Philippine Climbers Building Their Own Future

Among the limestone cliffs of the Philippines, a new generation of climbing leaders are emerging to steward the evolution of their crags and communities.

The Iloilo Climbing Community is a collective of climbers—students, professionals, parents, and friends—dedicated to the future of climbing on their island. With expansive rock faces and an increasing population of new climbers, the ICC came together in pursuit of the safety and growth of their community.

From origins to expansion

The Philippine Island archipelago has been quietly growing as a climbing destination for more than 30 years. International climbing tourists are very familiar with the climbing offerings of Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. But within Southeast Asia, the Philippines has flown discreetly under the radar.

The reason: climbing development was primarily led by a small group of climbers from Manila, without a ton of involvement by international developers to spread the word. Until recently, the Philippines had no climbing tourism infrastructure to host visiting climbers. As a result, it hasn’t received much coverage in international climbing media. Instead, pockets of local climbers have emerged on specific islands, savoring the hidden and secluded nature of their jungle cliffs.

In recent years, with the birth of local gyms, climbing has been on the rise in the Philippines. But there has been a gap of expertise in how to build a local climbing nonprofit, encourage the growth of an inclusive community, safely establish new routes, and replace aging hardware.

Wilson Adolfo climbs Pinanga, a pitch on Pocket Wall in Danao, Cebu, Philippines. Photo by Nick Aguilos.

Investing in the catalytic growth of climbing in the Philippines

In 2024, Sterling Rope and The Global Climbing Initiative held a series of Climbing Leadership Fund trainings led by organizational development educators Veronica Baker Amores and Tim Casasola, and attended by climbing leaders from Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Manila, and Bacolod. Over 5 months, 35 climbers participated in a nonprofit development bootcamp where they learned best practices for shaping a vision, mission, goals, and team.

The Iloilo Climbing Community (ICC) emerged from this training as the first professional local climbing nonprofit in the Philippines. “The most valuable part of the training was the cognitive reframing that GCI presented to us,” said ICC Secretary Jurgen Monteclaro. “It allowed us to reflect on our own strengths and how we could best apply them for the growth of the community.”

“This unlocked within us a different level of mindset and dared us to challenge our limits, pulling inspiration from the success stories of various climbing communities,” he reflected. “The exposure and knowledge of best practices, the organizational structures of different local climbing organizations, and the challenges they overcame were also invaluable, as they could be a guide for our group as we take our first steps for a better ICC in the future.”

Members of the Iloilo Climbing Community gather and work on their visions for the future of their climbing community at the Igbaras crag and at the Pump Factory gym. Photos by Veronica Baker Amores.

Expanding access to crag development skills

Responding to the gap in route development and maintenance expertise, we followed up in 2025 with a crag development training for 6 Iloilo climbing leaders.

The first week took place in the climbing area of Danao on the island of Cebu. The students learned how to set up advanced rope and knot systems, establish top access, identify new routes, select hardware, and safely install protection.

Algin Amores, AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and the primary developer of Danao Climbing, was thrilled to invest in the new climbing developers of Iloilo. “This training mattered deeply to me because for the safety of climbing in the Philippines, developers need to be equipped with modern best practices and safety standards,” he said, “especially when it comes to hardware selection. The blueprint of what not to do was already shown by what happened with stress-crack corrosion in places like Southern Thailand. The Philippines is at an earlier stage of development, and all the answers are out there—we can make the best-informed decisions now.”

Algin Amores descends from the top of an undeveloped cliff face. Photo by Nick Aguilos.

Kizzia Capio, a mother of three, felt motivated to learn route development skills because of her connection to the next generation of climbers. “Since I have two kids who climb, I wanted to make sure that when they’re climbing in the future, it’s safe for everyone.” Traditionally, route development teams in the Philippines have been male-dominated, but Kizzia saw an opportunity to challenge that norm. “Usually, women aren’t asked if they want to join,” she explained. “The reason I didn’t try to get into climbing development before is that I didn't realize I could. Doing it gave me a sense of capability, knowing it’s not just men who can do these things.”

Kizzia Capio hangs on an aid hook while learning how to install wedge bolts in the hard limestone of Danao.
Photo by Nick Aguilos.

The course was assisted by AMGA Single Pitch Instructor and climbing developer Nikki Cuna. “This is the whole point of why I got my SPI,” she said. “I want there to be women represented as instructors, and not just on the sidelines watching men do everything. This training was important because there’s more than one way to help grow climbing in the country. It’s not just equipping new routes—it’s also passing on the knowledge and skills to new people. Empowering them to continue the work. It’s my own way of passing the torch to the next generation of climbers.”

Nikki Cuna teaches hitches, knots, and anchor building—skills fundamental to clifftop access.
Photo by Nick Aguilos.

Participant Wilson Adolfo was also very enthusiastic about opportunities like this being opened up to those who usually aren’t represented. “This showed me climbing development is not about pure strength—it’s about technical skills and knowledge.”

Everyone’s favorite component of the training was learning to build a V-Rig anchor system. “It answered a lot of questions for me about how you can safely access a potential or existing route from the top,” said Dawn Alcazar. “It takes a lot of brain power—all of your brain cells working together!” said Andre Cerrado, “but it’s so important. It’s your lifeline that you’re creating.”

Instructor and AMGA Guide Algin Amores teaches the V-Rig anchor system for clifftop access to Shaun Marquez and Dawn Alcazar in Danao. Photo by Nick Aguilos.

For Andre, the most intimidating part of the training was testing out a new line before bolting. “Climbing something no one had climbed before was rewarding, but so tricky. Even with some directionals, it’s not yet the intended flow of the route. It was extra challenging.”

The Iloilo climbers learn about new route identification and access techniques by becoming the first to ascend unexplored lines at a new cliff face in Danao. Photo by Nick Aguilos.

Putting skills into practice

The second week, in Iloilo, participants implemented the skills they learned to bolt a route together at a recently rediscovered cliff that had almost been lost to climbing history.

ICC President Shaun Marquez learned about the rock face of Rumagayray just a couple of weeks before the start of our training. “I attended a meeting from our local government’s Department of the Environment, and the local barangay (district) leaders of Rumagayray approached me and told me that there used to be climbing in their area. That’s when we took time to visit. When we saw it, I saw so much potential for routes for beginners, and that’s why we’re really driven to re-establish the crag.”

Team members establish clifftop access in Rumagayray so others can examine the rock on toprope before bolting. Photos by Josh Advincula.

Rumagayray was bolted in the 1990s as one of the first climbing areas in the Philippines, but when the original developers left Iloilo, no one was around to maintain the hardware. Eventually, the area became forgotten. “We saw evidence of at least 5 old routes with old bolts and hangers,” said Shaun.

The local community leaders of Rumagayray welcomed the crag development training with open arms: leading the hike out to the cliff, clearing vegetation for the teaching space, and bringing a homemade feast to the top of the cliff for lunch. Some even shared their memories of watching climbers there when they were children in the 90s, and their aspirations to try climbing in the future. “It’s amazing how Rumagayray really wants us to get the crag reestablished,” said Shaun. “I could feel that they were happy that we were there.”

The ICC’s new route development team bolt their first route together in Rumagayray, Iloilo, Panay. Photos by Josh Advincula.

The climbers traded off responsibilities creating V-Rig systems on monolithic tree anchors, rappelling over the cliff edge, installing anchors, inspecting and cleaning the face, and placing bolts. When they finished the route, they nominated team member Patrick Advincula to be the first to climb it. “I felt really happy while climbing it,” said Patrick. “I was struggling, and then after finishing the last clip, I shouted ‘yeah!!!’ I felt gratitude to the team for setting it up, and Al for teaching us.”

The team chose to name the route Pag-ulikid, meaning “to look after something with care, responsibility, and thoughtfulness” in the dialect spoken by locals in Rumagayray. “It was so heartwarming to know that one of the members of our first climbing development team was also the first to climb our first route bolted together,” said Wilson. “It created a tear in our eyes. All of our efforts really paid off.”

Kizzia and Algin installed a second anchor that will be used for a future climb bolted by the ICC. Photo by Josh Advincula.

Each of the participants described having a “breakthrough” moment during the training. In Dawn’s case, he had a realization while bolting that “I didn’t think I would ever have this opportunity. I never imagined in my life that I would be as capable as Algin, Nikki, and other developers. These are skills that we will have for a lifetime through practice, continuing with our love for outdoor climbing.”

For others, it was seeing the momentum and accomplishment of collaborating smoothly for a common goal. “It was about seeing the team working together, putting what we’ve learned into a real situation, trusting and looking out for each other’s safety, knowing we have each other’s back,” said Patrick. “I think it made us closer.”

Only the beginning

Utilizing their crag development skills, the leaders of the Iloilo Climbing Community are focused on ensuring the safety of hardware at their existing crags, bolting new lines, and continuing to build an inclusive and welcoming community.

“Something I learned through this experience is what a big role community plays in creating access to opportunities,” said Kizzia. She shared that as a parent, she didn’t know if she could participate in a crag development training, but with support taking care of her kids, she was able to join. “Extending beyond climbers to non-climbers, community support is a huge factor in inclusivity so that different types of people can participate.”

The ICC is now equipped with Sterling ropes and backpacks, a drill, over a hundred 12mm 316L stainless steel bolts and hangers, and all the specific tools needed to engage in route maintenance and development on their island. “The ICC is so very grateful to Sterling, GCI, and Danao Climbing for giving us this opportunity and making these trainings possible,” said Wilson. “Thank you for supporting small climbing organizations that will help develop areas—not only for the safety of local communities, but for future visitors and all climbers who will visit these crags.”

Sterling ropes, carabiners, webbing, cord, and backpacks were critical pieces of equipment to carry out the training.
Photo by Nick Aguilos.

The Global Climbing Initiative’s Climbing Leadership Fund, sponsored by Sterling Rope, invests in the nonprofit development and safety skills of climbing communities around the world through trainings customized to help each community thrive. To learn more and support GCI’s Climbing Leadership Fund, click here. To specifically donate in support of the Iloilo Climbing Community’s continued learning and resources, click here. Follow @theglobalclimbinginitiative, @danaoclimbing, and @iloiloclimbing to keep up with the growth of climbing in the Philippines.