Bucket List: Climbing South-East Asia's Highest Peak

Mount Kinabalu, Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

This was a previous article written by myself and posted in this travelogue blog in September 2014. Mount Kinabalu is located in the island of Borneo and is South East Asia's highest peak at 4,095.2 meters (13,436 ft) above sea level. 

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Note from the Author: Unlike my other older travel articles on my visits to cities, Mount Kinabalu has probably not changed much over the years. Thus, what I experienced on my trek up this mountain in Dec 2000, is also likely to be what anyone who is ascending the summit today will experience. 

My first encounters with moutains were in Nepal in 1998 while I was trekking around the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. I also clocked my first peaks there and the highest of these peaks were at altitudes of 3,600 to 3,800 meters (11,811 to 12,467 ft).

More than two years later on Christmas Eve of December 2000, I was at the foot of Mount Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah. At an altitude of some 4,095.2 meters (13,436 ft) above sea level, Mount Kinabalu is the highest peak between the Himalayas and Indonesia's New Guinea. Despite this, Mount Kinabalu is considered one of the most accessible peaks in the world and anybody with a reasonable level of fitness should be able to trek and climb his or her way up this beautiful moutain.

The summit of Mount Kinabalu, Low's Peak. This picture was taken by my climb buddy, CH, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

I started my ascent of Mount Kinabalu in the morning of 24 December 2000. From the Kinabalu Park Headquarters, we were registered and met up with our guides for the climb. It is mandatory to register with the Park HQ and to climb with a guide because of safety considerations.

For the attempt on Mount Kinabalu, I had travelled with two other friends, CH (who was with me during my 1998 trek in Nepal) and Kenneth (a regular fishing pal). What I am about to describe is fairly typical of the trek up Mount Kinabalu. But I will include my thoughts and expriences as I laboured, huff and puff my way up South-East Asia's highest peak.

For clarity purposes, I shall "break" the narration of my trek to the summit of Mount Kinanbalu into two parts. Part 1 will feature the trek from the Kinabalu Park HQ to Laban Rata (3,353 metres) while Part 2 will detail the climb to Low's Peak (4,095.2 metres). Both parts were written fairly independent of each other and you may read each of them on their own. 

Part I - Laban Rata (3,300 meters, 10,826 ft)

From the Park HQ, we were driven to Timbohohan Gate (1,890 meters, 6,200 ft) to begin the trek. It was a nice walk into the thick forest as we soon reached the first "landmark" in our trekking map, Carson's Falls. This small water fall is nothing spectacular and I did not even bother to stop, knowing that I will come across it again on my way back.

After Carson's Falls, stairs started to appear. These reminded me of the stairs that I had to climb during my trek in Nepal. If you had read my recollections of that trek, you would know that I hate stairs!

The trek to Laban Rata (also known as the Panar Laban plateau) is the first phase of the journey to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. Arriving at Laban Rata will mean that you have completed almost eighty percent of the quest to conquer Kinabalu. Situated at an altitude that is almost 3,300 meters (10,826 ft) above sea level, Laban Rata can be considered as some kind of a base camp. Climbers gathered here for rest and to retire for the night before waking up early in the morning (at about 2 to 3 am) for the final push to the summit.

As I trudged up the stairs, I soon arrived at the 1st Shelter (1,981 meters, 6,501 ft). Arriving here was fairly easy and everyone in the group were doing fine. Since we were all still fresh, we did not stop to rest here. Instead, we continued on our way and passed by the 2nd Shelter, the Kambarangah Telecoms Station and the 3rd and 4th Shelters before reaching the Layang-Layang Hut (2,621 meters, 8,600 ft). At this point, most of us were starting to feel the strain of the trek and took a short break to recharge ourselves before continuing the trek. Water points are available at all the shelters along the way, including the Layang-Layang Hut. Therefore, there is no necessity to carry a large amount of liquid with you as it will only add to your burden while trekking up the mountain.

From the Layang-Layang Hut, a long flight of stairs stretches beyond visual range. After walking and climbing stairs for the better part of the last four hours, this flight of stairs certainly looked like a daunting prospect. But what choice do we have? The only way to go was forward. No turning back at this point!

After climbing stairs for almost 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), we reached a steep rock face. This required some climbing as we had to use robes to pull ourselves up the rock face in order to reach the 5th Shelter. For the uninitiated, be assured that climbing this rock face presents no significant technical challenges and you do not need to be an accomplished climber to clear this obstacle. In fact, you don't even need basic moutaineering skills to clear this hurdle! The whole climb up the rock is less than 10 meters (32 ft) and anybody with reasonable fitness should be able to do so without any difficulties. Such is the accessibility of Mount Kinabalu!

Having cleared the first "serious" obstacle, we continued on our trek and walked past the 6th Shelter before finally reaching Laban Rata at about 3.30 pm. This was almost 6.5 hours since we started out at Timbohohan Gate.

Unlike in Nepal, there were no moutain peaks staring at us as we trekked our way to Laban Rata. However, those who like nature will be able to enjoy observing the rich birdlife along the way, especially at altitudes of between 1,900 meters (9,233 ft) and 2,600 meters (8,530 ft). The flora along the way were no less spectacular. Species of wild orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher plants can be seen frequently along the route.

Me and Kenneth, on our way to Laban Rata, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

Along the way to Laban Rata, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

Some of the peaks of Mount Kinabalu as seen from the trek route, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

The author, taking in the scenary enroute to Laban Rata, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

The Laban Rata Hostel (3,300 meters, 10,826 ft), informal "base camp" for the climbers of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo taken by CH (2000)

Part II - Low's Peak (4,095.2 meters, 13,426 ft) 

We woke at 2.00am in the early morning of Christmas Day 2000. After a quick breakfast of hot milo and a couple of slices of bread, we assembled and began the final push to the summit.

As we started out at 2.30am, the way before us was still covered in the darkness of the night. A moonless night sky did not help matters and we had to rely on our torches and the torches of our guides to find our way. The rain the night before meant that the paths were wet and at times, slippery. 

Altogether, I reckoned that there were about 100 of us, from several different groups, trying to ascend to the summit of Kinabalu on this Christmas Day morning. Although there were about two guides assigned to each individual group of about 10 to 20 climbers, somehow, all the guides were cooperating with each other to "herd" the whole gang of climbers up the slopes. They did this by positioning themselves at strategic locations along the way, especially those areas with sharp dropoffs or relatively steep cliff-face. From these locations, they shone their torches to light up the path and looked out for those who may be having problems trying to keep up with the rest. I was impressed by this display of teamwork.

About 30 minutes into our climb, we reached a steep rock face. Climbing ropes have been wedged into the surfaces of the rock and there were no other way except to pull ourselves up the rock face with the aid of these ropes. The cool and damp early morning moutain air made these ropes wet and slippery. They were also chilling to our hands as we tried to hang on for dear life while pulling ourselves up the rock face.

After the steep climb, we basically trekked our way up the moutainous slope in a single file. The batteries in my torch went dead and I had to stick close to the person in front of me so that I may continue on my way using the illumination created by his torch. Somehow, I always seemed to have problems with batteries at high altitudes! The bare granite surface was extremely slippery and I had to walked carefully to avoid slipping.

As we continued on our way, the thin air at altitudes above 3,353 meters (11,000 ft) made breathing difficult. For me, it was a case of taking two or three steps forward before pausing to catch my breath. Finally, I caught a glimse of the South Peak (3,933 meters, 12,903 ft). Before I travelled to Mount Kinabalu, I had often seen photos of this beautiful peak in magazines and travel guide books. But now, it was right in front of me!

Mount Kinabalu has a number of different peaks, the highest of them being Low's Peak (4,095.2 meters, 13,436 ft). But my favourite peak was and still is the South Peak. The beautiful peak stood majestically silloutted in the dim, but rapidly brightening, early morning skylight as I stood, admiring its beauty and grace.

Snapshot of the beautiful South Peak taken by CH, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

Nearing the top of what seemed to be the end of the climb, I saw a long stretch of bare and slopping granite surface spread out before me. To reach the foot of Low's Peak, I had to cross this rather forbidding looking stretch of no-man's land with only the thin moutain air to provide those much needed oxygen that my body craved in order to stand up to the physical exhaustion that I had subjected myself to while trekking up the moutain. But, a man's got to do what a man's got to do and I carried on. Gasping for air, I continued my stressful motion of taking two steps forward followed by a momentary stop to rest my aching legs.

Soon, I passed by the beautiful and unique South Peak and was walking on that flat piece of bare granite (that was tilted at an angle) towards Low's Peak, the summit of Mount Kinabalu. As I trudged forward, I noticed that quite a number of climbers had long given up the battle as some of them sat on the cold granite surface enjoying the scenary while others had simply began their descent towards Laban Rata.

Part of the huge slap of solid granite that forms the crest of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

Although the distance looked short, it was no easy task trekking across the slippery granite surface. During the last ice age, it was actually covered by a huge piece of glacier. The cuts wedged into the hard granite by the glacier's movements are still evident to this day.

After many slips and falls, I managed to reach the foot of Low's Peak. Summoning the energy remaining in my tired body, I finally climbed, with some diffculties, to the top of the peak, almost 5 hours after I started out at Laban Rata.

Standing at the top of the highest moutain between the Himalayas and Indonesia's New Guninea, the view was exhilarating. Just in front of me, the bright morning sunlight streamed into Low's Gully which drops more than 1,600 meters (5,249 ft) below Low's Peak.

The notorious Low's Gully, a 1600-meter deep abyss, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

As I turned 360 degress to catch the view, sights of the southern Phillipine islands in the distance and other peaks of Mount Kinabalu such as the South Peak, the Ugly Sister Peak (4,034 meters, 13,235 ft) and the Donkey's Ears Peak (4,055 meters, 13,303 ft) came into sight. The arduous trek to reach Low's Peak was worth every single step of the way!

I had summitted South-East Asia's highest peak and was standing at the roof of Borneo on Christmas Day 2000, 112 years after the feat was first accomplished by John Whitehead in 1888.

Myself (in blue jacket), standing at the summit of Mount Kinabalu on Christmas Day, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

St John's Peak as seen from Low's Peak through the 75mm lens of my Sigma SA-300 SLR camera, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

Climbers descending from Low's Peak, the South Peak is clearly visible at the top of this picture, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (2000)

While at the summit of Mount Kinabalu, I caught sight of a rat scurrying in between the rocks. Observing that there were neither vegetation nor trash at Low's Peak, I wondered what the rat fed on to survive at such a place.