Kinabalu Write-Up

17th Dec

Flew to Kota Kinabalu from Senai. Our initial plans to climb Mount Kinabalu on the 1st day was changed due to over-booking of the Laban Rata, our lodge where we were to rest before going for the 2nd leg.
So we instead had our R&R in Kinabalu on day 1. Had dinner at Port View Restaurant and had a drink at a pub near-by.

18th Dec

We did very little today, due to miscommunications between our agents on the ground. So we stayed in our hotel till 12 before moving to our Resort near Mount Kinabalu, Pine Trees Resort. We did not do anything on this day, just saw the mountain while driving in and had our vegetarian steam boat dinner. Had a nice chat with Sherman and Jean for a few hours before sleeping.

19th Dec

We had our American breakfast today before heading to the Park HQ. There we settled all the admin issues and collected our guides, Peter and Andrew.

We then took a 10 minute bus ride to the starting point, from the Power Station at 0930hrs. The trail started easily enough, a short decent. We walked past a small water fall as well. After walking for around 1km of the trail, I was sweating due to the high humidity. The vegetation growing in the begining of the trail was similar to what you would find in MacRitchie. There was a mist most of the time as we were 'in-the-clouds'.

We continued to go upwards, most parts being quite steep. Imagine walking up Bukit Timah for 6 hours. The only difference being that it was much cooler. It started to rain as we got up further. Out came all the ponchos and windbreakers. I did not have much difficulty climbing up this 1st leg. The only 'problem' I had was the light-headedness, which must have been due to the thinner air. We had a light but tasty lunch at layang-layang pondok, which was 4km into the trail.

We continued along the trail and I stayed back as the last man. I chatted with our guides in Malay and found out some information about the mountain. Andrew showed me a pitcher plant which was growing around 15 meters off the trail. We made it to Laban Rata at around 1530 hrs (6km). The temperature there was quite low. The view was quite beautiful from the mid-point. We were already above the clouds! We took some time to rest before going out for photo taking. I had some symptoms of AMS including feeling like vomiting and was still light-headed. So when we had dinner at 5, I had a light meal.

20th Dec

We then rested till 0130hrs, none of us could sleep due to the stuffiness of the rooms and AMS. Quite a few people took Panadol and some vomited. Fortunately the rest cured my AMS and I was fine for the climb at 2am. When we started off, it was drizzling and cold. I did not feel cold there with my layers of clothing. We climbed a long-series of steps before reaching a point where some parts were so steep that we needed to use a rope to climb. By then I was breathless and quite fatigued. We stopped often to rest.

We then checked in at the last checkpoint, Sayar-Sayar. We were walking so slowly that we were overtaken by many people. Soon after the checkpoint, I started to fall behind the group as I was taking alot of rests to catch my breath. Peter who was with me and Jean, told us to take small steps and that if we kept stopping, we would not make it up in time. We needed to begin descending by 6am to be at the Park HQ by 1230 to catch our flight back to Singapore.

The terrain after Sayar-Sayar was barren and just rocks. I found myself taking one small step at a time, to reach towards the summit. The only thing I did notice was that peaks were becoming larger every time I looked up to see ahead. The sky was also beautified with stars, the trail of torches could be seen like a glowing snake lower down the mountain and denser settlements lit through the clouds. I just told myself to do my best and keep going.

The wind blew strongly from all directions and was inconsistent in speed and direction. There was one point where I took shelter behind a rock and was joined by David, Austin and Kenneth. Jean joined us just before we continued. At that point, I thought we could not make our time deadline. So I accepted the fact that we could not make it to the top and back in time, not due to my own inability but due to the lack of time. David however was determined to go on. So I decided I might as well do so, since we could not leave without him.

The going from there was still quite tough, strong winds, unable to breathe properly. When I finally made it to the summit, I kept asking people if the end was really 10 minutes away. I found David and Yuen Chung there, only being around 8 minutes in front of me. I had a great sense of accomplishment as I did not think I would reach the summit. Congrats to all 7(David, Yuen Zheng, Kenneth, Austin, Jean, Sherwyn and Sherman) who made it there, its not as easy as they say!

We went to the top marker when Austin and Kenneth joined us. We started our photo-taking. My fingers were quite numb and I could not fit my glove in, as my little finger could not be straightened. I had to ask some other guides to help me put on the glove. I was just stoning on the top with the photo taking. I guess I should have spent more time enjoying the view, although I was quite cloudy to see much clearly.

We then headed down. I went down quite quickly as I felt motivated by my success. Me and Kenneth went to Sayar-Sayar together with Peter, taking photos along the way. What struck me the most was that I did not remember climbing so much as I descended. The view was beautiful as we descended, as it was bright.

I had a good breakfast before we begun our decent. We were rushing for time, so we wanted to reach the gate by 1200hrs. However, some people were moving slowly due to various reasons and so the last of us made it there at 1250. With some fast driving by the bus driver (we overtook many cars), we made it to the airport in time for our flight.

Overall I think it was a great trip and great journey. Although I do not want to do this again, I would not mind trying climbing other mountains.