Mount Kinabalu Revisited (July 2-5, 2008)

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The Team
Facts & Stats
One Interesting Conversation

"Why do you want to climb up the same mountain again?" exclaimed myhusband incredulously when he found out about my plans.

"It's a different trail", I answered

"A longer route"

"A tougher climb"

"A challenge not to be missed"

When I came down from Mt Kinabalu last September, I never thought that I would see Low's Peak in less than a year. The decision to go via the Mesilau trail meant a new challenge for me and I grabbed the opportunity.

Kepayang Hill was my training ground. Every weekend or Public Holiday would see me walking up and down that 1.5km hill with my sisters and sometimes with a bunch of energetic youths.

Trainings were organised by Peter Lim and KG from as early as January 2008. Gunung Datuk and Gunung Angsi were our usual training mountains.

Somehow, with work and church, I missed all the trainings with the team. A month before the KK trip, I felt the need to train harder. While the rest of the team went to Gunung Angsi, Esther and I went to Gunung Datuk as I needed to be back by 2pm.

The month of June proved to be more hectic than usual and I didn't really have the time to even train at the Kepayang Hill. Plus, when I was free, the weather didn't agree with me :( For the first time in months, I suddenly felt nervous about the whole climb. I even had a dream about climbing up a mountain.

A few days before the big climb, we had a pre-climb dinner where we got to know other climbers (3 of them are from other churches). Dinner was at my parents' place. We sang some songs before dinner and fellowship. Mum was instructed not to cook food that was too spicy.

The much awaited (dreaded??) day finally came. I packed more than I should based on last year's experience. Towel was not in the packing list which Eunice sent via email a few weeks back and I didn't bring it. I had to borrow Aunty Chris' very thin and small towel. Well, it was better than nothing.

We flew via Air Asia and arrived in KK town in time for lunch. Johnny, Francis, Esther, KG and I had KFC while the rest went to a nearby Chinese restaurant. I was sorely tempted to eat at a Malay restaurant next to the KFC outlet but spicy food was a no-no prior to the climb.

This KFC outlet was unique in a sense that the cashiers are either deaf and/or dumb. I wanted to order only the Zinger burger but didn'tknow how to tell them as my sign language skills are limited to letters A-Z and some basic words. I ended up having their combo meal which also included the cheesy potato wedges and a cup of carbonated drink.

After lunch, we headed to Giant (which should be renamed as "Tiny") to get food for breakfast for the following morning. We also bought more bottled water.

The journey to Kundasang took us about 2 hours. We wanted to stop at Nabalu for tea break but it was raining, so we went straight to Sutera Lodges (a.k.a Park HQ) to register our names. It was chilly and the temperature was about 16C. Perfect for me but freezing cold for some.

From Park HQ, we should be able to see a spectacular view of the mountain but because it was so misty and foggy, the mountain seemed to have disappeared altogether.

The ride from Park HQ to Mesilau Nature Resort took another 15-20minutes. After going past the guard house, we were told to get down and walk up to the reception area. It was raining and we had to use our ponchos to keep dry.

We left the reception counter and hopped onto our respective vans which drove us down approximately 100 meters to the parking bays below the chalets. Sadly, we then had to drag our increasingly heavy bags – at least that's how they felt – up a narrow walk way to our designated chalet. By the time we reached the front door, we felt too tired to even consider climbing the mountain ... at least without some rest. We decided to have dinner first and had to walk back to the reception area again – in the rain!!!

Dinner was pleasant but nothing to shout about. The mushroom soup was nice only because they added sliced black mushrooms. The buns had this funny stale taste (but I couldn't see any fungus on it – at least, not to my naked eyes) and I heard that the mutton is tough. I ate lots of greens and a slice of white bread.

We got back to our chalet and anticipated a nice hot bath but alas, the heaters were not working. I had an icy cold bath (Brrrr!) Some were smart enough to boil water for their bath.

A praise and worship session was next in the agenda. Peter Lai song led and played the guitar. Our theme song "On Higher Ground" was sung along with other songs.

Next came the short briefing by KG and Eunice. We were divided into 3teams and guess what? I was in Peter Lai's team – and he's a fast climber (sweat!!) The appointed sweepers were Henry and Doc James.

We slept early that night – 9.30pm. The beds were not the world's best but they were definitely better than last year's. I managed to sleep although I did wake up a few times in the middle of the night.

6am came and we got up to have breakfast. I forced down 2 slices of bread with peanut butter spread onto it. We didn't have much time and rushed a little to get all our things ready.

The weather was great outside when we dragged our luggage down the slope. We placed our "left luggage" (meaning : luggage that was to be left behind at Park HQ) on one side and bags for the porter to carry on the other to be weighed. Esther, Eunice and mine came to 24kgs, which is about 8kgs each.

I weighed my backpack and it came to 7kgs. After adding the packed lunch (2 sausages, 1 hard boiled egg, 2 slices of bread with cheese and butter, 1 fried chicken wing, 1 apple, 1 bottled water and 1 can of 100 plus), it was 8kgs. Wow! 3kgs more than what I carried last year.

At 8.30am, we started our climb. Within 200 meters, Peter Lai and the rest of my team were waaaaay in front of me. I didn't let that bother me and continued on with my slow pace. My assurance was that there were 2 sweepers assigned on this climb and I won't be the last person.

At the 0.5km marker, I was panting a lot. I wondered how I was going to last another 7.7km. I decided not to focus on the long journey ahead.

By the 1km marker, only Francis was with me. At that time, about 7-8people were ahead of us and the rest were about 100m behind us.

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After the 1.5km marker, I was surprised that we were going downhill. It lasted for about 1.2km and I was happily chatting with Francis. Going down meant less energy used. Less energy used meant less panting. Less panting meant going faster.

We came to a suspension bridge where there was a lovely waterfall for us to pause in awe and feel refreshed – despite feeling sweaty and dirty.After that, it was uphill all the way. :( At about 3.6km, a group of new found friends whom we met from the previous day at Park HQ went past us. They were quite fast, considering that they started their journey ay 9.30am. But then, they were not carrying anything, except for a bottle of water each. They passed the rest of their stuff to the porter.

The most tiring part of this climb was between 3.5km – 5km. I was so (100000X) exhausted and hungry and the steps were very steep. By this time, Henry (who was supposed to be waaaay behind me as the sweeper) was with us.

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I kept wondering why I was silly enough to go on this climb when I could be at work, sitting at my table and exhausting my brains instead of every limb of my body. I also envisioned myself at home sleeping. Then Peter Lim's words came to me, "You're not fit enough" .... "Only70-80% of you will make it". I immediately removed those negative words from my brains and concentrated on what my friend, Eric, wrote the night before, "Don't worry Rachel! You know how to do this. You know what to expect. It's just a beautiful climb! Take it for that."

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I felt much better.

It rained slightly after 4.2km and I kept my camera in my backpack after that. No more pictures from this point onward. I wore my poncho and perspired even more.By 5km, only Henry was with me. Francis was about 50m ahead of us.

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The beautiful sight of the Mesilau-Timpohon junction came into view atabout 6km. We saw Francis sitting on a rock, taking a break. He decided to move on when he saw us.

Hendry decided to abandon me at this junction. Perhaps I was going too slow for him. I told him to move on ahead as the weather was getting chilly.It started raining a little after that.

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For the last 2km, I was alone. I started counting aloud every step I took just so that I wouldn't think about being so alone. At about 5km on the Timpohon trail (7km from the Mesilau Trail) , KG caught up with me. He wanted to go on ahead, drop off his backpack and return to assist Esther.

Towards the last 500m, it started to get a little dark and I was kinda worried that I might need my headlamp, which, thankfully was in my backpack.

When I caught sight of the 1st hut, I was so happy. That hut is a sign that Laban Rata was nearby. I walked with slightly more vigour. Seeing Laban Rata in front of me was a welcome sight.

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I walked into the building at 6.45pm, breathing a great sigh of relief. The temperature at Laban Rata was 9C – still tolerable for me because it was not windy and the rain has stopped.

Dinner was bland but I ate a lot as I was super hungry. Eunice and Doc James walked in at 7pm and Esther, at 7.15pm. Doc James had AMS and headache hit him the moment he stepped into Laban Rata. Later I was told that it was caused by the cheese that he ate earlier – which would cause an allergic reaction. Hendry had AMS too but his was not as severe as Doc James.

After dinner, the need for a hot shower was great. Thank God for hot water even though it was after 7pm. We were told last year that the water heater cut off point was at 7pm.

That night, we had a short briefing in the restaurant, in semidarkness. We were each assigned to partner someone and mine was Francis.

Bedtime was at 9pm and after 10 hours of climbing, I was pretty exhausted and slept almost immediately. My face felt hot and I was worried that I might have fever. Eunice's face was hot too. I guess the heater in the room was working even though we switched it off.

1am came and I was expecting to hear the howling wind but it was quiet. I was awake and alert. Not sleepy or groggy at all. It was a good sign.

We got ready slowly and left Laban Rata only at 3.30am, the very last group to leave for the Peak. It was about 8C outside and warm enough to only wear 2 layers of clothing. Even that, I was perspiring a little as I climbed.

About 150m from Laban Rata, Helen Lai felt sick. Indeed, she was so pale. I was worried that she might not be able to continue climbing. We went past her, praying for her speedy recovery.

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Just before the rope section, someone ahead of me spoke and I realised that it was Peter Lai. Helen was slightly ahead of him. I was told that her tummy was upset earlier and after she.. uh... has done umm.. what she needed to do, she felt much better.

Johnny, whose partner abandoned him at the start of the journey, was my new partner, as Francis was about 50m ahead of me. The day before, at the briefing, we were told to use only 1 backpack between two people and Johnny's stuff was with his partner. I think he felt kinda guilty that he didn't have anything to carry and offered to carry mybackpack. Knowing that I might have problems at the rope section, I gladly passed him my backpack.

It was tiring at the rope section and a few of us had to stop every few steps. I managed to take a few pictures during the many breaks. The Sayat-Sayat checkpoint came into view, much longer than I expected. I thought it was only 100m of rope section but it was about 200m of it – or rather, it seemed like 200m of pulling myself up with the ropes.

It was not really a stroll after the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint, although the terrain was not as rocky and steep. I think this time, the air was thinner (than last year). The whole journey to the peak felt a little draggy. I was alone most of the time, although Esther was always 30 steps ahead of me and Johnny about 30-40 steps behind me. Chan Boon Pin, Lu Vin and Hendry were nearby too. KG and Eunice were waaaaay behind. According to Eunice, she stopped many times to take pictures.

By the 8km marker, I had to put on the woollen sweater which KG so kindly lent me. It was my 3rd layer of clothing.

I wanted to catch up with Esther so that we will reach the Peak together but Johnny asked me to wait for him. So I waited and was about 100 steps behind Esther. If it were not for the thn air, I would've been able to catch up with her.

Last 100 meters to the peak was kinda rocky and therefore, tricky. Still alone, I had to really heave myself up (with great difficulty) and after that, leaned against a boulder for a few seconds (more like minutes), as I found it difficult to breathe. At one point, Helen, from afar, thought that I had fainted. I told her later, that I was breathless.

I reached the peak at 8.40am. Esther was already there when I arrived. Seeing that she was feeling cold, even with the RM28 thick winter jacket -which KG bought in Sitiawan at a 2nd hand store – she was wearing, I put my arms around her to keep her warm.

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After 15 minutes, she descended. I was forced to stay there until Eunice arrived – which was at 9am. By then, I was feeling a little cold because I kept taking out my gloves to take pictures.

I was at the peak for 30 minutes before making my way down. Johnny helped me at the rocky bit, for which I am really thankful for because the thin air makes one feel lightheaded sometimes. A little sway, a little misstep could cause one to fall off the mountain. It was a scary feeling.

We arrived at the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint all too soon. By then, I was feeling kinda warm and had to take off the woollen sweater.

My greatest fear was going down at the rope section. Thank God Hamiri was nearby and saw my fear. He held me by my hand and guided me down. I only had to use the ropes for a short period of time.

Going down after that rope section was a breeze. Hendry, with AMS disappearing at the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint, went down with me.We arrived at Laban Rata at 12.45pm and had our lunch. The rest of the day passed by quickly. We repacked and rested, chatted and took more pictures.

Dinner was at 5.30pm. There we saw the DIGI group having their dinner. I also saw one lawyer from Seremban.

At 7pm, we had MOTM (Music on the Mountain). Yep! The 7kg guitar (with casing) was brought up by the porter. When we sought consent from the management to allow us to have MOTM, they requested that we sing "Still" – one of the worship songs they remembered from last year. We honoured that request, even though it we didn't have the lyrics in hand.

8pm saw us in bed, .... well..... I slept at 8pm, not sure about the rest. Once again, I felt very hot. I opened the top hung of the window in hopes that the room would be cooler. I felt better after that.

I managed to sleep until 1.30am. Most of the climbers were awake and made lots of noise, mainly by just walking up and down the wooden floor and talking excitedly.

At about 2.30am, it started to rain. I was worried for my friends who were doing the summit push that morning. Eunice woke up about the same time I did and at 3.15am, we decided to go downstairs for a cup of Milo. We were surprised to see Doc James (who had fully recovered by then) and Lu Vin chatting. We joined them and had a pleasant (or unpleasant) time exchanging stories on our weird (and crazy???) neighbours.

At 4am, we went up (we were forced to do so when they switched off the lights) to sleep. Prior to that, we went out to check the temperature– 8.2C. Not too bad, but it was raining quite heavily.

It continued pouring for a long time. It was music to my ears but not for those attempting to climb to the Peak that morning.

At 5am, many climbers came back. They were told to return to Laban Rata at the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint. What a waste!!!! I felt disappointed for them. Many of them were foreigners and some even came all the way to Sabah for this climb.

The rain only stopped at 9am, 10 minutes after we made our descend from Laban Rata. Going down was not a problem for me but it proved to be difficult for Esther, who fell at least 4 times.

We went down via the Timpohon trailand arrived at the gate at 12.58pm. Those who were before us were Doc James, William and Cilla. Johnny & Eunice, who were the last of the group to reach the gate, arrived at 1.30pm.

Faustine met us at theTimpohon gate and drove us to Grace Hostel, where we had a relatively cold, but refreshing shower. I felt soooo much better after that shower. We left Grace Hostel at 3.30pm, as planned and stopped at Nabalu for a short tea break.

We had an early dinner at a Gaya Seafood Restaurant where Adele and family, Mom, Dad, Aunty Annie, Aunty Chris, Uncle Allan, Aunty Alice, Cynthia, Serena and Denise joined us. It was like a reunion dinner for some of us.

After dinner, Serena drove me to the airport. The flight was delayed by 15 minutes and I arrived at LCCT at midnight.

Overall, it was a GREAT climb. The weather (Thank God) was perfect and the climb, even though was tiring, was worth it.

Would I climb Mt Kinabalu again?

Not anytime soon unless :-

1 – There's a 3rd trail

2 – Someone pays me lots of $$ to climb this mountain