Filipino mountaineer Miguel Angelo Mapalad has reached the summit of Mt. Elbrus in Russia — the highest peak in Europe — continuing a relentless climb through the world’s most iconic mountains that has defined his life since long before he stood atop Mt. Everest a year ago.
Mapalad shared the milestone directly with The Global Filipino Magazine, confirming he reached the 5,642-meter (18,510-foot) summit on May 22, 2026. The feat adds Europe’s crown to a growing collection of continental highs for the San Juan City native, who is a member of the Philippine 14 Peaks Expedition Team — a group working toward summiting all 14 of the world’s mountains above 8,000 meters.
Mt. Elbrus, a dormant twin-peaked volcano in Russia’s Caucasus mountain range, is widely recognized as one of the Seven Summits — the highest point on each of the world’s seven continents. Its western peak, which Mapalad ascended, stands at 5,642 meters, making it the fifth-highest of the Seven Summits after Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, and Kilimanjaro.
The Elbrus summit comes exactly one year and four days after Mapalad made history on May 18, 2025, when he became the 10th Filipino to stand atop Mt. Everest — the first Filipino Everest summit in nearly two decades. He was joined in that achievement by fellow Philippine 14 Peaks member Jeno Panganiban, with the climb dedicated in part to the memory of teammate Philipp “PJ” Santiago II, who died in Everest’s “Death Zone” during the same expedition.
According to Mapalad, the Elbrus climb follows a string of high-altitude engagements over the past year. He said he returned to Mt. Kilimanjaro in August 2025 — his seventh summit of Africa’s highest peak — bringing fellow Filipinos to the top with him, and visited Everest Base Camp in November 2025 for the 29th time.
His broader mountaineering career, now spanning decades, includes ascents of Ama Dablam, Island Peak, Lobuche Peak, Mt. Kazbek, and numerous peaks across the Philippines and Asia. Since 2005, he has worked as a full-time mountain guide — a calling he said began after falling in love with Everest when he first saw it in 2013.
“Every step upward isn’t about making the world see us, but about realizing how vast the world is, and how far passion and grace can take us,” Mapalad said.
Beyond the summits, Mapalad has channeled his platform into community work. He founded the Pacific Coast Trail in San Luis, Aurora, to connect isolated communities where many children lack access to education beyond Grade 3. He has also supported the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee in Nepal, helping address waste management on Everest’s increasingly congested slopes.
