Having just arrived back from London, I very quickly unpacked and repacked my bag, ready for a week in the jungle, well kind of. Firstly I had to get through a two-day mountain trek up Mount Kinabalu.
It may not sound like much, when I say it’s 9km up and another 9km down, but when you factor in the elevation of 4,052m it starts pulling together the picture of why I was so fearful. Not to mention the fact that I’d done little training and had spent the previous weekend boozing at a wedding.
My partners in crime, on the other hand were nothing but excited, told more so by the fact that when I walked into the house following my UK-return, I was met with pitch darkness and then an array of headlights being flashed at me. To be honest though, even I hadn’t expected it to be that bad, especially given I was going with an experienced hiker, who had assured me this was the coca cola of climbs (i.e. simple and well trodden by tourists).
We landed in Borneo mid-evening the night before the climb, with the awareness that we needed to be up and at the Sabah National Tourism Board the following morning, bright and early, to meet the company coordinating our climb – Amazing Borneo.
A bit about Amazing Borneo – they made the whole process really simple. This was a one-stop shop for our Mount Kinabalu climb, providing all the necessary materials and knowledge required. They picked us up, transferred us to the base of Mount Kinabalu, arranged food and accommodation at the base camp, and guides for the climb. It really was as easy as handing over my credit card details – and the rest was all them. We were together with 5 other people who had also booked the climb through them, but there was no restriction on anyone to maintain a pace or go any faster/slower to remain with the group. The good thing here was we were given two guides, one who would remain at the front of the group, and one who would remain at the back.
The climb is divided into two main points, base camp and the summit. To reach base camp you have to climb 6km to reach an altitude level of 3,319m, and then to get to the peak summit is a further 3km and a maximum altitude of 4,092.5m. The way our trip was designed was that we would commence the climb at 9am up to the base camp, eat and rest there, to wake at 3am to climb the remainder of the way to the summit.
The first 6km, had 6 rest stops, varying in distances and the entire trail had signposts at every 0.5k and 1km point, so you could pinpoint how far along the trail you were. This is a blessing and hindrance, as at the beginning you’re all “I can’t believe that’s all I’ve done” then towards the end you’re more like “there’s only that much left!”
For me the first kilometer was a mix of “I can’t believe what I’ve let myself in for”, “actually it isn’t too bad” and “come on, you can do this.” In fact, after the first, I felt quite positive thinking the hardest bit was over, but as much as I would love to say it only got easier from there, I can’t as it would be a barefaced lie. The second kilometer got tougher in terms of terrain, and the third was downright awful, mainly due to the fact that the skies opened above us and we were soaked within minutes. This also made it harder to climb the rocks, which had become very slippery and small streams had begun to form everywhere.
This was only made worse by the fact, that when you asked the guides, how much further to the next noticeable point, they would make claims of only 800m, which honestly could not have been the truth as it definitely would feel much longer. We even established a conspiracy theory, that whilst all the signs said the measurements were in kilometres, really they must have been in miles.
We arrived to the 4km rest point excited at the prospect of having some lunch and our bags becoming even lighter (although probably worth mentioning I actually wasn't carrying my lunch, thanks Anu), reenergising and then getting ready to conquer the last two kilometres before a well deserved nap. Despite almost having cried and quit on the 3-4K stretch (thanks Neil for putting up with me. "First class" on husbanding right there) after some food in me, I was feeling positive all over again. Until I was told that the next 300m was the hardest of the whole thing. Regardless, with the new fight in me, I told myself I could do it, and got past those 300m I did.
But low and behold, thunder and lightning (very very frightening) erupts, followed by what can only be God crying with laughter at my massive error in even attempting to climb this mountain. When I said streams were flowing earlier, this turned them into rivers and it wasn't long before I was not only soaked head to toe, but I was squelching in my trainers. At this point it is worth me pointing out, I did have a waterproof jacket but it clearly was incorrectly marketed and it didn't succeed in keep me dry at all. In total silence we ascended to the top, and as I saw base camp, my belly erupted with a new fire and off I charged... until I slipped and fell that is. Whilst it didn't appear to be too bad, it hindered the rest of my climb, and I could easily argue those were the hardest 300m of the entire climb, even with rest stops every six steps!
When we reached base camp, the first thing I wanted to do was take off my wet clothes and change into something warm and dry. Unfortunately, even my waterproof backpack hadn’t managed to keep my spare clothes dry, and with no hot water available for a shower, I ended up sitting around having dinner in something ever so slightly less wet. Our room itself was very dorm like, with bunk beds for the 8 of us in our "amazing Borneo" tour group, but as we were so tired, all I could think of was sleep. Unfortunately there was nowhere to dry any of our clothes and whilst hanging wet clothes off the side of our beds helped slightly dry things, it wasn't very nice putting them back on when we woke at 3am ready to climb to the peak.
So having gone to sleep at around 5pm, up we woke and breakfasted at 2.30am, layered ourselves up and put on all the gear (with no idea). With it being pitch black outside, those hysterical head torches came in useful and helped guide our way. At this point we were already 3,319m above sea level and the altitude sickness officially kicked for with me. It wasn't too far in, that I made the call that I wouldn't be able to reach the summit, and with slight disappointment turned back and made my way to base camp. Even as I walked down, I kept second doubting myself, wondering if I should turn around, but I'd fallen too far behind to catch up and the option was now closed to me.
Close to 5 hours later, my hiking buddies returned and with green eyes I asked how the trip had been. I was met with the grumpiest version of my husband I had ever seen and a slight less chirpy version of Anish. Their response helped me feel better about my decision to turn back. A little insight to the climb to the top from Neil:
“It was cold, we were doing 15 steps and stopping but at this point we had gone too far to turn around. Anu and I were only ones around, no one in front or behind us, which in the dark was slightly worrying. But we continued to persevere. As we approached the last 200-300 meters a pounding headache came on, but I knew it was near to the top. When we reached the top, we expected to be met with this incredible view, but as it had been raining the previous day, the visibility wasn’t great. We got about 5 minutes on the viewing platform to take some pictures, before we were shoved off to let the next set of people on, and then all there was to do, was to head back down. As we were slightly later in reaching, our downhill climb actually allowed us a slightly better view as visibility improved once the sun was up. The climb itself at some points were pretty cool, challenging, but fun.
If you ask me if the views from the top were worth it, I’d say probably not. But the accomplishment of having reached the top made it all more worthwhile.” (Edited ever so slightly).
Coming down the next day, started positively, firstly there was no rain (yay!) and downhill definitely began easier than uphill. At around the 3km mark our knees began to give way and our legs felt like jelly. We were definitely more chipper coming down, and made a great deal of effort to cheer on the people we saw going up, but for the last couple of kilometres I could really feel the twangs in my knees, and all I could think of was finishing.
All in all, the climb took us 6 hours up to base camp, a further 5 hours up and down the summit and 4 hours down, right to the bottom. There were people in our group who managed to get up in 3 hours and down in 1.5hours, which to me is insane, but says so much about their fitness levels.
When we reached the end, I was just stunned. I had managed to climb up to base camp and back down, and it hadn’t killed me or broke me like I had initially expected. There was an eerie sense of accomplishment, but as we could barely move, also an air of "what the hell did we do that for". Having had a week to reflect, and given it no longer hurts to walk, I'm really glad we did it. I may not have reached the top but this is for sure the highest I have ever climbed, and as I was repeatedly told, this was a tough one to pick as my first mountain. So for me this has been a great personal achievement and another item ticked off my bucket list!
I also couldn't be more proud of the boys, that despite the weather conditions and some lack of training (for one more than the other) they managed to reach the summit and survive! Obviously their special rainbow certificates, presented to us at the bottom prove this, and don’t be too surprised if you find them hung up in our apartment next to our university degrees. Note: I also received a certificate, but it was black and white, which I would argue is more unique as less people have achieved it.
Now, would I recommend the trek? In all honesty, for people like me, I would probably say no. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience and I probably could have gone the rest of my life in happy unawareness of what it was like to have reached an altitude of c.3,000m above sea level after a 6 hour climb. Whilst I can truthfully say I am glad I achieved what I did, I am more so glad that I tried it so I won’t ever try it again.
But to those people who enjoy climbing, and I would refer to this as climbing more so than trekking, as this isn’t your typical flat plain terrain, I would recommend it. It is probably a mid-tier level climb (especially given a guy who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro claimed this to be harder), and requires some form of preparation or a generally high level of fitness. For the ultimate challenge, go during the Monsoon season, which changes the terrain of the whole mountain, making it very slippery and changes the style of your climb. The other key thing I would note is, if you have aches and pains in your body, particularly knees or calves, I’m not sure this type of climb would work for you, as whilst going up is ok, coming down dozens and dozens of steps, will definitely flare up any existing conditions you may have on the lower parts of your legs.
Reaching our hotel that afternoon, made me the happiest person. The idea of a hot shower and a fresh pair of clothes was the ultimate win, after a difficult couple of days, pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
