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most importantly...........WE CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN!!!!! not just any old mountain but mount kinabalu, the highest mountain in south east asia!4100 metres of freezing, vertical, high altitude climbing,the hardest thing ive ever done but one of the best also! the first day we spent 5 hours reaching our mountain lodge from the tiphon gate which was 3300 metres up the majestic mount kinabalu, which was a really tough trek. Relentlessly uphill over boulders, past waterfalls and beautiful orchids, we had four rest stops of 3mins each along the way and that was it! Felt very embarrassed when we were sweating profusely and swearing under our breath absolutely knackered and 60 year old porters with 50kg on their backs running past us up the hill, skipping over the boulders like mountain goats; makes you very aware of your (not so) fitness leves!! arrived at our home for the night, Laban Rata guesthouse and shared our dorm with a nice couple from china. had a giant buffet dinner and deservedly stuffed ourselves full of kitkats for dessert, met a great group of backpackers and played cards till the grand hour of 7pm and collapsed into bed! the dorms were so m\noisy, were these people insane?! 1.00am start and they werent sleeping till 11pm?! so we got a measly 2 hours sleep and woke bleary eyed and aching ready for the final ascent to lows peak, the summit. The view from the lodge was spectacular, we could see most of borneo even from there! all lit up in the darkness the cities sparked in the very still of night, my toes and hands already numb( at this point i was beginning to question why i had paid good money to torture myself!) So the final ascent was crazy. three hours of granite steep mountain side to wrench ourselves up, it was 5c when we left so i have no idea what the temperature was at the summit. All you could make out was portly figures (not fat people climbing the mountain but everyone was wearing all the clothing they owned - quite amusing!)shuffling up the mountain with the lights from their headtorches beaming across the slippery granite. By this oint all but the hardiest plants animals and humans had either died or had the good sense to go no further and with no protection fromthe wind we put on our balaclavas and soldiered on. Doing the final ascent in darkness actually was a good thing, as the last two hours consisted of heaving oursleves up on ropes on the edge of a sheer 1000m drop ( unbeknownst to us). the final summit to Lows peak was really really tough, by this point altitude sickness kicked in for chris (in the form of sickness and headaches, the kind where your brain bashes against the side of your head) and me, who was struggling to breathe at such high altitudes. With a hand from our trusty guide steven, we made it to the top at 5.30am just in time for sunrise, although there wasnt one so we enjoyed being up with the clouds, took photos with numb fingers and legged it back down to the lodge asap!!! (well 2hours!)grabbed a quick breakfast, 15mins sleep and embarked immediately on the 4 hour descent to base. this was lovely, amazing views, steven pointing out birds and flowers and the only hardship was my knees had taken a severe dislike to me after i had abuse them so and decided to stop working with me and gave me unimaginable pain for the last 2km. So know not only am i knockkneed but also look like my legs are completely discombobulated ( ive never written that word before its the only time its seemed appropriate!). so today we are nursing our war wounds, bursting with pride and reflecting on one of the highlights of our journey. photos to follow!!!!!! love to you all xXXXXXXXX
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