By Peter Atencio

DESPITE logistical difficulties caused by an airport snafu, members of the Philippine Mount Everest Team are inching closer to their goal.

The seven-member group, headed by former Transportation Undersecretary Art Valdez, has reached the 10,000-foot mark of their planned ascent of Mt. Torq in Kinabalu, one of the highest peaks in Southeast Asia located in the eastern state of Sabah in Malaysia.

Using borrowed equipment, the group composed of Erwin ?Pastour? Emata, Philippine Coast Guard rescue doctor Ted Esguerra, Carina Dayondon, Janet Belarmino and Fred Jamili, reached the 10,000-foot mark at 5 p.m. Saturday.

They set camp from their location yesterday and spent the whole Sunday exploring and finding out ways how they could reach the summit of the 13,455-foot mountain through its most difficult route.

?Masyadong malamig dito sa gabi. We have been climbing using the same clothes we were wearing when we arrived. Humiram na lang kami ng gamit para matuloy lang ang akyat,? said Valdez in a telephone conversation with Standard Today through the mobile phone of Vince Rodriguez, ABS-CBN Studio 23 news director.

Rodriguez, a passionate outdoorsman himself, accompanied Valdez and his team in their quest.

?Despite having no gear, the Everest team continued its climb with just the clothes they flew in on and their hand-carried stuff to honor their commitment to the Sabah Tourism Board,? said Rodriguez.

Valdez said Emata and the rest of the team will begin their climb through a technically challenging path at the crack of dawn. He reported that the temperature has plummeted to zero degree Celcius at night.

Valdez?s party is negotiating the ferrata trail, a direct route to the summit, which is technically difficult because it requires the mountaineer to do some rock-climbing and will need special gadgets to accomplish the task.

The group has been forced to continue the climb without their gear and minimal clothing after Cebu Pacific mistakenly sent their luggage to Guanzhou, China. The error was discovered upon their arrival in Kuala Lumpur last Friday,

Valdez, who was the expedition leader when Leo Oracion and Emata climbed Mt. Everest in 2006, said the climb was organized upon the invitation of the Sabah Tourism Board.

Last year, Valdez quit as Tourism undersecretary when he began drafting plans to send Filipinos on top of the world?s highest mountain. Five mountaineers, who conquered Mt. Everest over the last two years, will tread uncharted territory next year.