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Rock Climbing in Wawa, Montalban

February 12, 2014 24 comments
Rock Climbing in Wawa Montalban

A route with a view. Photo courtesy of Dennis Pagayon

Wawa in Montalban/Rodriguez, Rizal is a well known destination for mountain bikers in Metro Manila. But this little rural village on the foothills of the Sierra Madre is also a mecca for another tribe of outdoor sports enthusiasts. Rock climbers flock to Wawa Montalban because of its limestone cliffs which offer some of the finest and most challenging climbing in the Philippines.

In my ten year on-and-off love affair with climbing, Wawa has always occupied a special spot. The first time I went there, I gazed stupefied at its cliffs. I did not know that there were walls like that so near to Manila. I’ve gone there two more times since my first visit, and it has never been boring. Just looking at the cliffs can make you dizzy with both dread and anticipation. With some crags shooting up more than a hundred feet, you need to be a real badass to try to scale them. Read more [+]

Relief Efforts for Yolanda Victims by the Outdoor Community

November 20, 2013 Comments off
Power Up Gym's Relief Operations for Yolanda Victims

Volunteers repack relief goods at Power Up Gym in Tandang Sora. The goods were directly transported to the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar. Photo grabbed from Power Up Climbing Gym’s FB page

I had a lot of stories lined up for the blog. But when Supertyphoon Yolanda slammed into the country, writing about biking, running, climbing and other activities I enjoyed just didn’t seem appropriate.

Amid the destruction and suffering wrought by this horrifying force of nature, it just didn’t seem right to post anything that suggested happiness. Against this backdrop of demolished houses, bloated corpses and wounded desperate human beings, stories about biking up and down a steep hill, or breaking a personal running record not only seemed trivial but also insensitive. Read more [+]

Wall Climbing in Power Up R.O.X.

August 8, 2013 3 comments

Young girl climbing at Power Up ROXPower Up ROX in Bonifacio Global City is the youngest sibling in the venerable climbing gym’s chain of indoor walls. Apparently, it also attracts the youngest of the climbing crowd.

I went to ROX last week to sign up for the upcoming Nature’s Trail Discovery Run. I also wanted to check out the indoor wall there which was put up only in May last year. Having visited ROX several times before, I wasn’t sure how they could have fit a 40-foot climbing wall in the building. Read more [+]

Wall Climbing in Power Up Centro Atletico, Cubao

May 23, 2013 7 comments

Cubao has a climbing gym!

Cubao isn’t really known as a wall climbing destination. While it has recently become a mecca for hipsters who like to hang out in Cubao X, the area has yet to attain a rep for the more vertically inclined. But it should.

Unknown to a lot of people, there’s actually a Power Up climbing gym just a few minutes away from the Araneta Center. The gym is part of Centro Atletico which features an excellent badminton court, a TRX gym, and a snack bar. Read more [+]

Slacker In Motion

September 24, 2012 Comments off

Fitness and physical excellence are secondary to the pleasures of the play.

Another blog about outdoor stuff? Why not?

For some time now I’ve been toying with the idea of setting up a website about the fitness activities I’ve grown to enjoy. I used to do websites before and I kinda missed tinkering with design and content. However, I kept putting off developing this site on fears that I might be mistaken for a hardcore fitness buff. The mere thought of this was horrifying. Obsessing about abs, and counting calories have never been my thing. And beer, donuts and crispy sisig will always be part of my checklist for nourishment.

This is not really a journal on how to be healthy. Getting mistaken for a fitness guru ranks up there in my list of nightmares, along with getting exiled to a country where booze is illegal, and the possible return of dialup internet. Read more [+]

Upgraditis or Gear Lust

September 21, 2012 19 comments

How do you muster up the fortitude to resist buying new gear when your current ones still work?

So you just bought those new top-of-the-line racing flats. They look great, feel even greater, and they just cost you half a month’s salary. Expensive? Who cares? Because after a week of breaking them in, you feel like you could challenge Dean Karnazes to an ultra smackdown! Hey, bring it on Bikila. Usain Bolt, your days are numbered haha!

But a week later, you pass by your favorite running store. Something catches your attention. What are those things on display? What are those bright, shiny, gorgeous, kickass things? Salivate. Drool. They whisper to you: “Come to me baby… Take me home… Bring me home now and I’ll show you all the pleasures of the world…” Read more [+]