Mount Kinabalu Climb

Hi I'm a newbie and this is first post. So, I hope you enjoy reading this.

Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago with its elevation of 4,095 m (13,435 ft) and the most popular mountain in the South East Asia region.

13th January 2018 - was an unforgettable day in my life as it was the day where my dream comes true, a day where I have been waiting for it to happened.

At 9:00 a.m. we arrived at Kinabalu Park which is the headquarters to register and get our climbing permit. While waiting for the transport to transfer us from the headquarters to Timpohon Gate, we got to enjoy for a bit the beautiful view of Mount Kinabalu from the headquarters. When I looked at the mountain, I said a little prayer to myself, conquered my fears and hope for the best.

At 9:30 a.m. we reached Timpohon Gate which is the starting point of the mountain trail and started out hike to Laban Rata for a one-night stay before ascending to the highest peak. 1.5 km from the starting point. There is a waterfall named Carson Fall. The first 3 km were not really challenging. There were resting huts with toilets every after 1.5 km. As we got closer to Laban Rata, the more challenging it gets. The slopes were steeper at 2 km towards Laban Rata.

After 4 hours of climbing, we finally reached Laban Rata. We checked in to our rooms and straight away took a nap while waiting for dinner at 4.00 p.m. The view of the summit from Laban Rata Guesthouse at the elevation of 3,272 m was incredible and the sunset was fantastic.

After dinner, we went back to our rooms and had our goodnight sleep. We had a good rest and slept for 6 hours. The next day, we woke up at 1:30 a.m. to prepare ourselves and had a light breakfast before proceeding our climb to the highest peak. We started our hike at 2:30 a.m. From Laban Rata to the next checkpoint, Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint was 2.7km and the trail was a very steep stairs. All climbers had to make it to Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint before 5 a.m., arrivals after 5 a.m. are not allowed to proceed to the summit. From Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint onwards, the climb was very challenging as the trail was bare granite so it was very slippery and the temperature was -4 degree Celsius. Sometimes the trail would be covered by mists, making it hard to see the direction. So, we had to follow and rely on the rope until we reached the summit. The trail from Sayat-Sayat Checkpoint to the summit was 1.7 km.

At 6.00 a.m. we finally reached the summit. But there was another 650 m to climb to reached the famous highest peak called Low's Peak (4,095 m). Climbers had to climb until the highest peak to get the coloured certificate, otherwise only black & white certificate will be given.


Yay! I'm on top of the world.

At 6: 45 a.m. we started our descending to Laban Rata. We had to reached Laban Rata before 10:30 to check out otherwise, we will be charged RM100 per hour. Fortunately, my team and I were fit enough to reached Laban Rata at 9:00 a.m. After we checked out, we had another breakfast provided by the guesthouse before descending to the headquarters. At 10:00 a.m. we started our hike again. On our way back to the main gate, we had to arrived at the Timpohon Gate before 4:00 p.m., before it gets dark.

As soon as we reached the main gate, we were transferred to the headquarters, Kinabalu Park and when we reached at the office of Kinabalu Park to get our certificates, the staffs congratulated us and welcomed us with so much warmth. We then, went to the Balsam Restaurant to have our lunch (included in our climbing package). It was a buffet lunch with variations of foods and beverages, so we ate as much as we could.

All in all, my first climbing experience was the best. Although, it was just a 2-days 1-night experience, I've made new friends and made memories which I will cherish for a lifetime. I am looking forward to my next mountain climbing in Indonesia. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading :D