Climbing Mount Kinabalu : a Chronology

I could just as easily call this blog post : "I climbed a Freaking Mountain !"

It wouldn't have been shouted out with a sense of achievement or pride. Indeed, it would have been exclaimed with anxiety, fear, nerves and yes, a touch of relief.

It was just a few months ago that I started to organize a trip for the company's sports club. For some reason, climbing Mount Kinabalu was selected as the first trip. I would much rather have organized a trip to the beach or something but nooooo.... a mountain was chosen. And so, the wheels were set in motion.

A series of bookings, training hikes, equipment purchases and briefings followed - which all led to me boarding a plane at 0750 hours on Tuesday, 24th August 2010.

Tony's crew were there to send us off

view from the plane approaching KK. you can't separate sea from sky.

at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, Kinabalu Park

my group contemplating what lay ahead of them - literally

then it was my turn

If you squint really hard, you can see two white dots near the peak.

That's the Laban Rata resthouse - a van ride and 6 km hike away.

August 25th : We were up at 0530, breakfast at 0630, followed by prep and a van ride to Timpohon Gate. Hiking started at 0850 hours.

view from Timpohon Gate

Rocks

Rocks

and more Rocks

Did I mention that there were Rocks ? Sometimes there were stairs and the occasional flatter stretches but mostly it was different types of rocks. Quite a lot of them sharp rocks.

Going up with a walking stick and disposable rain coat reminded me of Gandalf leading the Fellowship of the Ring over mountains in Lord of The Rings.

I accompanied the slowest member of the group and consequently took a longer time to hike but finally at 1555 ...

@ the rest house balcony, with Mt. Kinabalu in the background

At 10,700 feet above sea level, altitude sickness kicked in, which I alleviated with a panadol.

A shower, dinner at 1730 hours and then straight to bed.

I got in about 5 hours sleep before waking up at 0100 hours. It was now D-day, August 26th.

Went to the washroom, packed, got my gear on and headed for breakfast. Took another panadol before we started the climb at 0240 hours. 6 from my team of 8 would be heading out.

It was perfect weather for climbing. There had been no rain, and the moon was out. Still pitch black, but the head lamps and night hike training sessions were proving their usefulness.

First up were the stairs, then rocks, then stairs, then rocks - and this went on for quite a bit. It was also getting more difficult to breathe because the air was getting thinner. Then the stair-rock sequence broke because we got to the Ropes.

The Ropes.

There was the physical exertion of climbing - the breathing difficulties resulting from altitude - but suddenly I was much more awake. Because now I had to add in Fear. There was a short period of climbing with hands and feet, and then we hit this ...

I clung on to that rope and crept sideways along the ledge. There wasn't enough space to walk normally. It was pitch black so I didn't know how far the drop was.

I only had two things on my mind. 'Hold that rope' and 'Watch your next step and take that step'. Fear has a way of sharpening one's focus.

Got past that ledge and then more climbing on rocks followed. I was relieved to reach the Sayat Sayat hut check point because it signaled that the slope would not be as steep going further up the summit. At 12,000 feet above sea level, Sayat Sayat was only 900 meters away from Laban Rata. By now, I had lost track of time.

I didn't stay long at Sayat Sayat and headed on up again. 1.6 km to the peak. For some unknown reason, I took this photo.

Taken at 0445 hours, you can see how dark it was beyond the light from my head lamp. The exertion and fear was grabbing from my reserves of energy and I would finish the 500 ml of water that I had budgeted for the climb by the time I reached the peak.

By this time, I could only go 20-30 steps before stopping to rest. And I always rested with my back against a rock because facing the other way wasn't something I even wanted to contemplate. Of course, this meant that I would be looking at the lights in town and would constantly be reminded that it was a long way Down. And I would feel drowsy too because of the thin air. I was unaware of it, but altitude sickness had again kicked in.

Most of the climbers had already gone further ahead including 4 of my team. 1 had stayed behind at Sayat Sayat, which meant that I was pretty much alone when I started climbing from Sayat Sayat. My guide usually stayed some distance behind me.

Sunrise at 0545 hours. I was still some way off the peak.

I was still heading up when the first climbers started their descend. Eventually, I would be the next-to-last climber to reach the summit that day.

Passed by 4 of my team coming down at this stage

And finally, reached Low's Peak at 13,400 feet above sea level. It was 0645 hours.

My first thought was : "I have to climb back down." It wasn't a cheery thought.

there was nobody left, so the guide took my photo

my guide, who kept my ass out of trouble on the climb down.

In case you're wondering, that IS a sheer cliff that he's hanging over.

I didn't stay at Low's Peak for long. Took a few photos and then I started my descend. There was a schedule to adhere to and I wasn't feeling that good anyway.

the rock surfaces would have made for some gorgeous photos

but I was more focused on going back down

since I was the only one there, my guide had to follow me back down

Loved this photo when I first saw it. It's captioned :

You mean we climbed this at 3 a.m. ?'

heading towards Sayat Sayat hut

After a short break at Sayat Sayat, I started out again. I dreaded the thought of repelling down the rocks and creeping across that ledge again, but this time my guide was there to hold the rope steady.

Made it past the Ropes and hiked down to Laban Rata. I tried to have breakfast but altitude sickness was really getting a hold now and my interest in food was practically nil. Two panadols didn't help and by now the canteen floor was sloping at an angle. I switched tables and the floor was sloping at an angle there too. Gave up on breakfast and went to the toilet - the floor was sloping there as well. Finally got some temporary relief when I threw up. The floors were level again.

Knowing that the only remedy was to get out of high altitude, I forsook breakfast and a shower in favour of getting out faster. I didn't have to persuade my team as they too wanted to get out quickly. So we packed and prepped and departed from Laban Rata.

most hiking trails only have the top 2 lines

but Laban Rata's sign has a 3rd one

That downward hike of 6 km didn't hurt as much as I thought it would but it still took me 5.5 hours to get down.

Reached Timpohon gate at 1600 and chose to have a shower instead of lunch.

After some last bits of paperwork with Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, we got into the van and headed for the airport.

Reached the airport at 1845 hours. The flight was at 2125 hours. There was time to eat, sit and check-in. A group of tired bodies wasn't interested in much else.

Some day, I'll look back on this trip and realize that reaching the summit of Mount Kinabalu was a decent achievement. And I got some pretty good photos out of it.

Today is not that day.

But the penny will drop.

Some day.