I did not even bother to brush my teeth. I refused to step outside and let my skin touch any water at all. One drop of water and I’ll drop down dead due to the shock of freezing water. Others began to stir from their deep sleep as I pack my backpack. I made sure that my bag was light… I only brought chocolates, water and my trusty camera which had been lying unused the whole time.
It was so cold that I couldn’t have slept even though I obviously lacked of sleep. Fully geared with my jacket, gloves, beanie and headlight, I went outside to meet up with the guide who was already waiting outside. It was really dark and thus a working headlight is a must. It is better than torchlight since one might need both hands to climb the mountain. When we have finally assembled, the guide looked at us and said, “So, all of you are going, huh?” It was not a question, merely a statement of surprise. I swear that when his eyes swept past me, it lingered a little bit longer than others. I knew that the statement was meant solely for me. I didn’t blame him at all… I knew that my performance was on par with those fat and rich men… only that I am not rich… I would have preferred to be rich than to be able to climb the mountain.
Anyway, it wasn’t a good start. The guide gave some briefing about safety and that we should not push ourselves to hard (meant for me only, of course) and that we should hold fast to the rope when available. We started off at 2.30am… already there were several groups in front of us. At the beginning, we had to climb flights of insanely high stairs. It’s as if they merged three to four steps into one big step. If could feel my breath and energy seeping away less than halfway up the stairs.
After the stairs, it’s the rocks. Since it rained yesterday, it was really wet, slippery and muddy. But in my condition that time, I did not care much. I was sort of in a half-awake state of mind... mindlessly stomping my way uphill. I touched a rock to balance myself and I was shocked to find that I was able to feel the coldness through my pair of gloves! There were already scores of people who have passed by me but with pure determination, I reached the third obstacle.
This time I had to climb a cliff with the ropes which are nailed to the ground as a guide. Well, if I have problem with just climbing stairs, I most definitely have problems with pulling myself up the mountain! My progress was excruciatingly slow. The only good thing that came out of it was I did not feel cold anymore.
I was almost halfway up the cliff when I stopped for a breather and the guide suddenly appeared behind me and said, “Do not block the road.” I bit back a retort and rushed up the rope until I reached a rather flat and wide area. I let go of the rope and sat down on a piece of flat rock.
Again, thoughts of giving up assaulted me. I watched numbly as another score of people passed by. After getting my breath, I forced myself to climb again. It went on for several times… climb, stop, rest, climb, stop, rest… until I finally reached a hut. This is the checkpoint and I think only beyond the hut that one can get the certificate that you’ll get whether you complete the climb or not (different types of course).
After registration (by showing the name tag), I continued my climb. The rest of the way was all rocky cliff with a rope for climbers to hold on to. Actually, it was really dangerous. The ropes were sometimes nailed far apart. At one point, I slipped and fell. Even though I firmly held on to the rope, I swung for quite some ways before coming to a stop. Flashes of my life appeared before me. So, this is what they see when one stares into the face of death. The more embarrassing and dangerous thing was when I slipped and fell, I pulled others above me to the side as well. So, even if you did not slip, you can still be pulled to the side by others due to the length of the rope… and if at that moment you did not grip the rope firmly, a deep gorge await below.
After several tries, I found that it was actually better to not pull yourself up. The ground was actually not very steep at most places. Only certain places you absolutely need to hold on to the rope. For the rest, it is easier to just walk. Soon, I dropped into a routine, which I think was working wonderfully. I walked a few steps, stopped, took several deep breaths, walked several steps again and repeat. I did not sit down as it would take a great effort to get back up. Once I did sit down at the side of the cliff. I looked up to watch for the beautiful stars that the lodge owner talked about, but it was quite cloudy and I did not see any stars. Then, I looked back down and a wave of nausea swept over me. Since then, I dared not stop and look down again.
Even with my extremely slow pace, I was not the last one. There were still several couples who were struggling up the mountain behind me… far behind me. With my method of climbing the mountain, I was sure that I could have reached the top, although most probably not in time for the sunrise, which was supposed to happen at 5am to 6am.
Mount Kinabalu was meant to break the spirits of the weak. At one point, I was rejoicing because I finally reached the peak… only to find another peak in front of me. When I reached the second peak, a third peak appeared. The sky was already tinged with orange when at last, I reached the sign post that said 8.0km. Low’s Peak loomed in front of me. I was already on a big flat top of the mountain. All that remained is another 500m of climb. The Low’s Peak is just a piece of rock jutting out at the peak of the mountain.
I was going to climb it when I saw my friends coming down from the peak. Sigh… they have finished going up and down and I was just going up. Anyway, I was still planning to climb Low’s Peak, when the guide who had went up to Low’s Peak came down and said that I can’t climb up there anymore. He mumbled something about being too late and we would miss our check-out time if I continue to climb!
View from top of mountain...
500m more and I'll be at the top :(
All those things about slow and steady were just a lie. I was unable to complete my climb not because I don’t have the determination but because I apparently was too slow. I was really moody at that time. I did not even take any pictures! Reluctantly, I started to go back to Laban Rata.
The paths were clearer now that the sun was up and I really had no idea how I managed to climb up those almost vertical cliffs. Descending from the peak was even more dangerous than ascending. Many styles were used too. At certain points, I descend while sitting on the ground, hand gripped tightly around the rope and slowly go down; facing the direction I was going. At other parts, I had to descend while facing the opposite direction I was going… sort of like rappelling down the wall except that there’s no jumping of course.
The whole procedure was very slow too… and I don’t care if I’m the slowest one. One wrong step and you’ll find your head squashed like a water-melon far below. There was one occasion when one of the climbers slipped down the mountain, sliding for more than 10 meters. He was practically rolling head over heels down the mountain. Luckily, a guide who was in front saw it and he jumped out, grabbed the climber’s backpack while his other hand held on to the rope. I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if the guide wasn’t there.
It was around 8am when we reached our dorm. Quickly, we packed everything and went down to Laban Rata. The problem is that I had to take my entire luggage down to Laban Rata where our guide was waiting. Previously, our porters helped us to take the luggage. I had to dragged my bag all the way down to Laban Rata since it was very heavy… really don’t know how the porter took my bag all the way uphill.
We had another 1 hour left when we absolutely have to check-out or we’ll have to pay extra rent. And I think that even if you pay the extra rent, it does not mean you can stay another night there (though no one of right mind would do that), since the place might be fully booked for the day. We immediately settled down and gobbled our breakfast. It was a breakfast buffet with the normal stuff like bread, ommelettes, sausages, eggs, fried mee, coffee, tea, cereals, etc. The fried rice was horrendous. It was partially cooked! However, the Sabah Tea was very nice. Add milk and some sugar to it and it surpassed any western tea I have ever tasted… but then again, it might be due to my perfect combination of milk, tea and sugar that resulted in this amazing tea :P.
We immediately began our descent when we finished our breakfast. The air was cool, but not chilly… perfect for our descent. Unfortunately, after 1km or so, my kneecaps started to sting… and after that, it was like needles stabbing at my knees whenever I took a step down the rock stairs. It felt alright when walking on level ground. Thus, I had to go down the stairs sideways… with the aid of my walking stick. Needless to say, I was the last… again.
Luckily we did not opt for the Mesilau trail when going downhill. I would really have sit on the ground and cried if I needed to walk for another extra 2km. The guide was also extremely impatient. He dogged my steps and walked extremely close behind me. In the final 1km, I dared not stop to have a drink even though I was quite thirsty. At that time, my knees was painful even when I walked on relatively level ground!
I think I was more than 30 minutes later than the second last person of my group when I finally reached the ending point of Timpohon trail (or is it called starting point?). I swore that I would never participate in such a stupid attempt to prove my capability. To add insult to my already deep injury… there it was… a big notice board that showed the record holders of those who have completed the trail up to Mount Kinabalu in the shortest time. The champions finished it in a bloody 2 hours 39 minutes! Back and forth! Using Mesilau Trail! And I can’t even do that if I were to use Timpohon Trail for just going one way!
My final struggling steps (courtesy of Ivan)
Non-human records...
Timpohon...
Tired, sore, breathless and low in morale pretty much summed up my condition at that time. I think it was around 2pm when I reached the end of the trail. Pretty soon, we were on our way to our lunch buffet (buffet, again??!!!). I was extremely hungry at that time but my appetite went downhill when I saw flies surrounding the food! Sure, the food are covered, but the flies are a turnoff. Fortunately, the flies, for some reason like the cakes only… thus, the food for the main course did not have flies snooping around.
The drinks are located in another counter, and there is a machine which gives out coffee, cappuccino, mocha, milo and stuff. However, all the drinks are hot. Thus, I asked for ice and they retorted back why anyone would need ice when it’s cold. Well, the place that we were having lunch is at mid-mountain, thus it’s cool, but definitely not cold. Besides, I saw a large fridge behind the counter that contains various cold drinks! Of course I did not press the issue, being tired and all. The food, in summary were not good at all… and in my state of hunger, if a food does not taste good, it meant that it is very bad in normal times. Still, I did have three helpings. Of course, it was a total package thingy, so I don't think we have much of a choice in choosing where to eat.
After lunch, we were on our way back to KK city center again. The journey was a blur since I was sleeping the whole way. When we reached the City Park Lodge again, we were reassigned new rooms… no more four beds for three persons anymore :(. There, we all slept again, and later, in the evening, we went out to have our dinner.
Too lazy to walk far, we decided to try another restaurant recommended on the internet which is located at Gaya Street… just behind the lodge. The restaurant is called New Man Tai, and it is famous for its Beaufort (I think it's read as Boofort) style noodles. Learning from past experiences, we ordered just one dish of noodles for one person while we ordered several other dishes that go with rice. The Beaufort style noodles came and it was disappointing (no surprise there). It was almost similar to wanton noodles… only less tasty. We also ordered soup… if I’m not mistaken, it was seaweed soup. It was quite nice. I think they did not use much “ajinomoto” since it has a very clear and refreshing taste… did not feel thirsty at all. We also ordered Claypot Bean Curd, Claypot Chicken (which turned out to be black beans chicken) and a plate of vegetables. The plate of vegetables is the same as the ones used in Beaufort Style Noodles. Initially, we thought they mistakenly gave us the same dish twice! The food there was so-so only. The dishes that was marginally “good” was the chicken and the soup. Others are just a total flunk. I guess East Malaysia have different taste than West Malaysia, huh?
New Man Tai...
Vegetables (don't know what kind :P)
Claypot Chicken
Seaweed soup...
Claypot Bean Curd...
Beaufort-style noodles...
As we returned back to our lodge, I took some opportunity to snap some photos of the gaming outlet I noticed earlier. Did you know that there is no Pan Malaysian Polls and Magnum in East Malaysia? Instead, they are replaced by STC 4D and 88. Don’t know if they belong to PMP and Magnum or not. Toto, however, is still the same in EM and WM. Also, I could not find any the Star newspapers around the city center! Maybe it’s just not as famous as in WM! Wow, things really are different when you are divided by the South China Sea!
STC 4D... is the horsey familiar?
88...
Stay tuned for the final episode of the "Trip to Sabah" saga!!!
3 comments:
Oh dear... You made the whole experience sound so scary, I'm sure people who read your blog would think thrice before deciding to climb! I think it's really not THAT bad... Maybe some time later when you're more 'fit' you might even want to prove yourself again :P And I agree with you, Sabah food is really nothing to shout about.
Of course it's scary... if the possibility of dying from cold or a fall in Mt. Kinabalu is not scary, then I don't know what can be considered as scary... also, it's too commercialized... there are too many people and the schedule is too rigid.
And I AM fit... I'm sure that I'm above average since there are definitely more than 50% of people who could not make up to where I stopped :P
wow, u went all the way up? coolness. nice pictures!
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