DINAMLAGAN PEAK Mt. Silay, Negros Island, Philippines

Location: Elevation: First Ascent: General Features: Nearest Jump-Off:

HOMEPAGE (Singarong Backpackers)

NE of Brgy Gawahon in Victorias City, Negros Occ. It lies in the Central-West border of Mt Silay. 4,838 ft Unknown; First Mountaineering Ascent on October 3, 1998 by Singarong Backpackers team. Without inhabitants, this thickly forested peak lies adjacent to the west of a lower peak with inhabitants in its lower east base. The deep valley between the two peaks sustain Dinamlagan Creek which drains to the NE to Sicaba River. Its forest is second-growth in the lower part as a logging road cuts across its West Face, zigzagging over nine buttresess. It is home to the "kalaw" (Tarictic hornbill) and "sikop" (an eagle species). Barrio Gawahon, about 1.2 kms of ride from Victorias City (34kms South of Bacolod City.

MAINPAGE (Northern Negros)

DO YOU KNOW?            So far, only seven (7) mountaineers have successfully climbed Dinamlagan Peak until August 2007. The first to climb Dinamlagan are Dennis Ella and Pedro Palabrica who climbed it on the First Buttress on the West Face on October 3, 1998. Later, Glenn Sorbito became the third mountaineer to stand on this peak when he joined Dennis Ella for the first ascent of Tiniphagan Ridge (South Ridge) on April 18, 2003. Then on April 21, 2004 three mountaineers - Joseph Victor Magdato, Mark Anthony Maja and Aaron Cristal succeeded through the Southwest Ridge.

BACKGROUND MOUNTAINEERING HISTORY

The source of the Dinamlagan Creek, a tributary of Sicaba River to the north, the Dinamlagan is a complex of peaks The creek separates the minor Dinamlagan to the west and the Dinamlagan Main where the true summit is located. Further to the east of the Main is the East Wall with its awesome 3,500-foot wall called by the SB as the South Face. Naathagan Buttress lies at the extreme E of the South Face..             Mostly of second-growth forest, Dinamlagan has several logging trails. Supporting the northern tributaries of Malogo River (i.e. the Mariga-ok or Puting Tubig and Ubak or Pulang Tubig Creeks) , the East Wall aside from the upper reaches of the Main is covered by virgin forest. The threshold of the virgin forest, the South Ridge overlooks to the south the great Ubak Valley (SB coined this name) in the east of the Gawahon-Calaptan  chain.             The Dinamlagan Creek was reached by the members of the SB in 1996 through Binintigan. By the next year, the Dinamlagan Main was approached by the Ella-Dichoso exploration tandem (also of the SB) ahead of any other Victorias-based mountaineers late in 1997. On the same year, the SB saw for the first time the awesome South Face from Ubak Valley while on their quest for the passage from Gawahon to Tayap through the Eastern Interior (the backcountry east of the Gawahon wall).             Beating the SB in its quest, the BBMS and Green Alert hosted the 60-strong "Panikang-tikang" trekkers who started from Tayap in the south, passed in Ubak Valley and finished the trek in Gawahon in April 1998. The belated SB's Gawahon-Ubak-Tayap Traverse is only an attempt to reverse the route taken by the "Panikang-tikang".

Lush rainforest in the ravine of the Dinamlagan Southeast Ridge

Going for the peaks, the SB established the First Mountaineering Climb (FMC) of Dinamlagan Peak through the First Buttress on the West Face on October 3, 1998. In a bid to subdue the South Face, the SB set the FMC of the West Pinnacle, a promontory on the SouthRidge on October 16, 1998 through the dangerous Tiniphagan cliff. An obsession, the South Face succumbed finally on August 29, 1999 -almost a year after the first attempt through the Naathagan Buttress.              For all the mountaineering activities in this mountain, Dinamlagan virtually remains as the domain of the SB. Upon the invitation of the SB, Jeffrey Legaspi (NTCI President) was able to experience the untrammeled forest of Ten-Minute Camp below the South Ridge (renamed later as Tiniphagan Ridge by the SB). Legaspi had not yet seen the out-of-this-world Nagabusay Col with its virtual mangrove forest about 4,500 feet above sea level.

The South Face of Dinamlagan: For a long time, the Singarong Backpackers had assumed that it is the Mt. Silay. It was climbed by the Messner Team in a second attempt. Truly, it is one of the most exciting mountain ever climbed by the Team that climbs without guide and generally, without a topographical map.

RECORD CLIMBS

"First Mountaineering Climb of Dinamlagan Peak" First Buttress Ridge on the West Face (Oct. 3, 1998) SB: Dennis Ella and Pedro Plabrica Nonguided Exploratory Climb               Fresh from the summit climb of Gawahon, the tandem tackled the First Buttress Ridge and, in a day, reached a false summit. The true summit of Dinamlagan ( mistaken for quite sometime by the SB as the true summt of Mt. Silay) was soon clinched in desperate haste, jeopardizing proper orientation and timely return. On the return, the tandem suffered brief and tense confusion before recovering their bearing and arrived back to the spot where they left their backpacks (they deemed it necessary to climb the steep and thickly covered summit wall without much load) just close to nightfall. This is the First Mountaineering Ascent of Dinamlagan Peak.

"First Attempt of the South Face /Climb of West Pinnacle" Tiniphagan (Oct 16, 1998) SB: Dennis Ella, June Cristal, Pedro Palabrica and Regor Sildres Nonguided Exploratory Climb                Attempting to conquer the South Face on the East Wall and its pinnacle (then presumed as the true summit of Mt. Silay), the team left logging road in Ubak Valley for the base of the South Face. Negotiating over three steep ravines, the team reached the foot of Tiniphagan (a great expanse of an old  landslide that could be distinguished from as far as Patag) and from there went scrambling on the steep slope, sometimes doing near-vertical unprotected free climbing. Eventually, the team reached the top line of the Dinamlagan Southeast Ridge which they mistook for the summit line of the South Face. In the ensuing search for the pinnacle, the team unwittingly established the First Mountaineering Climb of West Pinnacle, the crest of the Southeast Ridge.                  (UPDATE) During the second climb on June 3, 2001, the SB learned that the West Pinnacle is not the highest point of the SE Ridge. Actually, it is a minor hump breaking the increasing elevation of the ridge. The hump is followed by a 2m descent to a level ridge-section stretching to about 20m before rising to a more steep angle. On the other hand,  the SE Ridge turned out to be a misnomer for a ridge that actually takes a succession of SE, S and SW turns. Aptly, the SB renamed the ridge as the "Tiniphagan Ridge" after its prominent landmark - the massive 'tiniphagan' or landslide in the SE section.

"Second Attempt of the South Face" Naathagan Buttress on the South Face (August 29, 1999) SB: Dennis Ella, Pedro Palabrica and Mariebelle Porras Nonguided Exploratory Climb                On a scouting trip to determine a southern approach to Sicaba, the Ella-Sildres scouting party discovered unintentionally on Dec. 25, 1998 the Naathagan Buttress which is a suitable route for the conquest of the South Face. This was the time too that the SB realized their blatantly erroneous assumption that they had already climbed the South Face.                 Thus, with a more accurate perspective, the SB team hurdled in August 1999 the Naathagan Buttress which is littered by rock boulders, some of which required technical climb applications. After bivoucking for a night on the buttress and utilizing much of their water supply, the team clinched the summit ridge (the conquest of the South Face) before noon of the

next day. The pervading presence of the fog and their inability to define either the Central Butress  or the South Ridge, caused a harrowing detour to the northeast for the descent. In this climb, the SB established the First Mountaineering Climb of Makawili Peak, the pinncale of the South Face.

View from the Naathagan Buttress: The adjoining ridge with a sudden cut is the Central Buttress and the great valley is christened by the SB as the Ubak Valley - the Mt. Silay headsource of Malogo River.

"First Attempt of the Southwest Ridge" Southwest Ridge (May 28-30, 2001) SB: Aaron Cristal, Joseph Magdato, Rodel Loredo* and Victor Sotelo* Nonguided Exploratory Climb                Accompanied by four members of the Messner Team, the climbing party (membership applicants to Singarong Backpackers) arrived at 7:00 p.m. on the first day in Ridge Camp, situated in the Gawahon-Dinamlagan col rising at an elevation of about 4,000 ft. ASL. By12:00 noon on the second day, the climbing party started the assault by hacking a trail up the Southwest Ridge. A half hour later, Victor Sotelo, stepping on loose footing, fell over the ridge. Luckily, his arms caught the stems of 'bariw' arresting his fall. With minor bruises and slight bleeding on the forehead, Victor was led down back to Ridge Camp from a high a point at 700 ft below the summit.                 The first attempt by mountaineers on the Southwest Ridge, the climb was cancelled and they return home on the third day.                   Note: * - Non-member of Singarong Backpackers

"First Attempt of Tiniphagan  Ridge" Tiniphagan Ridge (June 2-3, 2001) SB: Dennis Ella , Mariebelle Porras, Aaron Cristal and Joseph Magdato Nonguided Exploratory Climb                In the first day, the MT party with two applicants set up camp below SW of the Gawahon-Dinamlagan col - in Ten-Minute Camp. By the second day, at exactly 6:38 p.m., three climbers (Porras stayed in the camp) set out for the 2-hour lightload push to the Dinamlagan summit through Tiniphagan Ridge(the South Ridge). Upon reaching the West Pinnacle 26 minutes later, the climbing party went further expecting the summit-wall. Instead of the wall, the party encountered a steep ridge section following the 20m level stretch. With no more signs of passage, the ridge increased in angle until the party reached the crux segment - a 70-degree ridge covered exceptionally by a dense growth of 'salindugok' fern. Thrice the party probed for a passage over the growth before it could find a passable route that demanded a tiring foot-and-hand trashing of the growth and strenuous scrambling with the use of fern leaves as hand-holds. After half an hour of struggle over this section alone, the party encountered other and different obstacles - mossy rock-boulders that rots in comtinuos exposure to dampness or moisture. About 300 feet below the summit, the party paused as it arrived at its turn-around time. The party retreated, broke camp and returned to Barrio Gawahon in three hours to catch the scheduled trip to the city.                 Indicators point out that Tiniphagan Ridge which has no established trail in the upper reaches is UNCLIMBED.

Summit View (First Ascent of Tiniphagan Ridge): view of Tingtingon-Diotay and Tingtingon Dako and Mt Mandalagan in the background.

"First Ascent of Tiniphagan Ridge" Tiniphagan Ridge (April 17-19, 2003) SB: Dennis Ella and Glenn Sorbito Nonguided Exploratory Climb                From Brgy.Gawahon, the tandem trekked on the first day to the base camp (Ten-Minute Camp) below South of Gawahon-Dnamlagan col and arrived at 6:09 p.m. On the second day, the tandem retraced the route of the 2001 team and at 11:25 am. decided to set up an advance camp at 4,150 ft ASL on Tiniphagan Ridge (the South Ridge), abandoning altogether the plan for a summit bivouac and a traverse to the West side. The ascent was resumed at 1:00 p.m. and after an hour, the tandem went past the high point of the 2001 climb (600 ft below summit). Here Dennis began to use his jungle bolo to clear a very dense growth while Glenn took over the burden of the summit pack. Past the turnaround at 3:00p.m., the tandem topped the Ridge at 3:31 p.m. A brief walk to the East (30ft E of the 1998 summit point) afforeded them a great view of the Mt Silay half-crater and the outline of Mt Dinamlagan. Tweby minutes later, the tandem quitted the summit and arrived at advance camp at 4:41 p.m.                 The descent by backtracking on the third day was tense when the tandem went past the fork to Ten-Minute Camp by as much as 1km down the ridge. Aborting a hasty decision to traverse across the valley that could have caused a 3-hour delay, the tandem backtracked and found the fork. They arrived back in Gawahon past lunchtime.                  This is the First Ascent of Tiniphagan Ridge. Glenn Sorbito became the third mountaineer to summit Dinamlagan Pk and it was Dennis Ella's second oppurtunity to top Dinamlagan.

"First Ascent of the Southwest Ridge" Southwest Ridge (April 20-22, 2004) SB: Joseph Victor Magdato, Aaron Cristal and Mark Anthony Maja Nonguided Exploratory Climb                From the high base in Ridge Camp (elevation 3,750 ft ASL) where it spent the night on April 20, the climbing team commenced the assault of the remaining 1,000-foot vertical distance to the summit early in the morning on the second day. The team discovered a decaying foot-trail on the wooded Southwest Ridge, past the high point of the 2001 team.                 Tension mounted nearly two hours into the ascent that consist of walk-up and scramble on the steep ridge when the team encountered a 20-foot barren rock beneath the summit-ridge. By leaving behind their backpacks, the climbing team  was able to surmount the rock without protection, sorely at the cost of loosing the chance for a summit camp.                 After the rock, the team enjoyed an easy northward amble along the summit ridge, climbed a 20-foot rise and lashed its club pennant on the summit at 10:30 a.m.                For the team, it earned the distinction of the First Mountaineering Ascent of the Southwest Ridge. In the individual level, Joseph earned the distinction as the fourth mountaineer to climb Dinamlagan Pk, Aaron the fifth and Mark Anthony the fourth.

"Dinamlagan West Pk Ascent" Southern Side (February 2005) Freelanceers: Nolan Hinolan and Jhon Paul Salcedo Nonguided Exploratory Climb                From Brgy Gawahon, the two climbers followed the logging road on the sowuthwest side of Dinamlagan West Peak, a minor peak of Dinamlagan, stamnding at 3,148 ft. On the second day, the discovered a trail to the summit from the threshold of the Gawahon Northwest Ridge linking the peak to Gawahon Pk and completed the ascent.