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Published: February 17th 2009
Mt. Kinabalu
view from the bottomOk. So, we didn't literally climb to heaven, but after 8.7km of climbing straight up (they haven't mastered switchbacks in this country yet!) it certainly felt like it. And the views couldn't have been much better either.
In one of our most amazing adventures yet during our travels, Matt and I successfuly completed the summit climb to Lowe's Peak on Mt. Kinabalu, on the northern coast of Borneo Malaysia. After two days of enjoying the park scenery and relaxing at park headquaters, we began our two day summit climb. The first day consists of a 6km climb from the trailhead to base camp at the Laban Rata huts. While six kilometers doesn't sound like much-that's just a little over 3 miles-it was much more challenging than we ever expected. The night before, Matt and I were incredulous when they told us at park headquarters that they estimated it would take about 5 or 6 hours to complete the first days 6 km. So, we decided to tack on an extra 4.5km and walk from the headquarters to the trailhead as well (who ever knew Matt to turn down an opportunity for extra excersize?...and we saved $10 in transport fees as
the peaks
Donkey Ears peak is on the left. Lowe's was the highest and the one we summited-not pictured here. well!). The first 4.5 km only took us an hour, and as we had started out super early we arrived at the trailhead by 8:30, where we were met by our guide, Freddy (who soon became known, much to his confusion, as Ready Freddy). We set off, with Freddy and I running to keep up with Matt's pace. The trail was literally straight up, like one giant staircase that never ended. Within minutes we were short on breath, but we kept on, and with only a few short water breaks, we made the huts by noon-three and half hours later (who said it was gonig to take 5 or 6 hours???). And we were the second (Matt) and third (me) people to reach the huts (an Australian dude had sprinted by us in the last few kilometers).
Just because we reached the base camp in three and a half hours it doesn't mean it was easy! As the British on the hike would say-we were absolutely "knackered" when got there! We took off our shoes and put on our sweatshirts (the temperature was in the chilly low-60's), and then the altitude sickness hit! We were literally drained and wanted
the "Before" Picture
just before we set out at park headquarters to do absolutely nothing! Our guide had suggested on our way that since we were making such good time maybe we should try for the summit that afternoon. Absolutely not! At that point, we couldn't even convince ourselves to make the short 50m trek from the Laban Rata common area up to our unheated dorm room, Gunting Lagadan. For the next two hours or so we sat there in our altitude-induced stupor and waited for the rest of the hikers to begin arriving. Luckily, by the time the rest of the group started struggling in, the sugar from our tea had kicked in and we were able to put on cheery faces and become the welcoming committee!
Most everyone else arrived sometime between 2pm and 5pm (with a few not coming in until after dark around 7pm). Everyone was beyond exhaustion, but it was a lively crew and the sense of comraderie at having completed the first day's hike made for the start of some great friendships. We had an early dinner and then were off to bed by 7:30pm.
(Sutera Sanctuaries, which is the company that monopolizes the mountain climb, charges you and arm and a leg to
do it-but in the essense of "you pay for what you get," with Sutera Sanctuaries you pay a lot, but you get a lot! Dinner was great, the blankets were piled high on our beds, and we even had hot showers.)
The climb for the summit (another 2.7km up from the base camp) was set to begin at 2:30am. However, because of our speedy hiking abilities, our guide set a special start time for Matt and I-4am (another 1.5hours of sleep!) Actually, we didn't sleep at all the entire night, partly due to the excitment and partly due to the pounding altitude-induced headache we both had. When 2:30am rolled around, we watched as our fellow climbers set off into the dark to begin their climb. Matt and I began downing a few liters of water (which quickly eased the headache and we realized stupidly we should have been drinking such large quantities hours before then) and began preparing ourselves for the hike. Rumor had it that the morning climb to the summit was a freezing cold undertaking, and as we came prepared with little more than bikinis and boardshorts on our travels, we were forced to layer most of
the clothes we own. Needless to say, dressing took awhile. Matt layered his boxers-gotta keep that bum warm!-and we both pulled on our rashguards under our long sleeve shirts. Finally, 4am arrived, and Matt, I, our guide, Freddy, and two other hikers who had proved themselves "worthy" of a 4am start the day before, set off for the summit. The boys raced ahead, with Freddy and I bringing up the rear at a slow, but steady, pace. We quickly (within the first 20minutes) began passing up climbers who had started out at 2:30am. The first kilometer of the hike was the same as the day before-endless stairs. However, the last kilometer and a half were along a granite face, where we used ropes to pull ourselves up. I actually found this part the easiest of the whole climb because we could shuffle along with steps the size of our own choosing, without having to stretch to mount the immense stairs. Hiking in the blackness was completely surreal, with a bright almost-full moon shining down on us.
Matt reached the summit just past 5am, making the summit ascent in a little over an hour. He settled into a crack to
quick photo-op
what a great excuse for a break! hide from the cold and wait for me. I arrived about 5:45am, and settled in next to him to wait for sunrise. 6am arrived and we were shaking from the cold, yet the sun still hadn't started peeking over the clouds that lined the horizon, so we took a quick glance around from the highest point at the darkness that surrounded us and started making our way back down. As we made our way down, we were able to watch the sun finally peer over the horizon, with the rays streaming through the clouds and lighting up the rock faces. The views across the valley (we could see down to the coast where the town of Kota Kinabalu is and all the way across to the mountains of Indonesia in Kalimantan) were incredible. We were high above the clouds and it was as if we were in a plane looking down on them.
Not everyone was able to make the summit. Altitude sickness hit some much harder than others and although most gave it their best shot, it was too much to hike through the pounding heachaches and vomitting. Matt and I were really lucky that after drinking a
the Porters
when we got tired of hiking, we just had to pass one of these guys who was carrying all of our food and everything else for the base camp to realize we didn't have it that bad liter of water each before setting out on the summit climb, our headaches cleared and we were able to climb. However, even for those who didn't make it, the views from Laban Rata were incredible and the sense of accomplishment for making it even to that point was fantastic!
After another huge buffet breakfast, we began the slow climb back down the mountain. While the downhill wasn't exhausting like the uphill, it was incredibely painful on the knees and other muscles (much of which wasn't realized until the next day when we woke up with legs so sore we could barely walk and every step was accompanied by an "ouch!"). We returned to the park headquarters by early afternoon and joined some of our fellow climbers for a trip to the local hot springs-Poring. The steaming hot soak was well worth it and it was great to spend a last few hours with the people we had met. The day ended with a quick tour of our fellow climber's (and friend's-Terry & Abby) room-they were spending the night at the hot springs. The room was beyond decadant and would definitely be worth the splurge if you can afford it!
This was an incredible adventure! It made all the exercize we do and attempts to stay in shape worth it to be able to show up at a place like this and make the summit climb! The views, the sense of accomplishment, and most of all the people we met will make this something we never forget!
Tips for fellow travellers/potential climbers...
-climb Mt. Kinabalu! It is worth every penny you spend!
-Don't expect it to be easy. Even being avid hikers and excersizers, this was one of the hardest hikes we've ever done!
-You have to book through Sutera Sanctuaries-which you can do in Kota Kinabalu. There is no other way. However, the cheapest option-unheated dorm, 2 meals only is fine. There are plenty of blankets and tea to keep you warm (we also boiled water to put in our water bottles which was great for keeping our fingers and toes warm). You can buy pb&j stuff in KK to make sandwhiches, as well as get crackers, granola bars etc. for snack.
-There is a good canteen across the street from the park headquarters that serves much cheaper food than you can get in the park headquarters-and
it's really good. You can also buy last minute stuff here-gloves, beanies, ponchos, shoes (rubber ones that look really uncomfortable, but all the guides wear them and they are only 7RM).
-We bought tennis shoes in KK at the night market. Ranau also has a daily market where you can buy sweatshirts and shoes for cheap.
-The cheapest double room at park headquarters is 1/2km down the road at Mountain Resthouse (50RM/night). The cheapest dorm rooms are at Mountain Resthouse or Rose's Cabin (2km from the headquarters).
-Drink tons of water!!!! and tea with sugar helps, or other sports drinks like gatorade!!!
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Poppy Moffitt
non-member comment
hello
hello, it sounds so much fun me and my boyfriend are going to borneo in august and would like to do it in the first couple of days, however we don't know where to go or what to do when we get there, did you go with a company? iv also been told to book in advance? thank you, poppy