Mount Kinabalu....the climb!

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At 4095 metres (13,435 ft) high, climbing Mount Kinabalu is not an easy task....
Myself, Sam and Ben began the adventure at 11am after meeting our guide and collecting our packed lunch, and thankfully, leaving our big rucksacks in the luggage room!

Day one was a 6km trail, with markers at every half a kilometer to either spur us on, or demoralize us depending on the current frame of mind! We stopped at intervals for a drink, but it was best to keep going because stopping for too long made it hard to start going again! Lunch was a welcome break at 4km, and then the remaining 2km of the day were a little tougher as it was steeper and more of a 'rugged' path with steps and stones to negotiate. Climbing through the clouds was very mystical, and the forest around us was lush and pretty. There was an eerie feeling to being in the mist of a cloud on the side of a mountain. At the end of day one, the overnight lodge was in sight and suddenly the cloud cleared from ahead of us, and we could see the spectacular mountain top in front of us, only to turn around and see a blanket of clouds below us in the sunshine, it was fantastic, and a just reward for our climbing. Another welcome reward was the buffet dinner inside! After taking in the beautiful sunset we had a short climb in the dark to our hut to sleep for the night...well, part of the night!.....

At 2am we were awoken by our guide, and by 2.30 we were climbing again! This time, with a few more layers, and being guided by the moonlight. The climb was not easy, and with increasing altitude the effects of declining oxygen levels were felt. The stars were beautiful, especially after 7 months of star-deprivation in Hong Kong. The climb began with steps, and stones which was relatively OK, and then we hit the 'rope' part of the climb.....initially we had to pull on the rope and climb up the rock, and I was fearful of doing that for the next 3 hours! Luckily those parts of the trail were interspersed with flatter, steadily inclining rock which was more of a mental challenge because it was so vast. I paced myself with each boulder or crack I could see, and kept going. To stop for more than a few minutes meant that it got really cold! Trudging on, daylight was approaching, and just before about 6am, the summit was in sight. The final hurdle was not easy - more giant rocks, and rope to haul ourselves up on! After such a climb, and with the lack of oxygen it was hard work, but with the end in sight, there was that last push of energy to the finish line!

What an achievement; we were very happy to have made it, and the panorama was amazing, especially as daylight was nearing. We only spent about 20 minutes at Low's peak, named after an explorer, not because it is in any way low! It was cold at the top, so we layered up, and soon had to begin the mammoth descent! The views on the way down were brilliant, and we could fully appreciate them in daylight. I was actually grateful for climbing in the middle of the night, because I couldn't see the challenge that lay ahead in the dark..had I looked at it in daylight I might have found it harder to motivate myself! Thankfully there was a buffet breakfast back at the overnight stop lodge, before we continued back to Kinabalu park. The descent was quicker, but not so easy on the thighs! Everyone was in high spirits and we could actually chat more as we had more breath in us!

Around 2pm we made it back to the start having completed the round trip! We went to a nice restaurant for lunch which was included in our package and sat there for a good few hours to wind down!

With no plans we thought we should to find some energy to head back to Kota Kinabalu, but thankfully there was a room at the 'Hill lodge' so we didn't have to go anywhere! The next morning we were all laughing at how painful it was to walk! We spent the whole day on a lovely restaurant balcony in Kinabalu park. Our legs ached for days after completing the 'summit trail'...mainly due to the descent not the climb! It was was well worth it though, and I still can't quite believe that i did it! Eventually we did head back to KK for some well deserved relaxation on the islands nearby.

J x x

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Photos

Commute to work...
This is our guide, who climbs Kinabalu twice a week!

Puts us to shame!
All the supplies for the mountain lodge are carried up on foot.....by people probably three times my age!

Laban Rata stop
Overnight stop

Sunset at 6km
Above the clouds

Climbing at 2.30am
We grabbed onto the rope, and pulled ourselves up....that's one wake up call and a half!

Peak at dawn
we made it!

Horizons
Check out how small the people are....it was a big scale mountain!

The descent begins
If you look at the size of the people on the mountain, you can see the scale of the size.

Comments

[hilarie lemon]

What an achievement!
Wow well done Jen - awesome. Hope you didn't suffer too much with the altitude. At least you didn't do a "Jenny Lemon"!!