the sweetest PAST. the crumbled PRESENT. the uncertain FUTURE.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

2nd Attempt at Conquering Mount Kinabalu

That's right, folks. After last year's brush with bad weather on the KK trip/ Mount K climb, I found myself back in KK again over the weekend plus 2 days' leave on my 2nd visit to Mount Kinabalu in "the land below the winds".

A couple of changes. First up, the Trekkers' Lodge that my friends and I stayed in previously is undergoing renovation work:

Being a working adult now on a trip, the different bunch of people whom I went on this trip with decided to stay at Ang's Hotel, located just opposite where Trekkers' Lodge used to be. The classic lift at Ang's Hotel:

Don't be fooled by it's ancient look. The sliding gate is as smooth as it can be and the system is from Schindler!

Went for lunch to pacify our roaring tummys after checking in at the hotel. The guys led us on a long walk to this old coffeeshop where we had some traditional Sabah noodles (sorry, forgot the name):

We had a choice of dry/soup, mee/ kway teow/ beehoon. 5 of us sitting at the same table ordered kway teow without much delay, but were left wondering why our orders took ages to come when the guys at the other table were already hungrily tucking into their food. The reason? The shop has run out of kway teow and the owner had sent someone to the market nearby to get.

The long-awaited kway teow:

Close-up of the pork meat soup:

Tired out from the early flight, we then trooped back to our hotel to catch a few winks.

Evening.

Woke up refreshed from a 2 hours nap. Walked about a little and snapped a couple of shots before our magic school bus came to pick us up:

Our magic school bus, complete with friendly and smiley bus driver, which comfortably fitted all 13 of us:

The friendly uncle even drove us to a couple of sightseeing places before dropping us off at 1borneo, the largest shopping centre in KK.

Our steady photographer:

@tmosphere:

Climbing Day.

Woke up at like 7am, just in time to take a quick shower and change into our climbing gear. Had an unusual breakfast on the 2 hour bus ride to Mount K National Park HQ:

What's that? That's bah kwah with charcoal bread, courtesy of Chin Lee. The combination tastes pretty good together I must say.

Upon reaching the HQ, we had our toilet breaks, put on our deep heat, snapped a couple of shots and collected our lunches before getting on another bus which took us to Timpohon Gate, the starting point of our accent up Mount Kinabalu.

The 13 of us had a total of 3 guides/porters, the ratio of guides to climbers being 1: 6. Auntie Ann and our very cool lead guide, Roudy:

We were blessed with good weather this time round and it was a warm, sunny hike up to Laban Rata, with the exception of a light drizzle towards the top:

Taking a rest at one of the Pondoks (aka huts) along the way:

Even with the comfortable weather, it was a tiring hike which requires mental strength to keep pushing yourself onwards When we finally heard CL's voice and looked up to see her smiley face when we were all wondering when we will reach Laban Rata, all 3 of us broke into a wide-faced grin:

"So GLAD to see you, CL!"

A couple of us were not used to the high altitude (Laban Rata is at 3000+m above sea level) and experienced splitting headaches and nausea. Luckily for me, I guess previous experience and the slow accent helped and I was alternating between grabbing a few bites and heading to the balcony area to snap photos of the beautiful sunset:

Tried to turn in early for the night as we had to set off for our summit bid at 2.30am in the morning, but the high altitude and thin walls which made every movement up and down the corridor irritatingly clear caused us to sleep fitfully.

Still, we had no problems getting out of bed at 1+am to get ready for our summit climb. Getting ready for the summit basically involves putting on layers of clothes that you hope would keep your body warm, in addition to donning headlights and glowsticks for visibility.

Top: 2 t-shirts, 1 vaude windproof jacket and 1 wind/rainproof kailas jacket;

Bottom: 1 running shorts, 1 3-quarter pants and 1 long trekking pants;

Hands: 1 pair of white cotton gloves and 1 pair of black (army market) gloves over;

Head: Beanie from Daiso;

Feet: Trekking socks and trekking boots from China.

Brought: Trusty black Urban waistpouch with waterproofed valuables inside and trusty green nalgene bottle, mini first-aid kit and Canon SX100is camera hooked on the waist strap. Slung the combination across my body, sling bag style.

Group shot before heading off:

The start of the summit trail up Mount Kinabalu consisted of a series of wooden ladders and rocks, all the way til Sayat-Sayat Hut, the final checkpoint and the highest mountain hut at3810m above sea level, where the true edge of the tree-line is reached. First to reach the hut:

The trail continued upwards on with granite slabs, some parts requiring use of the thick white rope to pull yourself as you walk up the 70degrees surface. Following the steep ascent was a comfortable walk upslope, all the way to the summit where the trail became a series of 'stacked' rocks again. Lost sight of CL as the energetic one surged ahead to the summit. Walked on and chatted with Petros, one of our 3 guides along the way up.

I guess the true challenge lies in pushing yourself forward as the higher altitude meant less oxygen which makes one feel sleepy. The trick is not to stop and rest for too long, else it will be harder to start your engine again.

Was the 2nd in our group to reach the peak and caught the start of the sunrise - the orangy lightening of the horizon:

That's us, Team V people on the summit of Mount Kinabalu:

And this is me, in a must-take photo at Low's Peak, 4095.91m above sea level:

Video at the Summit:

Petros and myself:

And here's CL, looking totally adorable:

Love the background:

CL and myself with the ultra cool Roudy:

Spent about 1 hour plus at the summit despite the frozen fingers.

Snapped even more photos of the beautiful landscape as we headed back down to Laban Rata:

It was pretty scary heading back down the 70degrees steep portion though, especially since your legs might feel like jelly at this point.

Relief, upon reaching Laban Rata:

It was a torturous 5hour hike down from Laban Rata though, no thanks to the rain which caught us about 1/3 our way down. The knees were complaining and the rocks were slippery. Couldn't afford to stop and rest for long, else the legs won't listen anymore. Reached Timpohon Gate where we started our Mount K bid, cold and weary, but with a sense of achievement, especially having carried my own load up and down.

Had a (lousy) lunch/dinner as we had effectively missed the scrumptious buffet lunch included in our package. Knocked out as the magic school bus ferried us back to our hotel for the night.

Last photo at the airport:

Wonder when shall I head back there again? Would love to take the Mesilau trail once again. Have already fallen in love with the beautiful scenery and the fresh fresh mountain air.

josh, signin off.

Labels: mountain climbing, travel

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- vagabond -