THE IGBARAS TRIO: A Personal Challenge

Up north, there’s what they call the “Bakun Trio”. They are 3 notable mountains that are proximate with each other, them being Mts. Tenglawan, Kabunian and Lobo in Bakun, Benguet. Bakun Trio climb is usually done by climbing these 3 mountains successively, either by (1) dayhikes with Brgy. Poblacion as basecamp or via (2) camping on mountain grounds and traversing each mountains. You can read my Bakun Trio climb report here.

Igbaras mountain range: eastern view from Igcabugao basecamp

Going south, I have noticed during my previous visits in Igbaras, Iloilo the abundance of noteworthy peaks. I asked my “suki” guide about the surrounding mountains in the area and he told me that most of them are accessible via dayhike. So after my climb in Mt. Napulak last August 2010, I set my eyes on Mt. Taripis, another “dayhikable” mountain in the area.

Last weekend of February I managed to revisit Igbaras, and got a closer view of the majestic peaks near Mt. Napulak. I was told by an Ilongga mountaineer that there were already 7 known peaks as documented by their group, and they were set to explore another.

Most of the rising peaks are accessible in the small sitio of Igcabugao. I noted 3 mountains that surrounded this quaint little town, and formulated my own “Bakun Trio” calling it the “Igbaras Trio”.

“Igbaras Trio” peaks

1. Mt. Taripis
2. Mt. Butuan
3. Mt. Lubok

Mt. Lubok from afar

Each of the aforementioned mountains are accessible via dayhike, with the basecamp @ Igcabugao. Sadly, I have no gadget to measure altitude. I have scaled Mt. Taripis, and will publish a field report on a separate post. I rate this climb as easy to moderate. Hardcore climbers can do two peaks in a day, as Mt. Taripis takes only about 2-3 hours to climb (from Igcabugao) for a normal-paced climber.

Mt. Taripis: Pulag-like color

Suggested Itinerary:

Day 0 – Travel to Iloilo City, proceed to Igbaras then to Igcabugao
Day 1 – Climb Mt. Taripis, spend night @ basecamp
Day 2 – Climb Mt. Butuan, spend night @ basecamp
Day 3 – Climb Mt. Lubok, spend night @ basecamp
Day 4 – Head back to Igbaras, then to Iloilo City, finally to Manila

I told my guide that I will be back for Mt. Lubok, but since I have thought of this personal challenge, I might save up to do this triple ascent in the near future, hopefully within the year. The list of Igbaras mountains doesn't stop there, as the Iloilo mountaineers are actively pursuing the exploration  of the area. Also, you can do your own Igbaras challenge, maybe climbing all of the 7 peaks in one single visit?

Aja!

Note: Mts. Butuan and Lubok are nearer to the bordering Antique province. Also, the header image for Akyatera Bundokera is a mountain range in Igbaras, Mt. Upaw.