Mount Kinabalu

Compulsory selfie

Even Before I had even left home, it was the mountain climb that was one of the things I wanted to do. This was the sole reason I’d brought a woolly hat, thick socks and gloves and essentially will be the only time I use them this year! There’s no way I could have gone to Borneo for a year without having done this and I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint.

Content to have made the peak!

On the 2^nd of April Sam, Rory, Max and I woke up with a noticeable buzz because that day wasn't like any other day, it’d be a day where we’d be starting our climb up the mountain. You could tell that Sam was up for it because he’d actually packed his bag in advance! The journey up to the park passed by in no time and the few minutes we had waiting for our passes were well spent marvelling at the spectacular views on offer from the mountain. After successfully getting our passes and meeting our guide for the two days, we were ready to start. BUT not until we stretched off first (According to Sam). Looking back on it, given that we had to walk 6 km that day, I’d heard worse shouts before! The trail began surrounded by thick jungle, which must be passed through in order to scale the mountain. A combination of the dense, moist air and the fact that we’d set off at a blistering pace meant that it wasn't long before we were all dripping. However, in hindsight it was most probably because I didn't like the fact Sam was in the lead!

Stunning views from the park headquarters

Once we began to ascend and the jungle began to become sparser, the colder it became.  This meant that we kept breaks to minimum because when you did stop it allowed the ample sweat to cool and you’d find yourself shivering. The trail for the first 2km was pretty straightforward and wooden rafters ensured our pace was still blistering. However, as we rose in altitude the quality of these rafters significantly decreased and there were countless opportunities when one of us nearly rolled an ankle! Whenever there was a break in the trees it gave us a snippet of what we’d already achieved and it motivated me as I imagined how amazing the feeling must be, having reached the peak.

The final 2 km of the trail leading up to our lodging proved to be considerably harder because there were no longer wooden rafters but instead big boulders, and every step had to be calculated carefully. Nevertheless, although our legs were aching, none of us complained because local Sherpas kept on passing us with ridiculously heavy loads on their backs. According to our guide they can go up and down three times a day with up to 80 Kg strapped to their backs! I think we all aspired to have thighs and calves as big as theirs..

Unit!

pretty moist after 4km

After a gruelling last half a kilometre, we reached our lodging in 2hr30 minutes, which was half the expected time of 5 hours. By the time we got there it was really starting to get nippy and the lodge warmly welcomed us. We were all very tired and hungry and the chance to be able to sit down at a table and reflect on what I’d achieved so far filled me with immense happiness.  Thankfully by which stage, it was now time for the all you can eat buffet and we definitely ate all that we could. After demolishing the buffet, we ventured out on to the balcony, to take in the in the beautiful views across Sabah. For all except Sam, it had been a while since we’d experienced such cold temperatures and so naturally we all took our tops to prove to the others on the balcony that we were hard as nails. Fittingly as we chilled out, the sun had begun to set and the feeling of being in and amongst the clouds, with the orange glimmer of the ever fading sun was like no other. As the sun had completely faded the temperature had plummeted and at this point we took some rest as we up at 2am to start the next day’s ascent.

Sunset from the balcony at Laban Rata

Hard as nails!

The reason for this early start was so that we could watch the sunrise from the summit. The majority of people set off at 2 am but we set off at 3.15 because we didn't want to be standing still, getting cold, waiting for the sun to rise. As we set off, there was biting chill and so we all sported pretty much all the clothes we had, along with our head torches to combat the darkness. Except for Max, who was being a nutter and wore shorts! The first half a kilometre was straightforward and was the time we made up our ground on the people who’d set off before us. Trying to weave and overtake the heavy traffic of people was nightmare and it wasn't helped by the fact my head torch could barely make out a metre in front of me. For the final 1.5 km, it was just bare rock faces and ropes to haul ourselves up the slopes. At the time I wasn't fazed because I couldn't see around me but later on in the descent, in the light of the day, I realised that the bit I’d casually strolling had been at the edge of a cliff face! For the last kilometre, it was evident that the air was getting thinner so naturally the 4 of us had broken up. Sam was miles up in the front, followed by myself and Max and the guide/Rory bringing up the rear. We arrived a hundred metres before the peak at about 4.30 am, which meant as I feared we had ages to kill before the sun would rise at 6.00 am. Therefore, to protect ourselves from the icy wind, the 4 of us huddled together for 45 minutes in a nearby shelter.  After some much needed fruit pastels, we reached the summit shortly after and as I stood at the peak, 4095m in the air, life was good!

The shelter we all huddled under

Scaling the mountain 

Before long, a faint orange glow started to from in the distance, until finally the sun peered above the mountain peak and the beautiful radiance warmed the air ever so slightly. The light spread over the landscape and lit up the nearby rocks and spikes and restored the mountain to its glory. There have been few moments in my life where I've been speechless and it definitely was the most awesome sight of my life!

Sam at Sunrise

The descent was by far harder than the way up and extra care had to be taken to avoid spraining an ankle. Needless to say, this philosophy went out the window when Max, Sam and I raced for the last kilometre. How one of us didn't snap a leg, I don’t know! Whilst at the time the race seemed like a good idea, let’s just say our bodies punished us for it for the whole of the next week.I think I can speak behalf of us all that this is a memory we will all treasure for the rest of our lives..

Unbelievable view