May 15, 2007

Mount Kinabalu (BORNEO)

Conquering Mount Kinabalu in Record Time

I rose at 5:30 this morning hoping to take a hot shower, but the showers were already full and people were bustling about. So I simply walked across the hall and snuck into one of the female showers. It might have been awkward if I cared about being seen, but why would I care?

I threw on a pair of running shorts and a tee-shirt along with my Merrell all-purpose shoes (thanks for the purchase several months ago, Mom). Then, I walked up to park headquarters and sat down for breakfast. I saw a couple looking around the small cafeteria and rightfully guessed it was coffee they were after. After making a bit of small talk they invited me to join them for breakfast.

The couple are recently retired from the airline industry in Singapore, presumably Singapore Airlines, and have been "living the life" ever since. What was originally supposed to be a 15 minute breakfast on the go turned into an hour and half conversation. Not only were they kind enough to pay for me, but we exchanged contact information, and I hope to take them up on their offer to visit when I am back in Singapore.

I hustled back to the main office and put my laptop and other valuables in a safety deposit box for the day. Then, I paid the park fees and was assigned my guide, Jurio. We hopped in a 4x4 jeep and reached the gate of the trail at 8:30am.

It is 9.8km from the entrance gate to the summit, and at 4100m Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain in all of Southeast Asia. It attracts hordes of tourists every year - some who are fit enough to conquer a mountain half as high as Everest and some who bit off more than they could chew. I wasn't sure which group I would fit into, but this was to be my first mountain climb.

The walk was through jungle terrain on a fairly well-kept path, and 75% of the time we were walking up steps (the ground was reinforced by wooden planks). Without realizing it at the time, we passed the lead group a little after 9am. My primary concern was maintaining the pace I set (the guide stayed 20m behind me the whole time) without taking any breaks. I knew the second I stopped to rest I would not want to continue onward.

We cleared the clouds by 10am, but I still didn't have any idea what kind of progress we were making. It was a 6km trek from the gate to Laba Ratan, which is the accommodation I had such a difficult time arranging.

Typically, people spend 5-7 hours on the first day climbing 6km and 3100m to Laba Ratan. Then, they spend the night at Laba Ratan and rise at 2:30am to trek the remaining 3.5km to the 4100m summit. It is a painful morning of blistering cold, but with 150 other people who are all braving the same difficulties I am sure there is plenty of motivation.

It dawned on me that we were making record time when we began passing people who were on their way down the mountain (having slept on the mountain last night and climbed to the peak this morning). I could hear the other guides speaking with Jurio, my guide, and several even commented on how impressive our time is.

It only took us 1:58 minutes to cover 6km and 3100m.

Everyone at park headquarters was shocked to see us arrive before 10:30am, but I was too concerned with recovering. Several people (who I would meet later in the day) commented that my eyes were bloodshot beyond all recognition and I looked completely ragged.

"Do you want to continue to the top?" my guide asked.

"Egh! I don't think so!" I responded. It had never dawned on me that some one could make it all the way to the summit in the same day - this was a hardcore mountain, after all, not some lightweight 1200m climb. The sign at the park entrance showed the various park records - including a man who reached the summit in only 3:15 minutes. Of course, I later found out the man had also served as a guide to the top of Mount Everest.

After five minutes of contemplating the question and looking at my watch - only 10:35 - I decided I might as well try to conquer the whole damn mountain in a single day. I told my guide I would give it a go, but I needed 20 minutes for my body to recover.

I left my bag with the fantastic Mr. Lorrance - the park's head honcho who arranged for me to sleep on the floor of Laba Ratan - and rented a jacket for the cold weather. I had to change out of all my clothes because they were completely soaked, but by 10:50 I was ready to begin the climb with my guide.

I might have felt a real sense of importance as I waited amongst the other guides and tourists - by then word had spread I was going for the summit on a same-day attempt - but I was too worried over how I was going to make it up the more challenging second leg of the climb.

I was hoping to stay as light as possible so I only brought my camera for the summit-attempt, but this was a novice decision that nearly cost me later.

After Laba Ratan we were above the tree-line and flat sheets of granite were all that awaited us. We passed several groups of climbers coming down from their morning summit attempts, but by 11:30 my guide and I had the mountain all to ourselves.

Climbing was slow-going by this point, and I was literally bent over on my hands and knees for the first 30 minutes. Then, we reached the tricky final section of the climb where heavy ropes were the only way to climb the desert-like sheets of rock. It was 2.5km spent keeled over pulling myself up the steep slope. My legs had nothing left in them and I was relying on my arms to do all the work.

The secret to my success was rooted in the belief that stopping for more than 15 seconds was the worst thing I could do. It would give me time to think how crazy this whole thing is and how much easier it is to head back and continue onward in the morning like the other 149 climbers.

But then I remembered something very important:

A man's worth, like his integrity, is earned when no one is watching.

Having the mental strength to finish the climb was never a concern. I knew I wouldn't quit until I peaked out (and made it back safely), but I was having some serious problems with altitude sickness and dehydration. I foolishly decided against bringing water, but the air was so dry and devoid of oxygen that my throat and mouth were desperate for moisture, and I could feel Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) setting in. I experienced AMS when I visited Tibet, so I knew what the signs were.

Since there wasn't much that could be done at this point these problems only spurred me on further. I figured the sooner I conquered the mountain the sooner I could descend to safety and alleviate my migraines. But such thoughts didn't stop me from wondering what would happen if I passed out from dehydration (there was no protection from the sun) or if I experienced a white-out from the altitude. Again, my guide and I were the only ones making the summit attempt, and with the logistical difficulties of the ropes I don't know how a rescue attempt would work.

At half past 12 I passed the 9.5km marker, and I knew it was only several hundred meters to the much-anticipated summit. This was the toughest part of the climb, though, and I couldn't help lying down trying desperately to garner every last ounce of strength. My guide was roughly 100m behind me for the summit attempt, and I appreciated this because it was likely his way of allowing me to tackle the challenge on my own. I would have hated having other people with me because this was - like all tests of significance - a test that is meant to be passed without any outside influence.

The final 50 meters were an expedition in rock-climbing as I was forced to haul myself up massive boulders to reach the 4100m marker. I would be lying if I said I didn't think about heading back right then because I had long since passed what I thought was my breaking point.

At 12:50 I stood atop the summit 4100m high without another soul in sight.

My guide caught up with me twenty minutes later and we laid down relaxing for nearly about 45 minutes. The wind was something severe, and I was worried about getting badly burned because it was too cold to feel the sun's rays. I nearly forgot to snap pictures of the summit because I was so tired, but I was able to take the following video. It isn't possible to hear most of what I am mumbling on about because of the wind and for the first 20 seconds the camera is pointing straight down because I was too incoherent to remember to move the camera around.

Thankfully the way down was far easier than the way up. We were able to cover ground in half the time it took to come up, and I must have been using different muscles because I found new strength. I had to hold the ropes and climb backward for parts of the return-trip, but we made it back to Laba Ratan by 2pm. I ran inside the main building, gathered my belongings while blushing to an ovation from other workers and climbers, and with snacks they handed me I set off to climb all the way down the mountain.

I decided against spending the night at Laba Ratan and seeing the sunrise in the morning because I knew my legs would be jelly in the morning and there is no way sharing the views with 100 other people can ever match standing atop the mountain alone.

I thought we made it up the mountain fast, but my guide and I really pushed it on the way down. We were basically jogging the whole way with the notable exception of the steps - my knees were in really bad shape from all the climbing.

I passed roughly 10 people I have met along my journey in Borneo, including the Londoner, Aussie, and Dutch girl I have been traveling with recently. All were shocked beyond belief I had climbed the entire mountain in a day - they were only 3/4 of the way to Laba Ratan at 3:00pm! Unsurprisingly, we beat half the previous day's climbers back to park headquarters, as well.

We passed through the entrance gate at 3:42, which meant I conquered Mount Kinabalu in 7 hours and 12 minutes. Not bad considering I was not planning on doing any of this when I started off for the day. I saw plenty of people who are far fitter than me, but as I said before this was a mental challenge and the body has no choice but to obey what the brain wants.

I collected my climbing certificate at park headquarters and endured another series of applause for being the only person to accomplish the feat in quite some time. I gave my guide a substantial bonus for staying with me the whole way, and I was happy to hear the park also compensates him for the added level of difficulty.

By 4:30 I was standing on the side of the road waiting for transport that could take me back to Kota Kinabalu for the night. Eventually, a minibus came along and I hopped aboard.

I checked back into the same hostel as several nights ago, as I have become good friends with the three female owners. Even though they were fully booked for the night they agreed to let me sleep in their room (separate bed, of course) for the night. They also went so far as to buy me dinner and will hang a picture of me on the wall to show all other guests "how to climb a mountain."

Nothing tasted so good as the bottles of Carlsberg, but I have a feeling my legs will be jelly in the morning.

But it was more than worth it!