Vertical rock royalty

Acrophobia or the fear of heights just met its match. No, it doesn’t involve joining Amazing Race Asia and having to bungee jump in New Zealand. The best solution right at Cebu’s own backyard? Rock climbing.

Even one of the country’s top rock climbers (number one in the Philippines and second in Southeast Asia for bouldering in 2005, according to the Southeast Asia Climbing Federation) used to get woozy when in high places.

“All of us probably got scared of heights at one point in our lives. But if you climb often, you can forget that feeling,” said Junjun Vidal, a Cebuano and one of the mainstays in the national sports climbing team.

The 24-year old started climbing in 1998. A self-confessed lover of “rad stuff”, he also ventures into downhill moto cross racing, mixed martial arts, surfing, skim boarding, carving, sport climbing, wind surfing, road biking, Ultimate Frisbee, freestyle skydiving, and caving.

A normal schedule for this Cebu International School rock climbing coach would be surfing with friends in Minglanilla, racing downhill in Manila the next day, and bouldering in Cebu the day after.

Apparently, acrophobia and a whole lot of other kinds of phobias are foreign to his system.

“It’s in the blood for me. My older brother, Ramon, was the first Cebuano to compete in the Asian Cup in Singapore in 1991. He got fourth place in difficulty climbing,” related Vidal. “Everyone can certainly love this sport. It just takes guts. For me, climbing is like heavy yoga. The flexibility and mental energy needed are important.”

Vidal said that in sport climbing, there are three different kinds: bouldering, speed and difficulty.

The first one, his forte, usually brings up images of an 18-foot wall and a crush pad. Difficulty climbing deals with a smaller wall, while speed climbing walls are so much higher at 40 feet, and the climber (while attached to a rope for safety) races to the top with an opponent. Vidal should know. His rank is seventh in the country when it comes to speed.

From crimps to open hand grips, slopers to underclings, sport climbing toughens up every muscle in the body, and reinforces strength, flexibility, endurance and skill. Climbers reach with both hands and feet from one hold to the next, and the determination to get to the top often leaves many a beginner looking like a lost Spiderman splattered on a rock surface.

Still though, sore forearms and calf muscles aside, once a beginner finishes learning how to tie safety knots and fasten harnesses, the natural high of sport climbing takes over.

For city-loving individuals, indoor climbing facilities are available, most recommended of which is Power Up Center Climbing Gym in Silver City Mall, Pasig City. A climbing wall, with artificially constructed hand and feet grips and textured surfaces, will be used. As one progresses in climbing prowess, the more difficult the climbing gets. This is through different route markers (usually tape in different colors) that a climber is assigned to.

Bouldering can also be done both indoor and outdoor, through artificial man-made boulders or large boulders. With some loose, powdered chalk, climbing shoes and a brush (for cleaning holds on natural boulders), one is good to go.

“The most important thing is safety first,” added Vidal. “The best place to practice indoors is at Metro Sports Vertigo Climbing Center (www.habagat.com) in Salinas Drive. For outdoor climbing, it’s definitely Cantabaco in Toledo City.”

Barangay Cantabaco is five minutes from Barangay Lutopan. Sport climbing development there started in October 2005. What’s more, there’s also outdoor bouldering in Malubog, Cebu.

Vidal promotes climbing in the country, saying, “Filipinos should try sport climbing because it one can get a sense of achievement mentally and physically. Sport climbing is big in the country right now.”

With the Purisho Internacionale Bouldering Competition his month at the Mall of Asia, that last statement will surely be proven left and right as Filipinos battle it out with their foreign counterparts in this competition of skill, strength and technique.

One can already imagine Vidal rubbing his hands together, smiling as he says, “I can’t wait.”

*published in the September 20, 2008 issue of Sun Star Weekend.