Getting to the mountain proved an adventure in itself after we hopped onto the wrong bus and ended up travelling in the opposite direction. By the time we finally arrived in Kundasang, it was raining heavily, getting dark and the temperature was significantly lower. We stumbled into the closest lodge and paid the higher than usual price to secure a good sleep before our climb. As a bonus the lodge also ran a cheesecake shop.
We woke to the most beautiful view of the mountain and valley, both excited and anxious to reach the Park Headquarters to make an early start. Mount Kinabalu is Malaysia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has the largest variety of carnivorous pitcher plants in the world.
After a fair bit of paperwork we collected our packed lunch, ID cards and finally met our local guide, Rose. She had been climbing the mountain 2-3 times a week for 6years! Her advice was simple: go slow and conserve oxygen. Oh and to hire the walking poles we quickly became heavily reliant on!
We climbed continuously for close to 5hours, stopping only for brief water breaks and high calorie snacks (highly coveted by the fearless squirrels). The local porters put us to shame, completing their DAILY ascent in 2.5hours, carrying up to 40kg on wooden boards on their backs. They were responsible for transporting all the supplies to and from the mountain accommodation.
By the time we reached Laban Rata Resthouse at 3,273m, exhaustion was setting in. We refuelled on the endless buffet food provided and watched the sky turn crazy colours above the clouds.
After a short sleep and our first breakfast, we started climbing again at 2:30am. This time we had only 2.7km to cover but 822m of altitude to gain. We scaled near vertical surfaces of granite continuously for 3hours. Temperatures were close to freezing and we were guided only by torchlight and a white rope. And Rose of course! We crossed the safety checkpoint showing our IDs, following a line of glowing head torches. Towards the end it became pretty desperate as we literally forced the final steps, using the last of our energy to reach the summit (Low's Peak at 4095.2m). We arrived just a few minutes before the sky started to light up.
The 360 degree views were breath taking! As the sun came up, the mountain cast a huge shadow across the island reaching all the way to Kota Kinabalu and the South China Sea.
We hustled for a photo with the official summit sign.
Then the slow and careful decent began. At first it seemed so easy in comparison but the pain quickly set in with the repetitive impact on our joints. We stumbled frequently, our fatigue evident. Harness free abseiling down the steeper sections was fun!
After a second buffet breakfast the descent continued. For a total of 3.5hours! It was a lot easier to breathe, and Rose wanted to know all about New Zealand. She taught us a lot about local life. We shared our packed food with her and took her advice to buy a can of 100plus at the bottom to help us rehydrate.
After a final buffet feed (endless food!), and a farewell to Rose and our Australian dorm mates, we headed back to KK, exhausted and elated.
After a short sleep and our first breakfast, we started climbing again at 2:30am. This time we had only 2.7km to cover but 822m of altitude to gain. We scaled near vertical surfaces of granite continuously for 3hours. Temperatures were close to freezing and we were guided only by torchlight and a white rope. And Rose of course! We crossed the safety checkpoint showing our IDs, following a line of glowing head torches. Towards the end it became pretty desperate as we literally forced the final steps, using the last of our energy to reach the summit (Low's Peak at 4095.2m). We arrived just a few minutes before the sky started to light up.
The 360 degree views were breath taking! As the sun came up, the mountain cast a huge shadow across the island reaching all the way to Kota Kinabalu and the South China Sea.
We hustled for a photo with the official summit sign.
Then the slow and careful decent began. At first it seemed so easy in comparison but the pain quickly set in with the repetitive impact on our joints. We stumbled frequently, our fatigue evident. Harness free abseiling down the steeper sections was fun!
After a second buffet breakfast the descent continued. For a total of 3.5hours! It was a lot easier to breathe, and Rose wanted to know all about New Zealand. She taught us a lot about local life. We shared our packed food with her and took her advice to buy a can of 100plus at the bottom to help us rehydrate.
After a final buffet feed (endless food!), and a farewell to Rose and our Australian dorm mates, we headed back to KK, exhausted and elated.
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