Romeo Roberto "Romi" Garduce (born 1969 in Balanga,

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

), sometimes nicknamed as "Garduch," is a Filipino

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, a scuba dive master (since 2000), an environmentalist, writer,

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

and works as an IT professional. He began climbing mountains for a cause in 1991 as a member of the UP Mountaineers. Aside from being a mountain climber and IT professional, he became one of the host for the

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

public affair shows '' Born to Be Wild'' and ''

Pinoy Meets World ''Meets World'' () is a Philippine television travel documentary show broadcast by GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine com ...

''. He also hosted the GMA News and Public Affairs special entitled ''Pito Para sa Pilipino'' (''Seven for the Filipinos'') with

Richard Gutierrez Richard Kristian Gutierrez (born January 21, 1984) is a Filipino actor. He is regarded as the original "''Fantaserye King''" for top billing multiple hit television series. Gutierrez is a recipient of a FAMAS Award and three PMPC Star Awards fo ...

. Romi wrote and published his first book in October 2013, entitled ''Akyat! A Filipino's Journey to the Seven Summits''. The book chronicled his adventures and major climbs and expeditions. ''Akyat'' is a Filipino word that simply means "climb". After reaching the summit of

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

in 2002, Garduce became the first Filipino to climb one of the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

. On September 26, 2005, Romi Garduce became the first Filipino to ascend

Cho Oyu Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...

, a death zone peak at , then the highest mountain peak scaled by a Filipino. That record was broken by

Leo Oracion Leo Oración (born 1974) is a Filipino mountaineer and sportsman widely recognized as the first Filipino to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 17, 2006, at the age of 32. He reached the summit at 3:30 p.m. (local time), together with ...

on May 17, 2006, when he was the first to reach the peak of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

, the highest mountain on Earth, and planted the Filipino flag. Garduce reached the summit of Everest on May 19, 2006. Due to Garduce's feat, he was awarded an

Order of Lakandula The Order of Lakandula () is one of the highest civilian orders of the Philippines, established on September 19, 2003. It is awarded for political and civic merit and in memory of Lakandula’s dedication to the responsibilities of leadership ...

- Special Class of Champion for Life by then

Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

as well as one of The Outstanding Young Man (TOYM) of 2006 for his feats and service to community work. Garduce is the first, and to-date the only Filipino, who has climbed all Seven Summits, or the highest mountains in all continents following both

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

Messner Messner is a surname. It is an occupational name of Austro-Bavarian origin, in which dialect it means sacristan/Sexton (office), sexton. People with the name Messner include: * Carrie Messner (born 1977), American long-distance runner * Franz Jos ...

Seven Summits list.

Early life

Born in 1969, Garduce hails from the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Balanga in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. His father originally comes from Catarman,

Northern Samar Northern Samar (; ), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman, the most populous town in the province and is located at the northern portion of ...

and worked all his life at Subic. He finished high school at Tomas del Rosario College and graduated Bachelor of Science in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

major in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

from

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

in 1989.

Climbing career

He became a mountaineer after joining UP Mountaineers in 1991. On January 1, 2005, he was the first Filipino to climb the highest mountain outside Asia and the highest mountain in the Americas, Mt. Aconcagua, which was then the highest altitude reach by any Filipino. On September 26, 2005, Romi Garduce became the first Filipino to top out an 8000m peak,

, then the highest mountain scaled by a Filipino. On May 19, 2006, he climbed the summit of Mount Everest, his third Seven Summits Peak after Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. Garduce attempted to reach the peak of Mount Everest in an expedition sponsored by

concurrently with Leo Oracion's team, the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) and principally sponsored by

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

. On May 19, 2006, Garduce reached the summit of Mount Everest from the south ridge after

and

Erwin Emata Erwin "Pastor" Emata (born ca. 1973/1974 in Makilala, North Cotabato) is a mountain climber and a runner from the Philippines. In 2006, he became the second Filipino to climb Mount Everest. His achievement was recognized by then Philippine Pres ...

. After the Filipinos successfully reached Everest's peak, Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

, the first man to step in the peak of Everest, was interviewed by GMA Network in his

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

home. He congratulated the three Filipino men (Romi, Leo and Erwin) for their determination and gave his greatest respect to the Filipino expedition team. The Himalayan Database published by American Alpine Club had included Romi Garduce in the list of Everest South summiters for 2006. On August 25, 2007, Garduce reached the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus; ; is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the south ...

(18,510 foot-high or 5,642 meters),

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

's highest peak located in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

mountain range within

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's boundaries and the fourth of the Seven Summits that he reached. On June 6, 2008, 9:30pm Philippine Standard Time, Romi Garduce reached the summit of

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, making his fifth summit among the Seven Summits. Denali is the highest peak in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Only three out of their 9-man team made it to the Denali summit. Garduce climbed with a team from the American Alpine Institute (AAI). After Denali, Romi went on the climb

Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; ; Ngarigo: ) is the highest mountain of the mainland Australia, at above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, a part of the Australian Alps National Parks and ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 2009 and

Carstensz Pyramid Puncak Jaya (; literally "Victorious Peak", Amungme: ''Nemangkawi Ninggok'') or Carstensz Pyramid (, , ) on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the highest mountain peak of an island on Earth, and the highest peak in Indones ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

in 2011 with another Filipino, Levi Nayahangan. Finally, Garduce completed the

of the seven

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

s of the world last January 6, 2012 when he reached the peak of

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located ab ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. In November 2014, Romi completed his personal quest to "day-climb" Philippines' top five highest peaks, a project he called "5 peaks in 5 days." In 2015, he also climbed Makiling, a mountain in Laguna, Philippines, to prepare for his climb on Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal.

Writing and other careers

Aside from being a mountaineer, Garduce is a scuba diver master, an environmentalist, writer, motivational speaker, an IT professional, and a TV host. He works at

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

(Philippines) as systems manager of the financial reporting unit in the P&G office at

Petron Megaplaza The Petron Megaplaza is an office skyscraper located in Makati, Philippines. It previously held the title as the tallest building in the Philippines from 1998 to 2000 when the PBCom Tower was topped-off. It has a total ground to architectural s ...

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

. In 2006, Garduce became one of the hosts for ''Pinoy Meets World'' and, in 2007, he became one of the original presenters for the travel and wildlife show '' Born to Be Wild'' with

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

Ferdinand Recio. He appeared at one of the episodes of the children's educational show ''

Art Angel ''Art Angel'' is a Philippine television infotainment show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally hosted by Pia Arcangel, Tonipet Gaba and Krystal Reyes. It premiered on April 17, 2004. In 2010, Arcangel and Reyes left the show and were replace ...

''. He also hosted the special entitled ''Pito Para sa Pilipino'' (''Seven for the Filipinos'') with

. In October 2013, Romi launched his first book entitled ''Akyat! A Filipino's Journey to the Seven Summits ''at the Bonifacio High Street in

Bonifacio Global City Bonifacio Global City, also known as BGC, Global City, or The Fort, is a 240-hectare mixed-use estate and central business district located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Philippines. It is the home of the Philippine Stock Exchange, the national ...

. ''Akyat'' means "climb" in Filipino. The book tells his mountain climbing adventures and struggles as a mountain climber. He hoped to inspire people through his book. In September 2015, Garduce became a global ambassador for

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

and appeared in the said whiskey's commercial. In November 2015, Garduce briefly returned in ''Born to be Wild'' as guest host. In the episodes that he appeared, Garduce went to

Mount Makiling Mount Makiling (also spelled Maquiling) is an inactive stratovolcano located in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The mountain rises to an elevation of above mean sea level and is the highest feat ...

as part of his training to climb Mount Ama Dablam in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

Awards

* Garduce was given the Order of Lakandula with Special Class of Champion for Life in 2006 by then President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president ...

. * He was also named as one of The Outstanding Young Man (TOYM) of 2006 for his achievements and for serving the community. * Garduce, Oracion and Emata were featured on postage stamps in November 2006 issued by the Philippine Postage Corporation to honor their feats. * In 2017, he was one of the inaugural awardees of the History Maker Award by the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

Filmography

References

External links

Everest 2006: Philippine Everest 2006 ExpeditionRomi Garduce's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garduce, Romi 1969 births Living people People from Balanga, Bataan Filipino mountain climbers Filipino summiters of Mount Everest Filipino television personalities GMA Network (company) people GMA Integrated News and Public Affairs people Filipino motivational speakers Filipino writers University of Santo Tomas alumni Summiters of the Seven Summits Recipients of the Order of Lakandula