Dale Abenojar

Dale Sto. Tomas Abenojar (born April 27, 1963) is a Filipino mountaineer and an adventure sportsman and a mountain guide by profession. He is the founder of an evangelical Christian ministry called Gospel Expedition Ministries. He graduated from Living Waters' U.S.A. School of Biblical Evangelism in 1995 and is now a practicing missionary evangelist. In 2006, he was recognized as "the first Filipino" to reach the summit of Mount Everest by veteran Himalayan expedition chronicler Elizabeth Hawley. According to Hawley Dale reached the summit on May 15, 2006. Abenojar was certified by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) on May 20, 2006 to have summitted Everest via the North Col on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 a.m. Beijing time.

Dale was a former member of the University of the Philippines Mountaineers. He was the first Filipino to publicly announce the intention to climb Everest in 1994. His intention drew criticism from Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines headed by Rolando Francisco. The MFPI then wrote a letter to the President of the Philippines not to support his Everest Expedition.

Many are skeptical that he made it to the summit and was actually able to scale the highest mountain in the world. Dale Abenojar, whose lifelong dream it was to conquer Mount Everest, and was the First Filipino to publicly announce his intention to do so back in 1994, claims he did and has proof to show for it.

On August 4, 2006, Dale's documentary film "CHILD IN EVEREST" was shown to family, friends, supporters, media and representatives of the Philippine government. Curator of Malacañang Museum is now evaluating of giving Dale the presidential citation and recognition of "Champions for Life.". On June 18, 2007, the Office of the President of the Philippines Malacañang sent an official invitation to Abenojar for his conferment of the Presidential Award on June 20, 2007.

After 10 years he resumed his bid to climb Everest. He pawned his car, a Range Rover to support his climb. During the early stage of his expedition he took a short alpine mountaineering course provided by his Sherpa and was given proper acclimatization. In performing the first acclimatization in North Col Dale spewed blood due to lung infection. He was brought down with the assistance of two Sherpas and treated by the Indian doctor in Base Camp. After recuperating he then proceeded to assault the summit. His summit assault was monitored by radio communication between Monterosa Treks and Expeditions camp manager Ram Krishna and Abenojar's lead trekking guide Tsiring Jangbu Sherpa from China Base Camp at 5400m on May 10, Advance Base Camp at 6400m on May 10, North Col-Camp 1 at 7000m on May 12, Camp 2 at 7900m on May 13, Camp 3 at 8300m on May 14 and on the summit day at 8848m on May 15, 2006 at 10:45 a.m. Beijing time.

Newspapers in the Philippines reported a bitter rivalry between the maverick Dale Abenojar, who claimed the first Filipino ascent via the Northeast Ridge on May 15, and a national team that reached the summit from the south side two days later. The news was first reported in Philippine media on May 17, 2006 by GMA 7 and ABS-CBN, but actually first came to light through a posting on May 16, 2006 by Outdoor News Wire and Mt. Everest.Net.

Sherpa denies saying Abenojar failed in Everest attempt. A Nepali porter and guide (Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa) denied telling the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) that 44-year-old Filipino adventure sportsman Dale Abenojar did not reach the top of Mount Everest on May 15, 2006. In a telephone interview from Nepal made by Philippine STAR newspaper reporter Allan Rainier Ronda, Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa told The Philippine STAR he had not spoken with Dr. Ted Esguerra, the erstwhile expedition doctor of FPMEE or anybody from that group. "I didn’t talk to anybody", Tshiring said. "He (Abenojar) reached the top. That is the truth." Tshiring, who guided Abenojar to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, said the summit certificate issued by the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) to Abenojar should be accepted as final authority. "They (CTMA) interviewed Dale and asked him about his experience, Tshiring said. "I was also interviewed. But not together, you know. And the other climbers who climbed to the top on that day were interviewed. And from the interviews, they issue the certificates." According to Abenojar’s certificate, the CTMA certified that he had reached the summit of Mount Everest in the morning of May 15, 2006 through Tibet, China or north slope or north col of the legendary peak. The FPMEE has persistently disputed Abenojar’s feat of outracing their two members Leo Oracion and Erwin "Pastor" Emata, who had climbed to the top of Mount Everest via the Nepal side or the south slope and reached it on May 17 and 18, 2006. The FPMEE had dismissed Abenojar’s CTMA summit certificate as a "forgery" and his claim a "hoax", and maintained that Oracion and Emata were the first and second Filipinos to conquer Mount Everest.

On May 15, 2006 at 10:45 am Chinese time (8:45 am Nepal time), with neither financial backing nor high altitude mountaineering experience, Dale made it and indeed fulfilled his lifelong dream of getting to the top of Mt. Everest. It wasn't easy. He had lost his left big toe to frostbite.

Dale Abenojar is the 2,614th Everest summiteer. In contrast, Leo Oracion is the 2,740th Everest summiteer. Both Abenojar and Oracion is in the full list of successful ascents of Mount Everest from 1953 to 13 February 2009 in pdf file submitted by German Himalayan Archivist and former adventurestats.com compiler Eberhard Jurgalski of 8000ers.com. The Himalayan DataBase published by American Alpine Club had included Dale in the list of Everest North summitteers for Spring 2006 on May 15.

Sherpas say Abenojar did not reach summit. According to Dr. Ted Esguerra, the erstwhile FPMEE expedition doctor of the disbanded First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) team revealed that the Nepali Sherpas (Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa and Pasang Dorchi Sherpa) who escorted Dale Abenojar, the 43-year-old Filipino adventure sportsman who claims to have reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain last year, are now denying that he accomplished the feat. Dr. Esguerra who is now in China Base Camp in Tibet providing support to the three Filipinas attempting to become the first Southeast Asian women to reach the top of Mount Everest this 2007 climbing season, he had talked with Abenojars' Sherpas and gotten their statements that Abenojar had climbed only up to the height of 8,000 meters of the 8844.43-meter or 29,017-foot-tall mountain last May (2006). "We have the video interview", Esguerra told The Philippine STAR newspaper reporter Allan Rainier Ronda in a text message from China Base Camp in Tibet.