Climbing Mount Kinabalu
Its been awhile since my last post. Thus I want to share a really special experience for my 100th post: Climbing the highest peak of central South East Asia – Mount Kinabalu on Borneo, Malaysia. Starting out this adventure I flew out to Singapore with my old friend Hendrik. Together with Hendrik I already traveled through Australia. As you can read in the following post.
In Singapore we met up with Johan. He is also a really good friend from schooldays. You can read about our past adventures here too:
Singapore: Exploring the city
We had a great long weekend in Singapore. I really recommend exploring the city with electro scooters as we did. Also the Smoke & Mirrors offers not only good drinks but also a fantastic view over the marina.
After some good nights out with Johan and his friends we visited China Town before flying out. Everything was already set up for Chinese New Year. The streets were super busy and crowded.
Borneo: Sabah Beach
After a 4 hours flight from Singapore we landed in Sabah on Borneo in Malaysia. From the distance of the airport we could already grasp the height of Mount Kinabalu. Before climbing Mount Kinabalu we enjoyed some nice days on the paradisal beaches of Borneo.
Borneo: Climbing Mount Kinabalu
Finally the day of climbing Mount Kinabalu came up. We got picked up by the Mount Kinabalu park crew early in the morning. Then got dropped of at the entrance to the Mount Kinabalu National Park. The Timpohon gate is at an altitude of 1,866 meters.
Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs. The higher we got the track became more challenging. Close to the base camp the track was more like a river bed. After 4 challenging hours we were the first to make it to the base camp. Furthermore Laban Rata base camp is at an altitude of 3,270 meters.
In the morning it came even worse. At 2 am our guide named by the traditional Malay name Johan woke us up. Unfortunately we were not suppose to climb to the peak due to the rain. Following that we convinced him that we were willing to take the risk. Thus we left the camp at 3 am.
In the middle of the night we left the camp armed with head torches. We were not only challenged by the weather, but also the altitude started to affect us. In addition every rock was slippery and treacherous. False steps would definitely lead to a sure death 1000m below.
Finally we made it to the peak at 4,095 meters in time for the sunset. Although it was too clouded to see anything than that.
Borneo: The beauty of Mt. Kinabalu
Now came the even harder part. After the peak we had to climb down to the entrance again soaked to the bones. When climbing down I started to notice the beauty of the flora and fauna of Borneo.
Finally we flew off again to Thailand for 2 days lay over and tailoring suits. Even though it rained during our climb it was totally worth it. Climbing our first 4km mountains totally got us hooked. Who knows what mountain range will be next, maybe the Swiss Alps?
