Climbing Mount Kinabalu

In recent days I had the pleasure of travelling to Sabah, Malaysia. My boyfriend Roy and I made plans to visit the coastal city of Kota Kinabalu but our main objective was to attempt climbing Mount Kinabalu, a world heritage site and the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago. Mount Kinabalu is one of the youngest non-volcanic mountains in the world. It was formed within the last 10 to 35 million years and the mountain is still growing at a rate of 5 millimetres a year. 

With a height of 4,095 meters (13,435 ft), most hikers are recommended to split this climb into a two day hike, which requires lodging at a midway point at a hostel known as Laban Rata. This option seemed too expensive and unnecessarily complicated. After talking to some friends and doing a bit of research we found that it was in fact possible to climb the mountain in 1 day but we were warned not to attempt this feat unless we were in ‘extremely good physical condition.’ The caveat of taking this option is that you must follow strict time requirements to guarantee suitable weather conditions and safety. If you do not reach the summit by 1pm you must agree to turn around and promptly begin your descent. 

The day of the climb we arrived at the park office at 7:15am, paid 100 RM each for our climbing permit, and 70 RM for our guide named Francis who would accompany us to the summit. We got into a brief argument with the park staff who insisted we purchase ‘special insurance’ and eventually were able to talk our way out of it. Next we had to pay a van fee of 25RM to take us from the park entrance to the trail head at Timphohon Gate. The van took ages to show up and as a result we did not actually begin hiking until about 8am. 

Our pace was brisk from the beginning, fearing that our late start would prevent us from reaching the summit. The trail quickly developed into a very steep, endless staircase. At times we would climb over plenty of rocks which proved to be more mentally gratifying, while other parts of the trail were simply wooden steps as far as the eye could see. It didn’t take long for me to begin hating the sight of these steps, which made the grueling task all the more tedious.

We got warm quickly and stripped off our outer layers of clothing. It was not long before the sun was beating down upon my neck and bullets of sweat crowded my brow. The first two kilometers were especially difficult, it seemed our bodies were still adjusting to the idea of climbing a mountain. The higher in altitude we climbed, the more difficult it was to breath. I would raise my hands behind my head at any opportunity to try to slow and catch my breath, but it seemed impossible. We stopped every half kilometer for a drink of water and I was constantly panting with exhaustion. 

If we hadn’t been preoccupied trying to catch our breath I’m sure we would have stopped to take photos because the trail was so beautiful. We kept moving up over the jungle into the mist of the mountain.  Below us was a lush rain forest home to plenty of exotic creatures. The mountain has more than 4,500 species of flora and fauna, wildlife ranges from mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians and reptiles to insects and other invertebrates. On the trail however, the only animals we came across were birds and squirrels, blissfully unaware of our suffering.

We reached Laban Rata  at 3,270 meters (10,730 ft) at 11am and I could not wait to sit down. Our guide, ever attentive to the time, told us we could rest for ten minutes but had to keep moving if we were going to make it to the summit before 1pm. It was torturous seeing all of the two day climbers lounging around the lodge drinking beer. We had some muesli bars to boost our energy, and then reluctantly rose to our feet. By this point I was already doubting my ability to complete the climb under the time constraints, but Roy wouldn’t accept my lack of enthusiasm and continually offered his encouragement. 

The trail soon turned to naked granite rock in which our only compass was a rope leading to the summit. At many points the rock was so steep you had to use the rope to pull yourself up. At first this seemed like a nice rest for my legs but being so tired I feared there was a much greater risk of injury. At certain points, if I were to slip, I would have rolled right off a cliff into the clouds.

 I tried not to look down and used all my mental energy on just lifting one foot after the other. I was too close to turn back and I would never forgive myself for giving up so close to the summit. With every steep incline behind us, we hopefully believed we had reached the summit, only for Francis to repeat that we were not yet there and we must keep climbing. The time constraints, made the ascent incredibly stressful on the mind and body but without them, we may not have had the urgency and determination to get to the top. 

When at last the summit was in view, I was so happy I nearly burst into tears. My pace quickened, the hope of reaching the end filled my body with energy I didn’t know I had. Roy was yelling down to me, “We did it! It’s great! It’s great!” I pulled myself up over the last few rocks and I had the biggest smile on my face saying, “Yes! Yes!” We made it to the top of the world! By this point it was about 1:15pm but we convinced Francis to give us some leeway.

After a short victory beer at the summit, we carefully started the climb back down to Laban Rata. I did slip and fall at one point but easily recovered. We took a lunch break before descending the mountain which took us 4 long knee grinding hours. 

The steep trail was wet due to afternoon rain, and felt dangerous because we were so tired. We both tripped a few times and were lucky to finish without any sprained ankles. Despite the difficulty our moods couldn’t be altered. Nothing could spoil the gratification of our accomplishment. When we finally reached the Timphohon Gate it was 6pm and getting dark. We hurried off to find a warm cup of Sabah Tea and share our tale with anyone willing to listen.