Mount Kinabalu

From the plane, one can spot the mountain in an instant. There is no mistaking its magnitude. It protrudes the landscape like an ant hill on a flat bank. When I saw the peak of the mountain from my plane, the reality sank in hard and I remembered asking, “How the hell am I suppose to climb that?”

Kinabalu is the fourth tallest mountain in South East Asia and 20th in the world. It stands 4101 metres or 13,455 feet tall and the mountain still grows at 5mm per annum. Also, the mountain is so rich in flora and fauna that it is known as one of the world’s most important biological sites.


Most climbers spend the night at the Kinabalu Park or surrounding resorts and start the climb at the park headquarters at 1,563 metres above sea level. To put 4,101 metres into easier perspective, by the first 2.5km up, you would have passed the highest tip in Semenanjung Malaysia.

For the first leg, climbers scale 6km up the mountain to get to Laban Rata at 3300 metres where they spend the night. The next day, they venture 2 more kilometres to reach Low’s Peak (summit). In short, the climb takes 8km altogether – possibly the longest 8km for some.



The climb up

What can I say, it wasn’t easy. Let me sum up the journey with one word – ENDLESS. I started my first step and I ended up with a lifelong phobia for stairs. But that is just me – the unhealthy, untrained me. Meanwhile, the fitter, more enthusiastic climbers seem to attack the stairs with gusto.

But there will come a point in the journey, say maybe pass Kilometre 4 or 5, when the body starts to lag and the mind starts to zone out. And at that point, I bet my bottom dollar each and every climber would have probably started to question themselves on why they volunteered for this self-inflicted torture. Because Kinabalu tests your mind and your heart more than it tests your body. The strength of your legs and your body are just a means to the end; because ultimately, it is the mountain against your spirit and the challenge of who will conquer who.

Unfortunately, I never made it to the top of the formidable Kinabalu but neither did anyone on the day. The furthest I went was Laban Rata where I spent a very cold night at 11,000 feet above sea level. Then, before any of us could complete that short 800 metres to the peak, the skies opened up and the mountain overpowered the climbers with the help of the rain.



Packing for Kinabalu

Whatever you do, pack light, pack warm and pack smart. Light jackets do well during the climb but a heavier one, preferably waterproof, is needed to complete the mountain and to last throughout the cold nights. Nights can get down to negative degrees Celsius with the help of the wind so gloves, thermal wear, scarves and any extra padding would help keep the heat in. A set of clothing or two is also advisable; there is a high chance that your clothes will get wet during the journey.

Energy snacks such as chocolates, energy bars and dried fruit are light enough to lug along the trail and good enough to quell hunger. A small bottle of water will be good enough as you can refill on fresh spring water along the way. Never forget your headlamp or extra batteries. Split your first aid load among your mates – altitude pills should be considered because you won’t know whether it will hit you until it hits you.

And as for shoes, it does not matter if you splurge on hi-tech mountaineering shoes or spend less than 10 ringgit on local rubbery ones, the kind you can get in Kinabalu town, because in the very end, it won’t be your shoes but your willpower that will help you make it to the top.



Porters of Kinabalu

Kinabalu is the sacred mountain of the Kadazan people. Most Kadazan elders will never scale this mountain out of respect for the Gods but the younger tribesmen are more liberal in their beliefs and use the mountain and their natural-born mountaineering skills to earn good money as official guides and porters.

You cannot miss the porters of Kinabalu. Their fortitude astounds. Their stamina inspires. And the sheer weight on their back will make your own backpack look like child’s play. Everything needed to sustain the community up at Laban Rata goes up on the back of these men and women. I’ve seen gas tanks go up the mountain along with weekly provisions, television antennas, and building materials. And I compare the burden on my back and wonder how these people do it.



Of course it is in their blood to scale the very mountain they have known all their lives. They do it fast and they do it young. Some can even attest to making their first climb at the age of five and the trips never stop because there is no other way to get provisions and materials up the mountain if not by foot.

In a way unknown to these Kinabalu porters, they motivated me. Because each time they overtook me with the weight of an elephant on their backs, I willed myself to move a little further.


The climb down

Let me say this again, it wasn’t easy. In fact, the climb down can be the hardest part of the journey for some. I felt that climbing down was the exact opposite from the journey up. While going up is a battle for the spirit, coming down gives the legs a good beating.

The journey down brings the true meaning of ‘jelly legs’ to light. Walking sticks can help with balancing and ease the weight off the joints so make sure you get one before the journey.

But no matter how endless the return hike seemed, I knew I would eventually reach ground zero base on the very simple physics of ‘what goes up, must come down’. And after finally getting back to civilisation, I remembered looking back at the mountain and feeling this unexplainable sense of strength I never had before. And I can proudly tell myself ‘Wow! I climbed that!’

Well, most of it anyway.




The Climbers

Everyone has a reason to climb Kinabalu. Some do it as a test, others out of spite. Some follow the pack, some for reasons only known to them. But whatever reasons they are, they normally disappear right after the first kilometre march. Because after that… it is just you and your feet moving in auto motion – one leg at a time. Whatever worries, disappointments, frustrations, stress or memories you brought with you on that trip, Kinabalu has a way of helping you forget them by throwing at you one endless stretch of stairs after another.

I went up Kinabalu with the weight of lead in my heart and the mountain helped me put my life into perspective. The problems in my life at that time were like each stretch of torturous stairs on that mountain. And the mountain has a way to really torment you with every step until you reach a point where you either make it or break it.

Like the mountain, life can throw hard punches our way; but that trip made me realise that the life within me can always punch back. All your troubles and pains will seem trivial on that climb because the mountain can make you see what you are capable of – and what you are capable of is lot more than you thought. Because it is when your body starts to breakdown that you discover how strong your spirit can be.

I think that the journey up Kinabalu is all about you. You and the bloody mountain. You and your willpower against the challenges of that rock. And when you persevere and conquer your own limitations, you know that anything is possible because, in the end, nothing else in life matters but you and your still beating heart.




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