Mount Kinabalu, conquered (almost)

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This was an article written by Peter Carillo which came out in Daily Tribune's Life Section that came out today. Below is the internet version of the article:

Enjoy reading!!!

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Selamat Datang ke Kota Kinabalu.” This Malay phrase, when translated in English, means “Welcome to Kota Kinabalu.” It was a comforting message for me and my friends when we landed at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah, Malaysia. It fired up our adrenaline anew after it had been dampened by a four-hour delay of our flight from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Field, Pampanga. The delay was disappointing because it meant hours of wasted precious vacation time.

In fairness to said airline, we got our tickets at a cheap price. We availed of the airline’s promo and got our e-tickets six months in advance. The airline offers cheap rates, giving people with a minimal budget opportunities to travel. Their catchphrase — “Everyone can fly” — should work for them minus the delays. A fellow passenger teasingly commented that the delays come with the cheap fare.

Nevertheless, we spent the time coordinating with the rent-a-car agent in Kota Kinabalu to inform him of the change in our time of arrival. Instead of 8 p.m., we were to arrive at 11 p.m. All succeeding details had to suffer an adjustment, including our budget on the first day because we had to eat dinner at the costly airport restaurant. Even the driver of the van we hired asked for an extra charge because he had to drive late in the evening for two and a half hours from the airport to Serinpit Hostel where we were to stay. See, flight delays could cost you a fortune.

Os, Alya, Barok, Alvin, Joan, Roselle, Nova, Ellen, Laiza and myself composed the group. Friends since college we got together after so many busy years with the ultimate goal of conquering Mount Kinabalu, the third highest mountain in Southeast Asia and the tallest in Malaysia and in the island of Borneo.

For a non-mountaineer like me, the idea of reaching Mt. Kinabalu’s summit was worth bragging about. I knew it would not be an easy endeavor. And having read materials on mountaineering, I also realized going on a climb required physical and mental preparation.

Having different jobs and diverse schedules, each one had to do his/her own preparation. We did mostly cardio exercises. I opted to walk around our neighborhood at least 40 minutes, three times a week for the physical prep. For the mental part, I considered it very important to condition my mind for the climb. The group decided to meet a few days before we were off to the mountain to discuss possible scenarios during the climb. Encouraging one another had indeed proven to be helpful to feel the spirit of working for a common goal – to reach the summit.

The journey up

With only four hours of sleep, the much-awaited day of the climb came. Since some members of the group had done some climbing in the Philippines, they suggested that we do some stretching to minimize muscle and joint pains after the activity.

As we walked toward the Kinabalu Park headquarters where we were to register (pre-registration is required even before you arrive for trafficking purposes because they only allow a specific number of people to climb in a day) and meet our guide, the enormous façade of Mt. Kinabalu greeted our eyes, inviting another photo opportunity.

For the duration of the climb, a guide had to be always present. As we paid for the guide’s fee and the climb (because they have to charge an amount for the mountain’s care and maintenance), we were also able to exchange our pocket money for Ringgit (Malaysian currency). It was a good thing they had a money exchange counter right at the headquarters.

It took us an hour and a half to finish the transactions and computing each one’s share. The whole amount charged to a group of eight (only eight of us decided to push through, Nova and Ellen backed out) converted to peso was about P4,800. Settling the fees, we could see that a lot of climbers had gotten ahead of us. Judging from their color and looks, I could tell that majority of them came from Europe and North America. There were a number of Asians, too, not to mention locals who wish to experience the thrill.

Our guide, Apson, distributed our Ids as soon as we met him. A minibus then transported us to Timpohon gate, which is 1800 meters or 5900 feet up. This gate marks the start of the climb.

A huge granite dome pushed up from the earth’s crust as molten rock millions of years ago, Mt. Kinabalu stands 4095.2 meters (13,435 feet) above sea level. It is globally regarded for its enormous botanical and biological species biodiversity with high levels of endemism. It has one of the world’s richest orchid flora with over 800 species and over 600 species of ferns. As such, UNESCO designated it as Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site.

One thing that made us want to conquer the mountain was the information our classmate Barok had gathered from various Internet sites and blogs that it is one of the easiest to climb and that one need not bring special climbing equipment to reach the top. In fact, she added that it would be basically a trek to the top. She also learned that the temperature at the peak could drop to as low as 0 degrees Celsius, a hint for us to bring thick jackets.During the first phase of our ascent, our excitement could still be traced on the smiles on our faces. When we saw the wooden trail in front of us, we immediately assumed that it was going to be an easy climb. As we went further, the trail became more difficult to climb, however — the spaces in between the trail steps were becoming bigger and higher, thus making every step harder.

The total distance from the Timpohon gate to Low’s peak (the mountain’s summit) is 4095.2 meters. The usual schedule for climbers is to reach 3,300 meters or

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the Laban Rata headquarters on the first day and continue the next day starting at 3 a.m. to reach the summit by sunrise.

Ideally, the trek up Laban Rata would take about five to six hours for a person in good physical condition.

Our first stop was spent munching through food that we brought – mostly chocolates. It was also a way of reducing the weight of our backpacks. To quench thirst, untreated water is always available along the way to mountaineers with bottle containers. At this point, Apson, our guide, told us that at the rate we were going, we would reach Laban Rata in 10 hours. We did not believe him until later on, when we realized that his prediction was very precise.

As we went higher, we marveled at the stunning biodiversity of the mountain. Being in its midst was an awesome experience.

As we went along, we decided to split the group into two since we were going at either fast or slow paces. I started to feel exhausted and thought that if I took my time going up, the more I would feel worn-out. I led the first group along with Barok and Alvin, and the other five trailed behind us with our guide. There was no need to worry on our way up because we just had to follow the trail. It was at this time that we started bumping into other mountaineers who had climbed the previous day and were now on their way down. Encouraging remarks of how beautiful it was up there and that it was worth the sweat seemed like water to our parched throats.

I was so determined to reach Laban Rata fast so I could rest. The journey up was an experience like no other. True enough, my exhaustion was compensated by the natural beauty around me. As I got near the headquarters, the scene slowly changed. The tall trees were replaced by a garden of bonsai plants. This part of the mountain flaunts dwarfed trees. When I asked our guide about it, he said the plants did not develop into full-grown trees because of the strong cold wind in this part of the mountain. “But even if they are dwarfed, most of them are more than 100 years old,” Apson added. I also saw several birds of the 326 species of birds in Mt. Kinabalu.

Almost there

The harsh wind continued to swift through us. Even though I was wearing a bonnet, the cold wind seemed to penetrate my head, giving me a headache. I began to experience shortness of breath as the oxygen level declined. Climbing became really hard, and I was already entertaining the thought of giving up.

After consuming too many chocolate bars, I reached Laban Rata in eight hours with Barok and Alvin right behind me. It was already six in the evening and the thought of climbing at 3 a.m. the next day made me want to hit the sack right away. While waiting for the others, I took a hot shower and relaxed in the dormitory type room reserved for our group. At 8 p.m., the rest of the group arrived, all worn-out and hungry.

As the food was pricey (because the ingredients are brought up by the staff everyday by foot), we resorted to eating the cup noodles we brought. How amazing it was to see how fast these people climb the mountain with 40 kilograms of weight at their backs. These physically powerful men and women (yes, women) go up and down the mountain everyday fast.

At 2:30 a.m. the next day, the kitchen became very busy with climbers hoping to sip a cup of hot coffee or instant soup before braving the summit. The temperature outside was five degrees Celsius. It was only this time that we became aware that the jackets we brought were not enough. I did not bring gloves so I used a fresh pair of white cotton socks instead.

As soon as we were out by 3 a.m., we felt the harshness of the strong, cold wind. We were still 795.2 meters away from the top and our guide was telling us that we should make it to the top in at least three hours. Fingers crossed, we followed the trail up with our flashlights, this time in just one group.

An hour passed and we reached this part of the mountain where we had to climb the naked granite rock. Each climber was evidently experiencing some shortness of breath. The rock to climb appeared to be in a 70 degree-position and the absence of trees allowed the cruel wind hit us directly. As we made our way, we had to give way to other mountaineers who were quick going up. I noticed that most of them were Westerners and we were surprised to see some of them wearing shorts.

On the second hour of our ascent to the summit, after making too many stops, we reached the Sayat-Sayat check-point (where we had to show our IDs to the controller). It was like a roll-call to see if you had made it to that point and that you were proceeding. Tough decisions had to be made, and it was the point of no return.

It was Alya who gave up first. Her decision to stay and wait for us at the check-point was saddening. We could not force her to continue because it would pose a bigger problem should something happen to her on the way up.

Leaving Alya behind, we went on. A few meters from Sayat-Sayat, I suddenly felt sick and began to shiver. I was trembling as I told the rest of the guys that I would be joining Alya. No amount of convincing made me change my mind.

At the Sayat-Sayat check-point, there was a hut with double-decked beds. I was surprised to find that Alya was not alone — the dark room was packed with mountaineers resting and finding ways to keep themselves warm. Minutes later, Alya and I were stunned to hear the rest of the guys calling our names. They, too, had decided to quit. We found out that the temperature at the summit had dropped to -4 degrees.

The sun was up when we started our descent. On the way down we saw ourselves above the stunning sea of clouds. The descent was quicker, but painful as we started feeling pain on our knees and ankle joints.

Seeing the beauty of Mt. Kinabalu up-close and almost reaching the summit was one hell of a story to share. Pushing ourselves to the limit would not have been advisable. For us, the experience in itself was great. It was a bit comforting to know that many climbers did not reach the summit, too.

Apson was proud of us; with our small strides compared to our Western counterparts, we almost made it to the top. We were issued certificates attesting to the elevation we reached – 3668.10 meters. These are authentic certificates and we are confident that our guide will not deny it.

Mt. Kinabalu is not moving anywhere else; so it gives us good reason to save money for a second attempt.
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