To the reader: If you have just arrived here and have not read the 1st post about my Mount Kinabalu expedition please click
here to read it first.
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It was 2 a.m. when the alarm rang. I could hear things shuffling around me. Slowly I roused and opened my eyes. For a moment, I was quite disoriented. I found myself on a bunk bed in an orange lit room. As my senses gradually came together I realised I was in a chilly dorm 3000 metres above sea level.
It was the morning of our endeavour to summit Mount Kinabalu, the morning of our chase for sunrise. From Laban Rata it is about 3km to Low's Peak not considering height.
After a quick hot drink I quickly said goodbye to my mum (she was going at 6a.m.) and stepped outside into the freezing cold to join Mark. I was wrapped up in many layers so the chilly wind did not really affect me.
There are not many pictures of the night ascent by I will try to best illustrate it in words, alright.
The light of our headlamps were the only thing to illuminate the way. Right away after a check that everyone in the group was there, we got started.
This time a trained guide was compulsory for us to navigate through the darkness. It felt quite like being a blind sheep, looking straight down and ahead to make sure I wouldn't miss a step. For the first quarter of the summit attack we were still climbing steps amongst vegetation.
Almost immediately, I began to have problems. You see, I was wearing
3 layers: a long sleeved shirt, a vest and a jacket. On top of that I was wearing my backpack strapped on. At the same time, I was wearing a scarf and a cap which was constantly being blown by the wind.
And then came my worst nightmare, I began to
sweat inside from the multiple layers of clothing. At first I tried to ignoring it, keeping up with the groups pace (fast to catch the sunrise!). But then the heat started to become so unbearable that I just
had to stop!
So
I turned back while the group went on in front. The guide trailing behind quickly caught up with me and I explained my problem. I dropped my bag down on the rocks, quickly ripped off my jacket and tied it round my waist.
In the flurry of holding my scarf together and tying my jacket, my flimsy headlamp falls off on to the rocks and the batteries fall out. Oh no! By this time the rest of the group was far ahead. Only myself, the guide and a Malay couple remained with me. Frantically, I try putting the headlamp back together. Finally it works again and I put it over my head then I put my backpack back on, re-strap everything and the four of us got going again.
Mark and the rest were far in the distance by now. I said to the guide that I
needed to catch up with the rest of the group, or else my chances of seeing sunrise would be destroyed!
So he pointed forward and told me to run after the speck of light that was them. Without thinking I started off immediately. They were approximately 200m ahead. I kept going as fast as I could, panting hard, but the speck of light seemed to get dimmer and further away, and
all of a sudden the lights ahead disappeared!
At that point I got really frightened so I immediately stopped for fear of running into the wrong path. I looked behind and also all that greeted me was pitch black darkness. I realised at that second I was completely alone.
All I could hear was the eerie sound of wind rushing through the sparse rocky landscape around me. I looked down off the cliff to my right and all I could see was a small cluster of orange lights far away. It was actually Kota Kinabalu! That gave me the scary realisation of how far up in the sky I was.
Irrational thoughts came rushing through my head. What if I got stranded here? Would I die? Should I turn back? Don't "they" say there are spirits roaming this mountain? Completely struck by fear, I simply stood there on a lone rock looking anxiously down the path below me.
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Finally I spotted the light of the guide's headlamp slowly moving up the path towards me. A sense of relief came over me. As he approached me I explained that I could not reach them. Understanding how I felt, the large local guide said "Come, I will bring you." He ran me up the path all the way until I was about 50m from the group in front, then he shouted to the guide ahead to stop and wait for me. I thanked him profusely and ran up to meet the rest.
Adrenaline pumping, blood coursing, I was reunited with the group once again!
This was originally a pic of Mark and I, but I looked so retarded with exhaustion and squinting eyes that I had to cut me out.
A female guide was in charge of our group, so she led the way ahead. We had to maintain a relatively fast pace so the adrenaline in my system definitely helped. Eventually we reached the sections with the rope.
Here's where it got steep. In the extremely unfamiliar terrain, all we could do was cling on to the rope and follow the guide's instructions. At one point, we were to climbing along a ledge about a foot wide, clinging on to the rope. The guide stopped to let us admire the view from this frightful height.
I can tell you, it was absolutely magnificent. At this hair raising height we were clinging on to the rope for our dear lives and the wind was billowing past us. Far down below us you could see dots and clusters of street lamps. But they were too small to distinguish individual roads. Straight up above us, we were treated to a mesmerising dome of the Milky Way and thousands of stars.
Literally thousands. It was just surreal.
Fun fact: At that elevation, stars don't twinkle because the atmosphere above is thin.
So we headed on forth, guided by the rope and the person. Some points along the way up was as steep as 70 degrees! As sunrise approached we pushed ourselves more and more. Even the guide was doubtful if we would reach in time but we toiled on forward despite the utter exhaustion.
Even then progress was painfully slow as we hiked up an angled plateau that led to Low's Peak. Before us we could see a long line of little lights leading all the way up to a little point. We knew that was our goal so we pushed forth ignoring our cramps and aches.
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It took us four excruciating hours but we finally made it to Low's Peak 6 a.m. on the dot! First a faint orange glow appeared in the horizon. Then as if heaven's gates burst open, our entire surroundings rapidly grew brighter as the suns rays came over the clouds. We were treated to a spectacular view from the top of the world. These pictures may only do it some justice:
"Bloody exhausted, yeh?"
As the sun began to fill the mountain in its dazzling sun rays, we quickly got our pictures taken.
Yeahhh, we made it, bitchaas!
There is an immense sense of satisfaction about having climbed a mountain and being on top of the world, literally speaking. Its hard to describe, I guess you just got to climb a mountain and find out right? :)
We ended up spending a few hours on the summit. Unlike higher peaks above 6km high, you don't
die from altitude sickness however long you spend up there.
So we took our time to admire the view and sit on the massive boulders of Low's peak.
Pictures:
Low's Gully, affectionately called "Kinabalu's Valley of Death." 3000 feet straight down.
Mount Kinabalu's shadow stretching out to the sea
Taking a nap on Low's Peak
This is what most Malaysians think Mount Kinabalu looks like. Actually, that is the lower South Peak and nobody goes there.
We decided to get down off Low's Peak and chill on the massif, y'know what'm sayin'.
On the right is the Donkey Ear's Peak
Low's Peak in daylight. Don't be decieved by its apparent small looks, the tip is actually approx. half a km from photographer.
Unfortunately our expedition was met with one death. lol.
Its only about 2°C up there
After a lengthy time spent among the gigantic peaks, we decided to go back down.
Going down the plateau
We met the 6 a.m. group on the way down!
Mountaineering paediatricians
My mum's turn to climb up the ledge
We climbed down that day, full of spirit and satisfaction.
Its really something that made Mark and I closer, and I'm grateful to still be such close friends with him after 8 years and counting. So we have climbed a mountain together, check!
Also have to thank Mr. Ong, our organiser, for enabling us to have this amazing experience. Awesome!
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And that, ladies and gentleman, concludes this post. Have a good day folks. Till then...
