My Mount Kinabalu Escapade

P.S. Sorry for the way overdue post! Been really busy with new trips and all, but here it is: The (assuming anyone reads this) long-awaited Mt. K. post!

Bidding my beloved laptop goodbye and tearing my tush from my cush, I set out to conquer one of Asia’s tallest peaks. I did my research and obtained a return ticket via Air Asia, which cost me S$260. My accommodation in Kota Kinabalu was very bare and simple, since the price of luxury would have scorched a hole in my pocket, all through to my tighty whities. It was at Asia Adventure Lodge, where it was just a few bus stops away from KK's airport and where I was to be picked up at 6 a.m. the following dawn. It’s about S$9 per night for a clusterf**k dormitory and S$25 for private quarters. 

Amazing Bourneo Tours was the mountaineering agency with which I corresponded under this site. I had some problems initially because of some financial misunderstandings. But hey, add that to the fact that I was a complete NOOB in travel negotiations, and you got yourself a very persevering and insistent client. :D The guide and climbing fee from Timpohon Gate to Low’s Peak at 4,095m (Someone had a sense of irony) was priced strategically at S$659. I thought this was pretty reasonable, in contrast to other official hotel and Mt. K. websites at the time. Prices fluctuate a lot due to Mt. K.'s commercialised value, but when you gotta do it, no time's better than now.

In terms of training, I recommend stamina honing at Bukit Timah Hill, duh. It’s the only area in Singapore that simulates mountain trails as closely as possible. That or you can do 80-storey buildings. There’s a part of it, after you get to the peak from the entrance, en route to Diary Farm, that has multitudes of lengthy flights of stairs with narrow, sporadic surfaces to tread on and knee-height elevations per step. The first time I attempted them, my thighs felt like they were tenderised and overcooked like bad chicken rice drumsticks.

Bukit Timah Hill Pictures from Google Images

 

But getting more than you bargained for sometimes yields great potential for improvement and experimentation. Practise your back-stepping and sidestepping techniques, endurance training, etc. That moment you can walk up and down those steps 8 times consecutively without losing your edge and still have energy to spare, you have my seal of approval for Mt. K. The beginning of the hill is actually pretty intense as well; with slopes erected almost vertically, it can take a lot out of unsuspecting trainees.

Personally, I wanted to give myself a month of prep time, but thanks to gout, which I unfortunately have at this age, the time was effectively halved. So, I wasn’t satisfactorily prepared to scale Kinabalu with ease, but money had been paid and mind had been conditioned – no turning back. I would have to give it my all to finish it.

An oath of conquest to myself

Throughout the climb, I became a sort of superman drunk on willpower, trying to ignore the hungry buzzing in my stomach. Imagine undertaking this sort of vigorous activity without breakfast. Overkill much?

One of the many rest stations spread sparingly apart

The thing about mountaineering, or any high risk activity for that matter, is always to expect the worst and hope for the best. For instance, my last trip with my polymates was cut off by “one of the worst weathers in Mt. K.’s history”, according to a guide. This time, maybe it was because I hadn’t trained enough, or maybe my ankle was hurting, or maybe I hadn’t had breakfast, but whatever the (legit) excuse, it was god friggin’ tough. 

The trail beckons you from your break. Onwards!

Stairs: You never hated them more

The climb itself was riddled with scenic backdrops, rustic foliage, panorama, skyscapes, woodland creatures, and other such mountain textures.

And more stairs. I thank Nature's splendid visuals for holding me up

The average temperature on Mt. K. is gauged to be around 15-20 degree Celsius, plunging with elevation. But it's the winds that you have to brace yourself for. During breaks, it was so sharply chilling; I couldn't decide whether to take off my shell and fleece, or don them again, since the climb constantly heated my body up in mere seconds. Much tug-of-war, very dilemma. 

But what’s awesome about cold weather is – no bug bites! No prickly irritation from sweat and humidity, and you know you won't die from a heatstroke. Imagine you’re in an air-conditioned 100-storey skyscraper that has a broken down lift. 

The dangers were very real though, a misstep and down you could go, tumbling like a bale of hay into skin-tearing brambles, flesh-perforating branches, bone-pulverising boulders and a blood-splattering paint job at the bottom of some ravine. So, yes, it would hurt a lot. Be considerably focused on where you walk. These, with the suffocating cold air and its drastically reduced oxygen composition, put a sizable toll on your being.

As far as woodland creatures go, the squirrels will attempt to wrestle food out of your hands if you're carrying some. Before you know it, they'll just scramble up your body in a second flat and pry open your fingers. Too bad I didn't get a picture of it because I was too busy trying not to get overpowered. I did, however, snap a few shots of them scurrying about, although they were mainly fails. These are the best my camera got.

Skyscapes definitely figure into the goals of every mountaineer's blueprint. You literally touch the clouds and blend into the swirling mists. They're the symbolic vortex beyond which adventure awaits. And you feel as though the drama of adrenaline is the only thing fueling you, because you need to know what the end is like. As I gasped with every advance, I knew I was breathing life into my bucket list.

Clouds rolling and cascading

The unmistakable apex of another mountain

Panorama, one epic at a time

At this point, I was about 2,370 meters up and the terrain had hardened into a rocky avenue. Laban Rata, the sole accomodation/buffet house/lounge area of Mt. Kinabalu lay beyond the gravelly dyke of hellish trudging. I couldn't remember being more elated in my life. BED! FOOD! LEG REST HAVEN!

Laban Rata in sight!

It's relatively warm inside, spanning from 15-18 degree Celcius, I'd say. Temperatures do vary at night, though. After some lying down and mingling with other very happy, albeit drained, climbers, we set out to admire the scenery of clouds. It was as though the mountain had an ebbing and flowing ocean of its own. Water vapor never seemed so glorious and masterful.

The tides crashing into shore

From left: Liz from England, Lucky Guy from Singapore and Jessie from Japan.

The view from the the buffet restaurant's balcony. Great atmosphere for tea and chatter

Happy me is happy

More cloudgasms in the sunset

The coming dawn, we resumed our climb. In the dark. Note the headlight and extra covering I had padded myself with. The deliriously lofty height made it cold enough, morning was downright frigid. It had to have been below 8 degree Celcius outside, with the peak verging on negative temperatures.

You might have noticed I have a knack for dramatic storytelling, and here it is again. The darkness swallowed us as if we'd ascended into a black vacuum. With our oxygen content quickly depleting, the depths of dangers threatened to smother us. Yet, we pushed our way upward, through the desolate badlands. The light illuminated only the path in front of us, our spirits sensing the pinnacle beyond. In short, we were pretty psyched up for the summit push.

Nothing like a selfie 4,000 meters up in the dark

And finally... the momentous summit -- Low's Peak! There, there's nothing higher than you. The world below just bides its time while you're at its front lines. I tried taking pictures from all directions, but the safety fences were kinda anti-climactic though and photobombed the pictures. 

All the sky is my ceiling and the earth my ground! Nah, by the time I got there I was like, "Too shagged to pose, just snap one! Hallelujah!"

Achievement unlocked: One-man army trek up Mt. K.

On my way down, I thought I'd take some nice pictures that I couldn't when it was still dark.

I couldn't even keep my gloves off for 30 seconds due to the sheer cold

After quenching my own expectations, rolling down became curiously tempting. This is what I remember of my thought process then: "I'd be down in a jiffy, terribly maimed, but down nonetheless."

At the end of it all, although I was really behind schedule due to a random gout attack, I made it down safely, still in one piece, and feeling like a total one-of-a-kind awesome. 

Special thanks to…

- Sasi Kumar, for lending and entrusting me with the bulk of my mountaineering gear: shell, fleece, gloves, bag.
- Jeremy Tong, for helping me with my training, lending me his LED head lamp and providing lots of handy tips. His climbing website: https://jeremytongclimbs.wordpress.com/
- Min, for his countless motherly advice. Haha. ;P
- Amazing Bourneo Tours, for patiently waiting for and catering to my tardiness without extra charge and scorn.
- My guide, for putting up with my clumsiness, laziness and the unmerited delays.

- My awesome new friends I made at Asia Adventure Lodge and Laban Rata, who inspired me and relieved me of boredom and fatigue.
My Republic Polytechnic facilitators, who taught me so well and led us up there the previous time. I remember all my outdoorsy techniques -- almost.

- Myself, for being such a boss and going the distance alone to find that piece of me way up in the mountains. I left it there for good measure.