Sweltering. I set off for my bus heading to Tawau early Saturday morning. On the bus, a young mother, her very tiny baby and her 3 or so year old daughter sat in the seat beside me. It was hot, but i didn't mind too much; the little girl made herself comfy between her mother and me and ending up falling asleep on my arm! She's one of the prettiest things i've seen.

It was my birthday yesterday. I am aching so much right now from the past two days! I was absolutely shattered yesterday afternoon, but in absolute agony when i woke up this morning, i could barely get down from my top-bunk bed!

So, The Climb!

I thought i was reasonable fit. This proved me wrong! The local bus from the city to Mount Kinabalu took almost 4 hours instead of the supposed 2. When i got to park headquaters, i was half expecting them to tell me it was too late to set off, after all, it was nearing midday and the reccommended start-time in 10am - many people set of around 8 or 9... After a quick sorting out of documents etc and boring things, reality set-in as i was given my unique ID card with my name etc on it - in case my body was found somewhere - howevever they try to reassure you it's for the checkpoints (which is crap as you guide has the stuff for that!) and after being introdeuced to my guide; Maickon, we headed of at 12.10pm, to climb the highest mountain in South-East Asia. We begun our climb at the Power Station - so-called because of the electricity company next door. From there it's a 8.72km trek to the summit; i know you're thinking that sounds like a piece of cake, but just add the following to the equation; 4095.2 metres above sea-level, thinning air the further up you get, almost vertical slippery fields of granite to cross and a glorious early-hours start the following day in the 1 degree pitch black of night... you find you have a challenge on your hands. And for me, it was just that - one heck of a challenge. From the Power Station we headed through lush jungle, passed a waterfall and up our first lot of steep steps (VERY steep, believe me! And they are seemingly endle; apparantly there's 2500, I reackon there's more; - but i wasn't counting!) I hadn't stayed at park HQ the night before my climb, so along with my heavy pack (mainly food and water) i was also acclimatising. We were heading to Layan Layang. Our final stop for the night however as Laban Rata Resthouse; ay 3272metres; 6 km from the start. To be honest, on Saturday, the hardest part of the climb for me was that first 2km. I was eating and drinking at any small breather we had (for me, not my guide, he was breathing calmly as a baby sleeping) to chomp my way through my weight. but even with my weight going down, i was feeling the consequences of not staying at the park overnight - not to mention my not-too-great overall fitness! It was so steep and really seemed to go on forever, every corner more steps... (Little did i know at this stage, this is in fact the easiest bit of the climb!) In between the various marker points, there are Pondoks. A pondok is a hut-like shelter where you can sit and rest - there are seven pondoks along the trail to Laban Rata. Once we got to Pondok Lawii (2286m) my hopes of my rest with beautiful views over the valley were crashed, as of course, by early afternoon, even at this altitude (not that far up...) the clouds had rolled in - along with the miserable weather, and there were no great views for me that day. Back on the trail, my spirit was a little jaded. Without being in a group, there was noone to talk to - all my efforts to make conversation with my shy guide lead nowhere and so it was either talk to myself or sing, i did the later... but quickly lead to humming for much of the time (because of lack of breath!) in order to keep in some sort of pace - afterall, we had to make it to the resthouse by nightfall... What also made it difficult is having your guide follow you, not the other way around; i understand it's to go at your own pace, but even though i insisted i'd go faster with him in front, he stayed behind me for much of the climb. But there was light! Around the 3.5km point, we started to catch up with other climbers! Which heightened my spirits somewhat as they'd all set off before me (we were the last people to begin our ascent that day) and one couple in particular had left at 8.30 that morning! It made me feel a bit better. And the fact one guy who i stopped to chat and rest with reminded me of my Uncle Gerry :) made that part of the climb a little easier. We'd set off hours after these lovely people, and they urged me to go onwards which is what i needed. I was hoping to reach Laban Rata by 4pm. We were only at the 4km point by 3.30pm; we were only two thirds of the way!

After Layang Layang, th next leg is to Pondok Paka - the final, seventh shelter on the trail, at 5.5km. When we reached it, i kept telling myself '500 metres! 500 metres!' But what sounds like short walking distance took bloody forever going vertically! It was raining. And the higher you get, the less grows, so the stunted rhododendron forest provides no protection against the elements compared to the tall forest earlier in the climb. I was planning on renting a coat from Laban Rata for the rent of the climb the following day; it wasn't supposed to rain this early on! I'd got rid of all my warm clothes back in China, and had been used to temperatues of 35-40 degrees! On my way up that last 500metres for the night i caught up with an Ozzy girl and her guides. Whilst our guides nattered away, breathing effortlessly, she was wheezing and i swear i was near having a heart-attack (my heart has never beaten so fast!) we encouraged each other up the endless steeper and steeper steps. The air was much much thinner and i was really noticing it! (I later found out she never made it passed the resthouse the next day as she suffered bad with altitude sickness. About a third of all people who attempt the climb never make it to the summit.) the rain was getting heavier and i was getting colder. She told me to head on as she felt i was holding back so off Maibkon and me went... And made it to the resthouse at 5.20pm, 3272 metres. It was 5 degrees. I had my dinner and was in bed by 7.30pm. I was up at 1.45am the following day, to start the ascent to the summit at 2.30, in the hope of making it to the top for sunrise on my birthday! I was really tired. I'd got 2 hours sleep, thanks to two snoaring Americans in my room, surround sound, one in the bunk beside me, the other above. Fabulous - i was NOT impressed! I was also having some breathing problems - die to the altiuded; short and shallow breaths etc which made the night even more uncomfortable! Anyways, Maickon and I left Laban Rata for Sayat Sayat (the last checkpoint before the summit) just before 2.30am, the following part of the climb was difficult for me. In the space of half an hour, 50 all kitted out climbers must've hiked passed me, their headtorchers quickly fading up the endless steps and around the next slippery corner. The guidedbooks say the steps end at Laban Rata, well b*llocks to that! I was exhausted and had barely completed a kilometre since the resthouse. I had a handheld torch; which was no good when you're hauling yourself up by your arms up a sheer granite rockface! My hands were cold from the icey wet rope, and they were covered in ropeburns. Paying 5 more ringit at LR to hire a pair of gloves suddenly didn't seem such a bad idea. But upwards i went. And reached climber traffic; on the rope a hundred or so climbers were clinging on, most with headlamps, gloves and waterproof shoes, and a few fellow not-so-well-equipped noggins like me, with swollen hands and sodden through shoes. (I had stupidly ditched my hiking boots back in China to lighten my load). My guide thankfully took my torch to light the way for me, leaving my hands freeto pull myself up the rope... Between 2.30 and 5am were the most doubful hours; i was really thinking maybe i'd taken a too bigger bite this time. People were turning back at the 8km point as decided they couldn't complete it all the way to the summit (my guide later told me, on average a third of people who attempt it don't make it). I was in pain and asking myself: "why the f*ck did i make myself get up at 1.45am to climb a freezing cold mountain, in the pitch black of night, on my birthday?!" Of course, the only person who could anser that was me. I guess i wanted a challenge; i wanted to be at the top of Borneo when i turned 19! The last stretch Sayat to Sayat was merely a kilometre, however this was definitely the hardest and steepest part of the climb - at which point i'd lost my guide - or rather he deserted me! But i finally got into a some kind of pace; taking 19 steps (one for each year...) and then having a breather. At sunrise, i allowed myself to rest for 10 minutes - i wasn't at the summit, but i was close enough, and witnessed sunrise over the Donkey' Ears; two peaks that resemble just that... My legs were screaming to me but i trudged on, and made it to the summit of Mount Kinabalu at 7.20am, 10th August 2008; even if i had literally crawled up the last boulders on my hand and knees; i think i resembled a 2-legged tortoise. My guide eventually found me (i was preoccupied with the pain to ask wher he'd gone). And i know he didn't think i was going to make it, on a few occasions he'd asked me if i wanted to continue. Even though i kept my mouth shut, there was a moment when i felt like saying; "I've had noone to give me morale support the whole way - and you ask me if i want to give up!?" I won't sugar-coat my efforts; I resembled a dying, lame tortoise, who very almost cried at the top; more from relief than anything else. No one knew it was my birthday (except my guide who had wished me happy birthday at 2am) but up there it didn't seem to matter... On the way down, i stopped at the resthouse to eat before my descent. My guide allowed my 40 mins before we set off again. I got to the bottom in about 3 hours; stopping only once on the way - if i'd stopped more, i think my legs would have seized up. I let my brain switch off and my legs just walk, down a million and one steps...I felt like a cross between a zombie and the wrong trousers from Wallace and Gromit... And i told everyone who i passed on the way down, who were heading up; to keep going and gave them just a little encouragement; coz that's what i needed! ANother mammoth entry, sorry guys! Love to all. x