70-year-old Japanese scales Mount Everest

Valdez told ABS-CBN television in Manila from the Everest Base Camp in Nepal that he received the call from Oracion around 0730 GMT (5:30 p.m. in the Philippines; 3:30 p.m. in Nepal).

He said Oracion was with a group of Swiss and Korean climbers who also made the summit and that the group spent some time waiting to stand on the summit due to a "traffic jam" created by about 20 climbers at the Hillary Step.

The step is the last major hurdle along the Nepalese southern route.

Another Philippine expedition member, Erwin Emata, was expected to stand atop the mountain Thursday, and a third, Romeo Garduce, was expected to make it shortly afterward.

"We cried, because this is really a dream come true," said Valdez, a former government official.

"For mountaineers, that's the Holy Grail," said Reggie Pablo, a leader of the Oracion's support group in Manila. "For the Philippine Everest team, it's more of a call for unity and teamwork for this country. We'd like to tell our people, send a message, that we can do the impossible if we put our acts together and work as a team."

Valdez said Emata will make the attempt on the peak from Camp 4, at 26,000 feet, with a bigger group of climbers, including several from Spain.

Concern over ascent without supplemental oxygen
He said he was initially upset and concerned when Oracion left Camp 3, at 23,621 feet, for Camp 4 with a Sherpa guide Tuesday without the aid of an oxygen tank. At that height breathing is difficult because of the lack of oxygen.

He said Oracion ate snow because didn't have enough water to drink.

The Everest climb pitted the Philippines' largest television networks in a race against each other — ABS-CBN television is a major supporter of Oracion's team, while GMA7 television backs Garduce.

The networks have been airing regular reports on the progress of their respective teams since they left for Nepal early this year.

Garduce, a member of the UP Mountaineers at the state-run University of Philippines Mountain and a systems analyst has climbed some of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina and Cho Oyu, the world's sixth-highest mountain, just west of Mount Everest.

Oracion and Emata reached the summit of the 24,757-foot Muztagh Ata in Western Xinjiang, China, in August 2005.

More than 1,200 climbers have reached the summit of Everest in the past 50 years, and at least 175 have dieed trying.

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