A few weeks ago in Sagada, I came upon a copy of the old Action Asia guidebook for the Philippines. It was fascinating: Back then, many of the mountains that are popular now - like Sicapoo and even the Dulang-Dulang-Kitanglad traverse, were unheard of. But more interesting was seeing the images of a young Noel Suministrado rock climbing in Atimonan, and the photos contributed by Banny Hermanos of PALMC, among others.I mention this guidebook to illustrate the long history of Action Asia Magazine's involvement in documenting and featuring adventure destinations in the Philippines. And for its current March-April 2013, I am honored to be a contributor in Asia's leading outdoor magazine. In "Islands in the Sky: Top Peaks of the Philippines", I feature a sampling of what the Philippines has to offer in terms of hiking adventures, and I wrote of Apo, Guiting-Guiting, Pulag, Amuyao, Bulusan, Dulang-Dulang & Kitanglad, Mayon, and Kanlaon, trying to be as geographically representative as possible. The other articles in the magazine are likewise hiking-oriented, including a story about an exciting ridge crossing in Japan that kinda reminds me of Taiwan's Holy Ridge.
I thank Steve White, the magazine's editor-in-chief, for his patience and understanding, and for gracing our Mt. Purgatory hike last December (see Hiking matters #317-318). I look forward to doing Mt. Guiting-Guiting with him in the future!
Action Asia magazine is available in bookstores in the Philippines and around Asia. Check out their website: http://actionasia.com/ or follow them at @ActionAsiaMag on Twitter.