Between 1920 and 1952, seven major expeditions had failed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 1924, the famous mountaineer George Leigh-Mallory had perished in the attempt. In 1952, a team of Swiss climbers had been forced to turn back after reaching the south peak, only 1000 feet from the summit.

Edmund Hillary joined in Everest reconnaissance expeditions in 1951 and again in 1952. These exploits brought Hillary to the attention of Sir John Hunt, leader of an expedition sponsored by the Joint Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club of Great Britain and the Royal Geographic Society to make the assault on Everest in 1953.

The expedition reached the South Peak on May, but all but two of the climbers who had come this far were forced to turn back by exhaustion at the high altitude. At last, Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a native Nepalese climber who had participated in five previous Everest trips, were the only members of the party able to make the final assault on the summit.

At 11:30 on the morning of May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit, 29,028 feet above sea level, the highest spot on earth. Edmund Hillary returned to Britain with the other climbers and was knighted by the Queen.

Now world famous, Sir Edmund Hillary turned to Antarctic exploration and led the New Zealand section of the Trans-Antarctic expedition from 1955 to 1958. In 1958 he participated in the first mechanized expedition to the South Pole.

Hillary went on to organize further mountain-climbing expeditions but, as the years passed, he became more and more concerned with the welfare of the Nepalese people. In the 1960s, he returned to Nepal, to aid in the development of the society, building clinics, hospitals and 17 schools.

Hillary was born in 1919 and grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. It was in New Zealand that he became interested in mountain climbing. Although he made his living as a beekeeper, he climbed mountains in New Zealand, then in the Alps, and finally in the Himalayas, where he made his mark in history.

Have you ever thought of traveling to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone? To be honest with you, I have always belonged to the first two groups I described above. When I travel, I want to stay at the most comfortable hotel I can afford. I want to do things that I am not “afraid” of doing. I stay away from anything that might keep me away from my comforts.

Then I tried traveling with different sets of friends. Suffice it to say that I am experiencing a paradigm shift.

During my past few trips, I had some new experiences that I probably wouldn’t have even considered before.

1. I stayed at a backpacker’s hotel. (Well, it was still not a “real” hostel, but it was interesting.)
2. I walked around a strange city to discover it. (No cabs for a while.)
3. I stayed at a camp site. (I didn’t sleep in a tent, but the room didn’t have its own bathroom!)
4. I went on a trek – to a volcano’s crater, no less!
5. I took a bus back to the city alone. (Well, with my friend, but not with the person I am used to traveling with.)

In the next few months, I already have a rough sketch of what I am going to do as I discover more places. I am going to push myself to leave that comfort zone. Little by little, I get to see the world with a different set of eyes. I challenge you to do the same!

The fact that it erupted fairly recently and that you can hike right up to the crater is too tempting to resist. Even more so, the sight that greets you at the end of the trek is enough to entice anyone – even those who wouldn’t normally go hiking. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

That’s my first view of the crater. The eruption created this gorgeous lake, the depth of which is currently undetermined. I had seen pictures of this view so many times before but nothing prepared me for the real thing.

Yes, you can go swimming in the lake. The water is perfect! At first it may seem too cold but the sun is hot enough to keep you warm.

There are different routes you can take to the crater – we chose the easiest one. We drove all the way to Capas, Tarlac, where the famed Pinatubo Spa is located. We met our guide there, who took us near the crater on a 4×4. That ride lasted about an hour (rough road all the way!), while the trek lasted about 30 minutes. According to the sign below, we’re way older than senior citizens!

I say who cares? The experience was worth everything!

Running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. I have heard and read about this festival since I was a child, and recently a friend told me that he experienced it for himself. Now this guy is a total adrenaline junkie and is not afraid of animals, so he had a blast. I don’t know if I can actually do it, but it’s worth thinking about.

Swimming with dolphins in New Zealand. Let me tell you that I am not a very good swimmer so this is probably a bad idea, but dolphins are supposed to be friendly to us humans, so why not?

Riding a motorcycle-taxi in Thailand. Yes! I have actually tried this. And no, it is not that bad. I guess coming from the Philippines has its advantages! For Westerners, it might be the adrenaline rush that you have been yearning for.

If these are too lame for you, check the book out for yourself and make your own list!

Now, the city government and the Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB) are working in tandem to promote the city as a new adventure destination. The Philippine Information Agency reports:

“We will be promoting Baguio, not as the usual tourist destination, but as a place where people (tourists) has a lot other things to do, where adventure begins,” De Leon said.

In the forum, BCVB Executive Director Amboy Guevara, presented the new tourism map they have designed and the pavilion that they will be creating for the PTM. He also presented the new adventure destination and packages that BCVB will be promoting.

The adventure packages involve rapelling, rock climbing, river surfing, airsoft fun games, fishing kayaking, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), cave tours, Balatoc Mines tour and trekking, among others.

For the adventure package destinations, it includes Ambuclao and Binga Dam, the Ambongdolan cluster of caves in Tublay, Mt Pulag and the Bulalakao Lake of Kabayan and Mt Sto Tomas in Tuba.

Traveling in the Philippines may not be as easy as it is in European and American cities but buses, airplanes, and car rentals make Baguio a very accessible destination from the capital, Manila. If you’re looking for something different, check out what Baguio has to offer.