling the knife Ridge, one must be able to psyche oneself and discard any fear that might begin to set in. Some mountains are challenging for their breadth, Guiting-Guiting is one mountain that calls your attention to the varied faces of the earth. It “de-familiarizes” your mind and body with the usual climbing habits and poses new puzzles to solve until you realize you are interacting with the mountain as much as the mountain interacting with you.

Sibuyan Island itself is a unique Philippine environment. It contains wide variety of endemic species of plants and animals, which is due to the fact that this island has long been isolated from other islands because of the deep seas that surround it compared to other Philippine islands which was a part of a big mass of interconnected island thousands of years ago.

Photo Credit: mighty wocky