Words by Noel Cabauatan. Photos by Nick Aguilos and Arjun'a Actub.

​Mackie Makinano and his team are definitely pushing the boundaries of Philippine climbing with their recent feat of bolting and free climbing one of Quezon, Bukidnon's biggest walls.
 
"Unang bolt pa lang, tuwang-tuwa na ako," 
"Even with just the first bolt in, I was already happy"

​Are you looking for a new pastime? An escape from the daily grind? Perhaps a break from your usual fitness activity?

Or maybe you’re just bored and want to try something you’ve never done before?
 
Whatever it is that led you to these pages, we're glad you found your way here. This post hopes to broadcast the less-highlighted but equally-important truths about the sport of climbing. (And yes, climbing is a legitimate sport, World Cups and our own Philippine Team and all!)
 
Just to be clear, this is not a guide to fulfilling your elite climber ambition, though tips will surely be scattered here and there. This is more about sharing the less-hyped parts of being a climber, to give you a well-rounded perspective of why more and more people are drawn to it, and why it’s far more than an activity to tick off your bucket list. 
 
Whether you've only tried "wall-climbing" in a school fair or some expo, or even if you’ve already visited a climbing gym a couple of times, our goal is to cast out any doubts you have about dipping your finger into the sport. Because the last thing we want are for newbie climbers to have crushed expectations after seeing the reality. 

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

​We welcome any sort of feedback to the mini-guide that we made. Please give us a shout out at [email protected] for that, or leave a comment below. Climb on!

Last update: April 1, 2018.

​So maybe you're not yet in the Philippines, but we might as well give you a warm welcome, right?

That's the point of this site anyway. We want to make climbing as fun, accessible and safe as it can be to anyone, a climbing newbie or not! And if you're a first time visitor to our country, we've prepared this write-up of what you can expect if you plan on sampling the rock climbing in our tropical islands.

Tara! (Let's go!) 

No granite or sandstone here.

Climbing in the Philippines will force you to love limestone. Our crags offer a range of types—some young and soft, others old and bullet-hard; some sharp and skin-biting, others smooth and slimy.

To sample the variety, Dingle’s Nautod Wall (Iloilo) has inconspicuous angles that result in unidentifiable shadows, making it easy for the newcomer’s eye to pass off slopers for jugs. Cantabaco (Cebu) is fun for on-sighting with smooth pockets and large cracks pasted over a clean, “highway”-like surface.

​Kuya Mackie

Known ubiquitously as Kuya Mackie throughout the Philippine climbing community, Carlos Makinano Jr. has his bolting routine down pat. He is, after all, responsible for developing nearly every major rock climbing area in the country since the year 2000.

As soon as we hit the tarmac in Davao International Airport, Kuya Mackie is on his phone coordinating with Davao-based rock climbing advocate and bolting apprentice, Chico Pace, regarding the rental of an FX-type taxi, which would shave hours off our journey to the Municipality of Quezon in Bukidnon.
​

By Miel

We all go through different phases of development in the different areas of life, from work, to recreation and sports. Many times, the learning curve is too steep that we just give up and move on, and try to find something that is more appealing or more in vogue.

​But no matter what we choose, we still end up going through the beginner, advanced and mastery phases. There is so much joy and pain that go hand in hand in that whole journey towards personal growth. 

For a number of years I was centered on looking to improve just myself, always looking for the hardest lines, and the areas with the most concentration of routes to ensure maximum use of my time and effort. Through this whole process I ended up in isolation and was in a mental paradox of finding the path to get past that plateau. 

I learned that this is the same for a lot of climbers. ​

By Ina
Read Part 1 here!

There’s more to bolting than drilling holes and installing hangers. Sure, we bolt primarily to let climbers climb crazy cliffs in a safe way, but there are other things to ready apart from the hardware.

Don’t get us wrong. The safety aspect of bolting must never be emphasized enough. In fact, references on bolting will always say: Make sure you have all the right equipment, and make sure you KNOW how to use them. 

It’s important to have the correct type of bolt, because some rock are softer than others (depending on type, age, etc.). Factor in the crag’s location – many have witnessed intense metal corrosion on seaside crags. 

By Ina

Many questions were already in my head before my first bolting experience in Cebu:

Am I equipped to do it – in terms of both equipment and technical skill? Do I have the right gear? How do I know where to place a bolt? What happens if I drill a hole in the wrong spot? 

So I was only relieved that Kuya Mackie took me under his wing (and not Miel, who would surely have lost his patience with me).  

By Ina

I can't remember the last time I went off work for more than a week and did climbing "full-time". But after years of waiting, the stars have finally aligned, and I was able to take an extended climbing trip with my husband again. Though it wasn't to any of our dream destinations, nor was it a long trip like our last major one way back in 2008, it was a good two weeks spent at Baguio and Cebu, digging deeper about all things climbing-related, and being reminded of what truly matters.

Like knowing my climbing roots and not taking for granted the things I am enjoying today. As a gym-bred urban climber, it's so easy to fall into the trap of learning how to scale a wall and hitting the cliffs without even noticing the state of our crags or the little communities surrounding it. But knowing our roots is part and parcel of growing our crags...I know it may sound silly to say that to move forward we must also look back, but that's because, it's only when we understand how much work was put into an area's development -- from the "turf wars", bolting issues, logistical limitations, local community relations, down to the actual effort of route bolting and clean-ups -- will we put the supreme effort to maintain it and make sure the area is not sullied or spoiled, and that the local community won’t be left uneducated or the local ties strained.