By Peter Atencio

THE seven-member Mt. Everest Team, led by former Transportation Undersecretary Art Valdez, made the summit of Mt. Torq?Southeast Asia?s highest peak?in Kota Kinabalu at the crack of dawn yesterday and stayed there only for an hour due to bad weather.

The group actually reached the peak by 5 a.m., and stayed for only an hour. By 3 p.m., the Filipinos were back in base camp.

?We couldn?t stay very long. The weather was bad. It was raining last night until this morning,? said Valdez when contacted by Standard Today at their camp.

Valdez said he and his group were amazed at the sight of the trails when they went up the 13,455-foot Mt. Kinabalu through the via ferrata trail, considered as the world?s highest trail located along Mt. Torq.

The via ferrata, which means iron road in Italian, is a winding mountain path which consists of steel rungs, rails and cables embedded into the rock face.

Experienced rock climbers and mountaineers like Valdez and his party can only negotiate this route with the use of specialized gear.

The via ferrata?s lowest point is at 11,190 feet while the highest is 12,388.451 feet.

The highlight of the route includes one of the world?s highest suspension bridges located 11,811 feet above sea level as well as the three cable Nepalese bridges at 11,745.407 feet, also among the highest in the world.

Aside from Valdez, the other members of the group are Mt. Everest summiteer Erwin ?Pastour? Emata, Philippine Coast Guard rescue doctor Ted Esguerra, Carina Dayondon, Janet Belarmino, Fred Jamili and ABS-CBN news director Vince Rodriguez.

Valdez said it is difficult to negotiate the challenges without the proper gear because of the technical difficulties they offer.

?Hindi pwedeng walang gamit, dahil madidisgrasya ka,? added Valdez a few hours after they left for Manila last night.

The contingent was accompanied by guides known as ?Sabahans? who have in-depth knowledge of Mt. Kinabalu?s unique terrain and characteristics, and have also lent them equipment like poles, harnesses and carbineers.

Valdez and his group later narrated about their climb during a press conference organized by the Sabah Tourism Board, which invited them to go for a climb.

?It was really an adventure trail, and in three days, we were able to do our climb,? added Valdez, who said the guides provided them safety lines, which when attached to the fixed ropes along the via ferrata, helped them tackle the difficult trails.

The group actually used borrowed equipment after their gear, together with their other luggage, were mistakenly sent to Guanzhou, China, instead of their jumping point in Kuala Lumpur.