LANTAWAN PEAK Mount Silay, Negros Is., Philippines

Location : Elevation : First Ascent : Gen. Features :

Lantawan lies in the nortnern edge of Mt Silay. Brgy. Mabini lies on the northern base and Brgy. Andres Bonifacio in the western and northwestern base. Both barangays belong to Cadiz City, Negros Occidental. 3,441 ft Unknown; first mountaineering ascent was achieved by Joseph Victor Magdato, Mark Anthony Maja and Jhon Paul Salcedo on October 3, 2005 Lantawan Pk has three peaks with the middle one being the highest point. Inhabitants are confined in the lower slopes in the north and west side. It forms the great valley of Tinagong-Banua with Dalayapan Pk to the south, that feeds the major source of Sicaba River in the North. The South Face of Lantawan, the side with the more dense forest, appears as a thrilling climb route.

Singarong Backpackers HOMEPAGE

MAINPAGE Northern Negros Peaks

GENERAL MOUNTAINEERING HISTORY

The northern-most peak of Mt Silay,, Lantawan Peak has three pinnacles, namely the West Peak, Middle Peak and East Peak. At 3,441 feet, the Middle Peak is the highest and is considered the official summit.            Long neglected by mountaineers, Lantawan Pk had no mountaineering activity until 1993 when a small band of self-proclaimed mountaineers (D.Ella, R. Germino and A. Guiza, Jr.) attempted to climb Lantawan Pk from the southwest, particularly in Hda. Margarita. In confusion, the bungling mountaineers climbed instead the adjacent Dalayapan Pk.            After a long lull, in August 1998, a 4-man trekking party of the Singarong Backpackers passed by the east flank of the East Peak down to Sitio Guinbuslan in Brgy. Mabini, coming all the way from Brgy. Gawahon.           On July 2003, a 3-man team passed on the northern side of Dalayapan Pk, in full view of the stunning South Face of

The South Face of Lantawan Peak (Photo taken by Singarong Backpackers while going down the West Ridge of Dalayapan Pk on July 10, 2002.

Lantawan Pk. From then on, the interest to climb the South Face became the goal of mountaineers doing climbing activities in the mountain, particularly for members of the Singarong Backpackers.               The very first serious attempt to climb the South Face, particularly the South Ridge which leads directly up to the Middle Peak summit, came two years later. In March 2005, an 8-man team coming from a distant trail-head, in Brgy. Gawahon, beset by exhaustion from the 2-day approach trek, abandoned the attempt. Salvaging something out of the expedition, the team organized a 5-man scouting party to the southern base from a camp seated on the northern slopes of Dalayapan before exiting to the western base.

In 1993, three aspirant-climbers attempted Lantawan Peak from the west but they ended up climbing the adjacent Dalayapan Peak.

CLIMB RECORDS

"Ascent of the Middle Peak" South Ridge (October 3, 2005) Singarong Backpackers: Joseph Victor Magdato, Jhon Paul Salcedo & Mark Anthony Maja Nonguided Exploratory Climb             From Brgy. Gawahon, the 3-man team followed the trail of the March 2005 expedition to the southern base of Lantawan Pk for two days. On the third day, from a camp on the South Ridge, about 100 feet from the base, the team hacked a trail on the forested slopes with loose rocks. Reaching the spine of the ridge, the team continued the clearing of growth along a long abandoned trail until it reached the summit of the Middle Peak at 12:13 p.m. Moving westward, the team reached the ante-summit where it decided to abandon the descent on the western base in favor of speedy descent on the North Face. The team completed the descent on the fourth day in Sitio Canabawan and went on a hike for fours, covering additional 15 kilometers of road, before hitching a ride to Cadiz City. This is the first mountaineering ascent of Lantawan Pk.