Can a die-hard mountaineer and a four-on-the-floor offroader find common ground in the Philippine mountains or anywhere else for that matter?
LET GET THIS STRAIGHT, I am not a fan of any fancy sports cars. I believe in the wilderness, I believe that the KELTY backpacks, not the super-fat offroad tires, were among our greatest inventions. I do however, believe we need places where nature, not a machine, has the upper hand, were you can set up your tent without first checking for tire tracks and oil stains.
Then what am I doing in the mountains kicking up dust in an under-rated mini SUV (Suzuki Jimny), with a "dirt everyday" and " built not bought" sticker? Good question, let me explain.
For many years, as a climber, I didnt pay much attention to the issue of motorized vehicles in the mountains. If I heard an engine running, I'll find another deeper place in the forest, If a jeepney showed up in the trail, I'd climb to a higher ground level where the only tracks are goat and cow dungs. So what does this have to do with appreciation of nature?...........Not much.. they are just testing themselves and their machines and having little fun. 
Some people think all offroaders are irresponsible. Sure there are those who dont follow the rules. We have that in every sport, like mountaineering, we follow the same good old principle, the LNT (leave No trace) principle, just as it is applicable to offroading. All have been said and done. Let me introduce you to my ZUK, my off the road buddy. Jimny is a 1993 suzuki sport utility model, powered by 3 cylinder and 660cc F6A engine. With this short wheel base SUV, there is an enticing sense of power. Jimny is responsive. Just a touch of my foot on the accelator makes the needle on the tachometer jump.
There is also a certain challenge in picking the smoothest route, like picking your way to a tough trail. There's even a skill to it. Driving a machine through the mountain trail is a shorthand claim to outdoor skills in self reliance. City people buy SUV to drive to the grocery store, and a couple of weekends a year they think they can take them anywhere on the trail. But being a good safe environmentally aware offroader requires skill, and some practice. Imagine this my fellow mountaineers....Hiking and Offroading are 2 different ways of enjoying the mountain trail, one through windshield, the other with the wind in your face. Why not experience both? For me offroading and mountaineering are both enjoyable.
Going to the finals of the Marlboro Red Racing School last friday August 31 - Sept 1, 2005 was the most jittery feeling I’ve ever had. I wasn’t able to sleep heavenly the night before. There was no particular high moment, every moment was high. Even when we were sleeping, the adrenalin was pumping high. I learned so much about driving.
But before I got that high, we have to undergo nearly three months of driving preparations, ward off thousands (310,000) of other applicants nationwide, take more tests that reduced the number of hopefuls to 120, 60 finalists from Luzon and 60 finalists from the Visayas and Mindanao. 
