The Mountain stared down at us in the bright early morning sun, as Jonathan and I looked on, as if to say: "What are you waiting for?" Just below its granite crown was a small white speck, glinting in the sun – Laban Rata – the resthouse that was our target for day one. We gulped down the remainder of our breakfast and headed for the park headquarters to register. There we were introduced to our guide Raoi, a diminutive Dusun man with a wirey frame that we were later to discover belied his strength.
A minibus took us to the Timpohon Gate where we "checked in" to The Mountain and began our ascent up the well trodden path. Our training for the climb had been a bit limited but both of us did regular sport and we felt in good shape as we climbed through the earily quiet rainforest, our guide padding silently behind us. Much of the climb involved steps, formed either of natural rocks and boulders or cut into the path using wooden planks and metal hooks. I didn’t really notice the steps on the way up, but they would make a very serious impression on the way down…
It would be six kilometres to Laban Rata, and every kilometre or so there was a rest hut where we took on some water and compared notes with fellow climbers.
At the third hut we had our first encounter with The Mountain’s squirrels, the most hyperactive, scatty creatures I have ever seen, darting two and fro, up trees and down, all at lightning speed in the form of little black blurs.
We also came across one of Kinabalu’s famous nepenthes (insectivorous pitcher plants). The area immediately surrounding the mountain contains approximately 6000 species of plants, more than are found in the whole of Europe and North America combined, and many of which occur nowhere else on earth, making this one of the most important biological sites in the world.
As we climbed through the cloud layer the trees began to change becoming shorter and more gnarled – clearly life for a tree was getting tougher the higher we went. Periodically we came across porters who were labouring their way slowly up the steep path with 30kg packs on their backs. Approximately 100 climbers sleep at Laban Rata each night on their journey to the summit – all provisions have to be hauled up on the backs of the porters, who get paid 7 ringgit (£1.30) per kilo for their efforts.
Finally after four and a half hours of climbing we reached Laban Rata and hauled our backpacks up to the Panar Laban hut where we would sleep that night before making our attempt on the summit. It was a huge relief to peel off the walking boots and have a refreshing shower. The shower room was a little primitive, and its sloping floor induced slight feelings of sea-sickness, but it had the huge advantage of having a heated shower (all the other huts had icy cold unheated ones).
The raw granite peak of The Mountain continued to tower above us, but we congratulated ourselves for the speed of our ascent so far and had a well-earned snack in the restaurant of the resthouse. The view from the restaurant window of the fluffly clouds below us was a little surreal.
After a lazy afternoon reading followed by a good Asian style dinner, we retired to our hut and played cards for a while before the rapidly falling temperature drove us to our bunk beds, fully clothed, the blankets tucked up around our ears, for the short night before the summit climb.
At 2 am we stumbled out of bed, bleary-eyed, fumbling for our walking boots, and stepped outside into the frosty air. The canopy of stars was breathtakingly vast and clear in the thin mountain atmosphere. We grabbed some scrambled eggs and a hot drink at the restaurant before finding our guide and setting out. Guided by the light of our head-torches we wound our way through a steep gully, but found ourselves in the midst of a large group of other climbers inching their way up painfully slowly. It would be much nicer to get ahead into the atmospheric silence of the mountain so we overtook them and climbed at some speed, passing others along the way until we discovered that there was no one else ahead. After the initial steps we encountered perhaps the most difficult part of the climb, which involved hauling ourselves up a steep granite face using a rope tethered to the rock. It was good to have Jonathan’s knowledge from his previous ascent and descent of the mountain, which added richness to my own experience.
After only an hour of climbing we reached the half way marker and realised that if we kept up this pace we would be at the summit long before dawn, with a mighty cold (2 degC) wait for sunrise, so we slowed our pace right down. By now we were on the sheer face of the granite with the rope guiding us towards the peak. Looking back we could see a line of gleaming lights of those following behind as they made their way up. To the side came the hushed tones of our guide conversing with another guide in their melodic local dialect. All in all it was a magical experience.
The gradient of the slope began to level out, our guide regularly telling us how far there was to go. At 1
00 metres we reached the foot of Low’s Peak the highest of the many craggy mounds on the top of the mountain. It was a scramble over rough boulders to the top but finally we had made it to the 4095 metre summit (13,435ft). The lights of Kota Kinabalu were clearly visible 60 kilometres away to the West. Unfortunately it was 5.15am, a full hour before sunrise, so we huddled down into a crevice and munched on dried mango and other snacks while we awaited the dawn. Other climbers arrived, exhilarated to reach the summit before they too realised the reality of the biting cold.
Gradually, inexorably slowly it seemed, the sky to the East began to lighten, and finally the sun appeared behind the craggy mountain top to the cheers of all those gathered. A massive photo shoot then ensued, before gradually people faced the prospect of the climb back down.
The beauty and grandure of the mountain were exposed by the arriving daylight, and we spent some time soaking in the dramatic views before nodding to Raoi that we were ready.
The steep downward slope immediately started to stretch our thighs and knees as we descended. Walking backwards with the rope taking the strain brought temporary relief, but it started to become clear that the descent would be just as challenging as the ascent albeit in a different way. For now, though, we revelled in the astonishing, uninterrupted views down over the sides of the granite face to the rainforest below.
We arrived back at Laban Rata just after 8am, snatched a shower and had a good solid breakfast before starting our way down the 6 kilometres of seemingly endless steps. By halfway my own knees and thighs were getting quite shaky and I began to worry whether I had the strength to make it all the way. Jonthan too was suffering, perhaps from altitude sickness, and was ill by the side of the path. I wondered if our seemingly quick and easy progress up the mountain had lulled us into a false sense of security and perhaps we had attempted too rapid a pace coming down. The Mountain certainly had a sting in its tail. At the next rest hut we paused to take stock. Raoi offered to take my rucksack to reduce the weight on my knees. Jonathan’s legs were holding up better than mine, so I accepted our guide’s offer and this brought a noticeable improvement. By the time we reached the last couple of kilometres, however, at each new flight of steps I was hanging on to any tree or other support by the side of the trail that I could find to help reduce the weight on my legs, staggering about as if I had been drinking too much! Our guide, who does this trek two or three times per week, had no doubt seen it all before and diplomatically did not say anything.
Finally we arrived at the Timpohon Gate, relieved and happy to have conquered The Mountain despite its best efforts at resistance. It was for me a great experience to climb Kinabalu with Jonathan and to share the exhilaration that he felt when he climbed it for the first time. Truly an unforgettable experience.
The Macqueens' Far East Adventure 