Mt. Banahaw

When: December 28-30, 1997
Where: Kinabuhayan, Quezon, Philippines
How Many: 6
Ascent Duration: 10 hours

The Birth of Sacrilege Mountaineers

Sacrilege Mountaineers was founded on December 27, 1997 at Mt. Banahaw. Those were the days when mountaineering had a big blast and became a popular weekend activity in our country. Though popular, mountaineers are still limited with the availability of mountaineering equipments unlike today. During the first year of the group, they had no name for their organization, every time they will sign up for a courtesy registration at a baranggay hall at the foot of the mountain, they are always asking each other on what will they put as the group's name, almost every climb, they put a different registration name for the group until one time, they decided to call themselves as Sacrilege Mountaineers. Why sacrilege? Its simply because of the lifestyles and extra curricular activities of its members. The pioneer members are individuals that co-existed during the early 90's Manila Underground Metal Scene, most of the members have their own bands that play Trash Metal, Death Metal and Blues music. One of the reasons why they came up too late in naming their group is because of the fact that they just climb mountains just to be at its peak and not to gain self recognition and popularity, a mountaineering club with a great name is nothing if you will not climb and conquer those high mountain peaks. Since their founding day they have been exploring different outdoor and historical destinations throughout the country.

Sacrilege Mountaineers was founded by six individuals namely: Alfred Bilog, Darwin dela Cruz, Geoffrey Tan, Geoffrey Aficial, Eugene Tacsiat, and Alexei Felicen. Five of them finished high school at Quezon City Academy except Alexei, which they met in their college years in AMA Computer University.

After their brutal climb at Mt. Banahaw and after they have developed their pictures, many of their friends who thought that mountaineering is a boring activity decided to join their group and bought their mountaineering equipments immediately. Most of the pioneering members of the sacrilege mountaineers who joined immediately are all rock-headed individuals that co-existed in the early days of the Metro Manila underground metal scene, most of them are members of different rock, blues, thrash, and death metal bands.

Since Mt. Banahaw offers a panoramic view at the summit, a cold temperature and a long enduring climb, it is indeed the favorite climbing destination of the Sacrilege Mountaineers.