Weak at the Knees

Saturday, October 23, 2010 Katie and Taylor
Our 2 weeks in Borneo began in Kota Kinabalu (or KK), the capital of Sabah province in the Malaysian part of Borneo. KK is a harbour city with nearby islands for snorkelling and diving, excellent food markets and a deserted beach, where we opted to spend an afternoon. It wasn't up to Perhentian or Phi Phi standards but we had it to ourselves so we couldn't complain!  KK is also famous for its sunsets so we had dinner one night on the harbour and the sunset didn't dissapoint. The rest of our time was spent organising our climb to the highest point in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu.




Standing at 4095m, Mt Kinabalu was a challenge even before we started climbing. It's not as simple as just turning up and hiking, you need to obtain climbing permits, hire a guide and book accommodation 6km into the climb. The accommodation is run by one company so there is no cheap option but 5 meals are included on the 2 day 1 night trek which is preferred by most hikers. Packages can be booked by private travel operators but these are twice the price so opted to organise everything ourselves to save on the pennies(typical Scots!). We discovered that accommodation should be booked at least 6 months in advance and with the 2010 Climbathon being held at the weekend, climbing was looking doubtful. The climbathon is open to all ages but you must reach the summit in 3 hours, plus the record for the race is 2 hours 41 minutes! Luck was on our side and 2 beds were free so we headed to the bottom of the mountain to acclimatise in a nearby hostel before climbing the next day.


We set off early, picked up our packed lunches and our guide and started nice and easy with a bus transfer to the official start point.. we didn't cheat (honest!). The climb is uphill virtually all the way with endless rock and wooden steps (around 2500) some of which are up to my kness in height! 6km and 4.5 hours later we reached our stop over at Laban Rata just in time for a nap before our first buffet meal. It was a struggle especially with the thinning air, but when you see porters hiking up (and passing you) you really can't complain having only a small backpack and proper footwear, compared to a huge bag of supplies braced on their head and simple trainers. 


After our meal we headed to bed for an extremely early night (7.30pm) before our stupid o'clock start for the summit. We woke at 1.45am to a full spread supper buffet before heading off for sunset at the top. This part of the climb is 2.7km and a lot steeper. You have to scramble across rocks sometimes using a rope for balance, but definitely the best part of the hike. This was all in the dark and we managed to get to the summit 5 mins before sunrise, excellent timing! It was well worth it, the weather was calm so we sat for an hour watching the stunning sunrise. 


Our decent back down to Laban Rata for breakfast wasn't too stressful, and we left in good time for the final 6km back to the start, this is where things got tough. The first 1.5km was pretty easy, we jumped down from step to step and made pretty good time, that was until our knees started to wobble and it got a whole lot harder. I ended up clinging to the handrail (when there was one) or a rock or tree to give my knees some extra support, and I'm not even the one with the bad knee! We did make it down in good time though and cursed at the 20 steps we had to walk down to get to lunch!


We had one night recovery at the bottom of the mountain and woke up this morning a little sore and a new swagger. It was an amazing hike but I would be really happy if I never see another set of stairs again!
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