Before going to Mt Kinabalu – I received a lot of doubtful/snide remarks from Navin and some colleagues who had very little faith that I could trek up the 4000km+ mountain. I suppose I figured if Zalena and Sue Ann could climb it surely Tini, let alone I could climb it too!
Day 1: 6km trek up Laban Rata (LR)
Excited and all geared to go, we met our guide Jackson and our pint-sized porter a 16yr old student who helped carry our large back pack weighing about 8kgs.
The trek started out fine, though I soon realised within metres why stair-climbing was a ‘highly-recommended’ form of training 
Much of the hike up to LR consisted of 40cm steps or a cluster of large rocks.
Along the trail up to LR there were 7 rest points, each one about 1km apart. We would normally rest for about 5-10 min at these points and refuel with muesli bars & chocolate.
We didn’t see much flora or fauna, but at certain points we got a peek of the mountain. Occasionally the clouds would pass right before us too.
Towards the end of the 6km there was a lot more upward climbing. Fortunately we purchased wooden sticks (5rm) from the starting point. These act as a third leg and aid in extra support.
Hooray we made it to Laban Rata!
4hrs later we reached LR at 2pm. Having hiked 6km we were absolutely exhausted and famished! With a half day rest before the climb to summit, we piled up on the carbo (a mountain of fried rice), had our cold showers in the tin shed and Tini caught a well deserved nap, whilst I sat infront of our isolated dorm and sketched the view infront of me. This proved rather tricky especially with the constant movement of the misty clouds.
The Killer Climb up the Mt.K Summit
The climb up to the summit from LR is 3.5km up. Inorder to catch it at its optimum view (sunrise) we had to set out at 2.30am! Waking up at 1am, we reluctantly got up, got ready our torches and put on the many layers of winterwear (long johns, jackets, gloves, beanies, scarves etc.)
The first thing you notice during the night climb is how awesome the starry sky is! We were fortunate it was a clear night sky – I’ve never seen such a star-studded sky, I couldn’t even find Orion! And I was lucky to see another rare shooting star!
Initially the trek was slow, as we were all queued up, waiting behind the other eager trekkers as they climbed up the rickety stairs. I was actually fine with the slow and steady pace and was hoping that it’d be like that for the rest of the climb, but was I in for a rude shock!
After climbing the easy stuff we were faced with the challenge of gripping onto the white ropes as we walked up the flat fascade. One third of the journey later, it dawned upon me how high up were already were. We had a clear view of the lit up nearby towns below us, it was pretty, but scary too! At that point I was just relieved that it was dark, cos I’d probably freak out for fear of such freaking great heights!
Battling exhaustion, the altitude and cold air of the early morning – I was soo physically and mentally fatigued and was seriously ready to give up. Feeling sorry for me, Tini asked me to grip onto her backpack, whilst the guide carried my backpack.
Amazingly we reached the summit at 5.57am. Despite the difficult trek (scaling up the rocks with my bare hands) and being mega exhausted, the summit was sooooo worth it! The sunset was as perfect as I had read from journal entries of other trekkers. The various views of the different terrains was spectacular. We stayed up the summit for half an hour, relishing this amazing moment – a definite highlight of 2005!
Snap happy, we took lots of piccies of the different panaromic views. Scared I was reluctant to stand for any of the poses – any clumsy move and that’d be the death of me! So you can imagine how bloody scared we were to scale down the summit!
For some, climbing down is a breeze – but not for us – we hesitantly ‘bummed’ our way through the sloped slate surfaces and eventually resorted to the white ropes abseiling down. At many points we were in awe of ourselves for having climbed up such tricky and treacherous points. Half way down there was a 12cm edge that we had to carefully manoeuvre – the view way down didn’t help – I was really really scared and had to call out to my guide to grab my hand!
After the ‘cliff-hanger’ experience, everything else seemed easier. We reached the huts safely at 9.30am, packed and had lunch before trekking 6km back to the starting point.
The whole trek up and down Mt Kinabalu took us about 18hrs of walking and involved 17km of hiking the steep altitude. It was such a physical and mental experience – I’ve never achieved such a physical conquest like this ever! I’m so proud of myself for surviving it, cos if I knew how exhausting, gruelling & tricky Mt K was I seriously don’t think I would have agreed to come with Tini.
Lonely Planet & Wikipedia reckon that you don’t need climbing experience to trek Mt K which is true, BUT you do need to train before hand – you need to be physically fit & be prepared for HOURS of walking, climbing and scaling. Put it down on your to-travel list! Oh yea, one more thing, be prepared for aching legs and butt for at least 3 days during & after the climb!
Next entry: White Water Rafting & Snorkelling Sabah Style
