February 2009

Ain't no mountain high enough...

Climbing Mount Kinabalu, the 4th tallest mountain in South-East Asia

We'd done some research a month before so we knew what we were getting ourselves into. It sounded like a tough climb, but with the two of us still being in our 20s, we should be able to manage. Just to be sure though, We trained in the weeks leading up to it. I went swimming a couple times — although upon reflection it may have been better if I hopped on the Stairmaster. Ah well, "ce'st la vie", or whatever it is the Germans like to say.

Before starting out, we chatted to our guide Fred who assured us that we didn't need to rush. As long as we kept a steady pace we would make it up to Laban Rata lodge in 4-5 hours. The plan was that we would climb the 6km up to Laban Rata lodge, have dinner and go to bed early. At 2:30am, we would wake up and make the remaining 3km(?) hike up to the summit in time for the sunrise. We would then return to the lodge for breakfast before making our way back to headquarters. So all up over the two days there would be 18km of walking up and down the mountain.

So with walking sticks in hand (available for MYR8 at base camp), we set out; it didn't take long before my heart rate picked up. Michelle started to struggle with her backpack, and Fred offered to carry a bag for us for MYR40. We were barely an hour into the hike and already struggling so we decided to take him up on the offer. (You can hire porters at the bottom of the mountain who carry bags for you; they charge by the kg. Highly recommended if you do this climb unless you're super hardcore.)

It wasn't an IMPOSSIBLE climb, but it was definitely no walk in the park either (ha!). Every 500m or so there was a shelter to refill your water bottle, a place where you could rest or keep going. We usually opted to stop. But after a while an alarming trend started to surface. A group of about seven Japanese women in their 60s kept catching up to us at each rest stop. This started to bother me, and every time we saw them, I urged Michelle to start walking again.

At 4km later, my knees started to give. Now I'm not what you would call the most athletic person in the world, but I'm not exactly overweight either. In fact my Wii Fit age is 26! But apparently my knees were telling a different story. As we walked, each step was agony and it didn't help that Michelle started getting altitude sickness. It was getting harder for her to breathe. If we weren't stopping because of my old-man joints, we were stopping for her to catch her breath. Each step became an accomplishment.

Climbing the mountain was like experiencing four seasons. At one point in the clouds, there was light rain making things slippery. A little later the sun beat down on us and we were glad we were wearing shorts. 500 metres down and it was like we were walking through rainforest — it was incredible.

It was around this point that a couple of young blokes passed us on their way down. Apparently they'd started their climb from base camp THAT morning, reached the summit and was now on their way down. They didn't need no walking sticks... in fact, they had the audacity to sip from their cans of soft drink, as they casually skipped down! I mean, come on guys! Show a little sensitivity...

But as someone smart once said, "...it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winnin’ is done." Thanks Rocky Balboa, thanks.

So like trucks, we kept uhhh... trucking. Each signpost we passed was a blessing, each a step closer to the promised land. Inevitably the group of elderly Japanese women caught up...and passed us. But we didn't care. I had left my pride kilometres earlier. At this point we just wanted to get to the damned lodge.

Somehow, we made it to the lodge. It took us almost 6 and a half freaking hours, but we made it. I rubbed deep heat on my legs like it was Labour Day.

The view was amazing, we were literally above the clouds. And when the sun set — it was almost worth the 6 hour trek. Almost.

We went to bed at about 7pm that night, not sure if we would be able to finish the climb to the summit. When the alarm went off for 2am, my knees were still aching. There was no way I was going to make the 3km climb to the summit, the 3km back down to Laban Rata lodge, and then the further 6km down to headquarters. Especially seeing as how the trip down is supposed to be tougher than the climb up — especially on the knees. (Picture yourself a day after a 10km run, how sore you are and much much harder it is to go down the stairs than up.) But Michelle still wanted to go, she seemed to have acclimatised to the altitude. So up she went with Fred, as I went back to sleep.

A couple hours later, I am woken by a knock at the door. It's Michelle. She explains how they climbed up the mountain, but after an hour or so, Fred disclosed that at that slow pace they wouldn't be able to make it by sunrise. So they decided to turn back. Ain't no shame in it, apparently not everyone makes it to the summit in time. At least she tried.

We woke up proper several hours later and ate our buffet breakfast (gotta carbo-load!). We looked around and aside from a couple of people, almost everyone had at least attempted the summit. There must've been 80 or 90 people staying at the lodge. I felt a slight tinge of regret that maybe despite the pain, I should have powered on. But what's done is done.

The descent was relatively uneventful. Aside from groups of eager beavers passing us, we didn't see many people. We did come across numerous porters though, ferrying goods up and down the mountain. Some of the loads were probably 40-50kg on their backs, they were sweating like crazy. A couple guys were carrying large 2m long metal rods as they hopped from rock to rock. It made our struggle seem not so bad. And aside from the last 2 km, when my knees started to give out again and my legs started to wobble, it wasn't as bad as we expected.

Would I ever do the climb again? Probably not. It's not something I would describe as being "fun", it's more that it gives you a huge sense of achievement. And the view is pretty damned special. Even though we didn't make it all the way, I am still pretty proud that we made the 6km to the lodge.

Whoever said "It's not the destination, it's the journey" has obviously never climbed Mount Kinabalu before.

Mt Kinabalu: 1
David Tang: 0