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Two Chicks & a Climber Reach New Heights
Borneo's magic mountain, a landmark which has been ever-present in the Borneo skyline since my arrival. Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m) is the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. Booking a trip on the mountain is without a doubt the hardest thing to do in Sabah, Kirsty on successive phone calls to the same number at the booking office, only to find out it was booked solidly until August. Luckily there was a group cancellation like 4 days before, so we managed to get beds at Labuan Rata.
Attended to a briefing the night before our two day climb, where the woman took us through the basic trail and warned us of certain things such as the cold, how people have been lost at the top, fallen off the rocks, injuries, deaths, all very exciting stuff. So basically we had to stick together, especially if the fog came in and there was a white rope we were not supposed to verge from.
By the time we reached the mountain base early morning, we felt as ready for the physical challenge ahead as we'll ever be. Looking upwards at the magnificent forest-encrusted peaks, one couldn't help but feel a little daunted though! The mountain climb is split into 2 sections, totalling 8.7km of trekking to reach the peak at 4095m above sea-level. When you start off from the base knowing that it is 99% uphill from here, you know that you've got a tiring time ahead.
In some parts of the hike you are actually walking through the clouds! This gives the forest a wonderful eerie look, and will get your clothes, hair and belongings damp as well. Some experienced altitude sickness (headache, nausea, general ill being) but this is normal at altitudes over 3000m. Some people get it, some people don't. I happened to fall under the latter (luckier) category.
I really had to force myself to get up at 2am the following morning. At this point, we had come so far, we were not exactly about to miss the big climax. You're probably thinking 'Why such an atrocious time?' Well the answer is simple, to see the sunrise from the peak. The peak trail by moonlight and dazzling stars was hazardous, especially when climbing sideways on a rope with a steep drop behind you. The biting cold that gradually took hold of my toes and finger-tips didn't help the matter either. For the first half hour of this part I experienced some hot flushes and severe shortness of breath that I felt like giving up, but after taking some layers off (the Malays were wrapped up, looking like they were about to face the Arctic) and mental strength, I got into the rhythm I found myself feeling much better and actually enjoying the climb.
Next, we had to haul ourselves up the rock, using the rope, now this was just a teeny bit hardcore. Seriously, some major determination was needed by everyone here. On the final stretch, we knew we had around 1km to go, so we really pushed ourselves. This is the point where I thought, 'Wow, I actually might make it'.
As the light began to rise ever so slightly, I could see a shadow on my left, and could make out a familiar peak that I have seen on postcards. It automatically gave me the 'chill factor', don't know where from, but I got such a huge adrenaline rush and even though I previously felt totally knackered, at that moment I felt amazing and upped my pace a bit.
The sunrise over Borneo is without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I have seen. The glint of red in the distance, which grew ever so gradually before the hazy blue/pink of dawn swelled behind it, really took the breath away. Cliché I know, but it was like we'd arrived on a different planet overnight and we were waking up to an extraordinarily, crazy, different world. The rocks were just beautiful. These huge towering peaks all around, cliffs dropping into canyons and the vastness of it all was unreal. Not to mention the carpet of clouds below us, all around. For a brief period of the morning of Sunday 7th May, I was one of the highest people in Borneo, turning round 360 degrees and feeling on top of the world. I actually felt I was higher than heaven.
We most certainly were not looking forward to the 8.5km to get back down to the base. Going downhill really strains your muscles and whenever Kirsty stood still, her legs felt so wobbly and she just couldn't walk much at all without feeling like they were going to physically snap. After much encouragement from our guide, we finally reached to the bottom of the mountain, exhausted!
With aching muscles and a pile of dirty clothes, it was finally time to return to school at the end of a long, tiring, and utterly remarkable few days. At times like this, one can't help but feel truly inspired by the eternal wonder and magnificence of the world around us...
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