Climbing Mt Kinabalu 16 June '11

Mt K Summit Trail

Day 0. Preparation at Mt K Nature Park
15th June ’11, Wednesday, 3:30 pm, raining, wet and miserable
Venue: Rock Hostel
There was an electric water heater at Rock Hostel, so we could have boiled as much water as we needed. However, being kiasu, we bought too much water on the way here and they have to be stored away in the Nature Park HQ. We packed our stuff into A, B and C.
‘A’ for stuff that we carry ourselves
‘B’ for stuff that porters carry for us
‘C’ for stuff that were to be locked away at the Nature Park HQ

High spirit at Timpohon Gate.

Day 1. Climb: Going to the mid-point
16th June ’11, Thursday, 9 am, Timpohon Gate (1866m) --> Laban Rata --> Lagadan (3272m)
Distance to cover: 6 km
Altitude gain: 1406 m
This is my third climb up Mount Kinabalu. The weather was perfect for climbing during my first climb. The only extra-ordinary thing was the very strong cold wind near the summit. For the first time in my life, I felt cold and hot simultaneously. Hot on the side that the sun was blazing on while cold on the other side the wind was blowing at. In my second climb, there was a constant drizzle on the way from Lagadan Hut to the summit and back. This time, it rained the moment we stepped out of Timpohon Gate at 9:02 am.

Drenched to the core.

We ate and drank to reduce our load.

Wei Dong spotted his mother.

We ate and drank one shelter before our lunch point which was at Layang Layang, not because we were hungry or thirsty but to reduce our load. I told my daughter that I would wait for her at every shelter. Unfortunately, it was too cold to wait at the last two shelters before Laban Rata. Wei Kang and I reached the restaurant at 1:56 pm. To my surprise, we were the first among the 18 climbers to reach the rendezvous point.

Happy reunion at Laban Rata

Later, Auyong LS accompanied Wen Hsi into Laban Rata. Wei Dong followed soon after. As I was getting worried about Jia Le, I put on my gears to go and fetch her. Just as I stepped out of the hut, I saw, to my great relief, You Tong bringing Jia Le in. Soon the rest started streaming in. Everyone was in the restaurant by 4 pm.

We paid the porters at Laban Rata and they carried the stuff and locked them up in my dormitory at Lagadan Hut. We ate buffet dinner the moment it started serving at 4:30 pm for we wanted to go to our hut to rest as soon as possible. The rain subsided a bit after 5 pm and the guides led us to Lagadan Hut which is 200m farther up from Laban Rata. Supper which consisted of fried noodle would be served at the next morning at 2:00 am but we were unwilling to go down 200 m and then come up again for the summit. The guides were kind enough to bring bread in lieu of the supper from the restaurant to us.

At Lagadan, I inserted the batteries to the headlights only to find one faulty set among the six that I have. It was not a major problem as I could always borrow a headlight from other climbers who were not climbing the summit. It turned out that I don’t even have to do that as my daughter opted out.

13 brave souls took on the summit.

Day 2 Climb: Scaling the summit
17 June ‘11, Friday, 2:20 am, Lagadan Hut (3272m) --> Low’s Peak (4095m)
13 out of the 18 climbers took the challenge to scale the summit. The 13 climbers were divided into 3 teams; a guide would look after each team. My two sons, Auyong LS and I were led by mountain guide, Jacob. I was a bit concern for my younger son as he seemed to be a bit off. I chatted up with him. His reply: “I did not hike for 5 hours to sleep here.”

Good weather in the beginning
(L-R Siew Hoon & Siew Geck).

The mission is simple: To reach the summit by 6 am to catch the sunrise.
Distance to cover: 2.7 km
Altitude gain: 823m
The weather was fine for the first half kilometer but it started to rain after that. Fortunately, it was not the pouring type, we could still press on. I brought along the thermal flask from NP D&D 2010 and I was very appreciative of the warm water in such freezing condition. The condensation on my glasses was so bad that I could see better without the glasses. Around the half mark, I kept my glasses away.

After Sayat Sayat Hut, the terrain was mainly bare slippery rocks. I started slipping despite having expensive waterproof Columbia hiking boots. It seemed that a kind of stubbed shoes which cost 7 to 9 ringgit a pair, the local fondly called Kampong Adidas gripped better than most branded shoes. Under our headlights, we could see only black and white. Given a choice, always stepped on the white because white meant dry while black meant the surface was wet with water. Being wet was not a problem, what we feared was the slippery moss that grew on the rocks.

Poncho was not effective at Mount Kinabalu. It was supposed to cover everything including the backpack. However, the wind here was so strong that half the time the poncho was flying in the mid-air obstructing one’s vision and allowing rainwater to get into your body. It got worse when we have to climb on all fours because we would step on the poncho more often than not. Raincoat is better as it fit the body more closely. The only catch is that we need to bring along a rain cover for the backpack.

In spite of the adverse conditions, we did better than our guide’s expectation. We were 10 m away from the summit at 5:33 am when unexpected delays started popping up, one after another. I literally kick-started the series of events. My headlights have 3 elastic bands that strapped it to my head and the right band snapped suddenly. I halted the team so that they would wait for me while I fixed the problem. My fingers were so stiff then that I could not fix the problem. Finally, out of desperation, I used the 2 of remaining bands to hold the headlights. It suited me fine so I waved the team to move on. Next my eldest son complaint that his shoe laces came off, we stopped for him. Under the freezing condition, tying the shoe laces is quite a challenge. We waited quite a while for him. I only knew much later that he did not manage to tie his shoe laces, he merely tucked them away.

When he was done, Auyong LS asked me to adjust her hood which I did, and then her shoe laces also came loose. She took off her gloves to tie her shoe laces only to find problem putting the gloves on again. When we were all ready for our final charge, I could feel a surge of adrenaline rushing through my body. I climbed like Spiderman (no rope) to the summit and reached it before 5:45 am.

At the summit, the weather cleared up a little bit, I saw the sun glowed for 1 or 2 seconds and then covered by dark cloud. We took some pictures hastily and descend on another path parallel to the climbers who are making their way up. Even though we could not see the sun, the sky has brightened up so much that we do not need the headlights anymore. Along the way down, Wei Dong spotted his mother from afar and encouraged her to press on. Without my glasses, I could not see my own wife. Anyway, I blindly shouted some encouragements across.

The reward for coming back early is a buffet breakfast at Laban Rata but I chose to stay back at Lagadan Hut to collect all the room keys and handed over the ‘B’ stuff to the porters. The first group of climbers led by Auyong LS proceeded the descend at about 8:15 am. By the time I finished my breakfast, it was already 10:30 am. The sky began to clear up and the sight was magnificent – cloud hovering below us, farther away, we could see tea plantations, farm and different shades of green and blue.

Wei Dong, Wei Kang, Chee Kin & Auyong LS at the summit at 5:45 am

My wife (top) and her sister at the summit at 6:44 am.

Team 3 at 4008 m, time unknown.

Just as I was enjoying myself, I suddenly realized that the lunch coupon was still with me. The first group of climbers would need it if they were to have lunch at Balsam Restaurant. I tried in vain to call and SMS Auyong LS. I tried to catch up with her. It was a mistake as I could not make it and I left my wife behind.

First group to descend.

Leung NB, the hero, bringing  the ladies back.

Siew Hoon & Siew Geck struggling to come down the bus.

At the Balsam restaurant, we had anxious moments as we heard that the last group of climbers has 3 injured persons including my wife. Leung NB was the hero of the day. He helped Lian Huay, Mooi Ping and my wife while the 3 mountain guides help Peck Seng who has more serious problems. It was already 6:25 pm when they reached the Timpohon Gate.

We tipped the guides and porters for their good work and for their overtime. We even gave the guides the lunches that we packed for the climbers since we are going to have dinner soon at Sabah Tea Gardens.

Reflections
This was the first time that I organized a holiday trip with people outside my family. The reward of having friends on a trip is that even the side tours were more enjoyable because of the company. I have organized trips for students before. It was a lot simpler then as they followed a standard program as I told them that they either followed my entire program or none at all. Here we have people coming in earlier, some halfway, some wanted to do only certain things; the combinations were mind boggling.
A lot of things have changed since the last time I climbed the mountain. I never engaged porters in my previous climbs. This time, all the meals were catered for in the 3D2N climbing package. Previously, they only catered the dinner and breakfast at Laban Rata and the portions were so small that we have to top up ourselves. The food this time was good and served in buffet style but it also meant that it would be out of reach for most school expeditions because of the inflated cost.

A friend asked me, “So what pushed you on to the summit when it was dark, cold and wet?”
It was my goal to see the sunrise that drove me on. For Wei Kang, he did not want to turn back alone.

The only reason why I would climb the mountain again is to company my daughter up to the summit if she so decide.

Once a reporter asked a mountaineer who has just scaled Mount Everest, “How do you feel now that you have conquered Mount Everest?”
“I did not conquer Mount Everest. The mountain cannot be conquered. What I conquered is the limitations that are within me.”
Mount Everest is twice as high as Mount Kinabalu but the lesson is the same. I will not let age be my limiting factor; I will want to realize my fullest potential.

Back in Singapore, the first contrasting impression is the general cleanliness of the city. Comparatively, Singapore is amazing clean, even in remote corners of the street. Malaysia has abundantly more resources than Singapore yet we are able to achieve more. What counts is not that we have the best of things but instead we make the best use of whatever things we have.

Cost breakdown:

Climbing fee: RM980/pax for 3 day 2 night + food, meals, guide & transport
RM40/pax/nite x 5 = RM200 at City Park Lodge
Sabah Tea = RM195/pax
Mari Mari + Klias River = RM260/pax