Climbing Mt. Kinabalu - The Return

I have (what they say) "hung up my boots."  In my case, I've not only done that - I have in fact thrown out my boots! Done with it!  Well you might say why give up after one climb? My first climb was in 1989.  Since that first climb, I have said "Once I've come down this mountain..I'm never gonna climb this mountain again! Ever!" Isn't this scenario familiar to some of you? Get ready for it..."ta-daa." That was the 13th time I said those words!  This was my thirteenth climb.  Surprised??

My first Mt. Kinabalu ascent in 1989 as a Staff-sergeant of the 5th KK Company
Boy's Brigade with Capt. Steven Lim. Upon reaching Gunting Lagadan Hut,
I experienced my first altitude sickness of very heavy migraine - but the next day,
I forced myself to pushed on for the summit. This place still looks the same except the
guardrails have been replaced with new and nicer ones. 

Rewind.  Climb no.12 was 16 years before this one.  The one and only pair of boots, yes the same one in 1989 flew out of my hands into the DBKK rubbish bin gracefully ending my climbing days.  Fast-forward to year 2016.  'Doc' Emert's D'Lorien (Back To The Future movie sequels) would have made the journey quite easily I guess.  "Why climb again?" you asked.

Rewind to the year 2015.  The Sabah Quake.  You can read that by yourselves but what happened after that that got me interested again.  What was it?  The Sabah Parks repaired some damaged parts and made a new trail or a 'detour' from the original trail. Parts of the original trail especially the part where one would come out of the wooded scene whilst ascending and into the start of the rock face climb - was destroyed by the rock avalanche. So I thought that I would like to walk that new trail that they made.  Just a thought okay.  

Timpohon Gate.  "Here we go!"

But all that changed when my 15 year old son Ezra heard about it, and he really wanted to climb the mountain - it will be his first ascent.  From then on it's all history and my thoughts now became a reality.  We booked through a travel company, gathered two more friends Sarah and Carl and so the journey began.  

In all of my 13 climbs, this part of the wooded trail never ceased to 'enchant' me.
It looked like the path to 'Dol Guldur' in the Hobbits movie.

In this climb I wanted to train and get my body into climbing mode but never actually got to it - and so that was my condition for my 13th ascent.  "Woohoooo!!" No! I didn't go that way unfortunately.  I paced myself throughout the climb.  In short, the difference between this climb and my last was that I was 'slower' in walking, huffing and puffing all the way. There was no pain at all, only a few times did I experienced some cramps as it was also cold that day.  

Having a breather after passing Villosa Hut at 3,000 metres up.  One more stop before
reaching our stay for the night before the ascent for the summit. Note the Upper Montane
forest behind us.

It was like running out to the field to play football after not touching the game for 10 years. You know that feeling?  I remembered my last climb 16 years ago, I was up and down the trail trying to help some members of our rather-large-group up the mountain.  I was not tired nor had any muscle pain in my legs.  In fact in all of my 13 climbs I never got to train! Well at least I had one - on my 11th ascent.  But that's it.  

A snapshot, in the same spot of the Sabah Quake 2015 video that went viral on
the day of the earthquake.

So what did it felt like to climb this mountain again with no training whatsoever at 47 years age?  Just plain fatigue, no stamina to hike uphill for long periods of time.  Every 10 - 15 steps I would stop to rest my legs.  We started our ascent at 9 am and I took 6 1/2 hours to reach Laban Rata.  My other climbs (remember with no training) only took me about 4 - 5 hours. On the other hand, I had no altitude sickness or leg pains at all.  Not even shortness of breath.   

The new area 'cleared' for the new trail.  The old one is way to the right (out of view) in this photo.

One interesting fact about our heart-rate at the altitude we were bunked-in, I actually tested mine when I was 'resting' or lying down trying to sleep.  I took a reading.  Now my normal resting bpm at sea level back at home was 55 bpm.  At 10,500 ft...I was resting trying to have some shut-eye, my bpm was 112 bpm. I was relaxed, lying on the bed quietly for about 1/2 and hour.  Interesting yea? 

The Summit is just....there! 

We did it! Father and son at 13,435 ft.  

Now comes the harder part - the descend.  This can be a 'make or break' outcome if whether or not your trip up has been worthwhile.  If you're already knackered coming up, this will be one's nightmare.  The new trail which in some parts were made of wooden steps actually made it harder than walking on soil ground.   

The boys descending towards Sayat Sayat guide checkpoint at 12,000 ft.

(Looking up)This is the general area where the rock avalanche started and all the way 
down and around the rocky parts of the mountain.  Climbers were instructed to pass 
through this area quickly because if any tremors may occur, all these rocks are ready
 to cascade down.  

(Looking down) The rock avalanche continued downwards unfortunately towards
the climbers doing the Mountain Torq circuit.  18 died including 4 local guides who 
were protecting the climbers.  

  

This is the area of the old trail, destroyed by the rock avalanche of 5th June 2015.  The park guides still say on some days slight tremors are recorded and sometimes can be felt if you are well alert.  

You can still see ropes, harnesses, footwear, bits of equipment strewn across the 
rock-filled mountainside.  A few stalks of flowers (cannot be seen in this photo) are 
put on top of a boulder at the top of the picture in memory of those that perished here.

This poignant scenery momentarily took away the throbbing pain in my toes felt when descending from the summit.  This is normal, and after a short rest it will be all fine for the descent down to the starting gate.  After passing through this rocky area, my unfit legs were beginning to tire rapidly.  Because of the new steps, this became more and more difficult until I had to help myself down by holding on to the hand-railings.  I looked like a 'crab walking down the steps'.  Yeah that's it!  This is a separate incident to be told in the next story 'Toe Injury - One year on'.

I shot this while descending from the summit.  I couldn't help by being awestruck by this view

My legs were giving way.  They were like 'jelly'.  Or you could say that "I've lost my absorbers."  I had to drag myself in to Laban Rata for breakfast. And I took quite a while to enjoy it.  We delayed our check-out time by one hour to rest.  While other climbers in our room had left, we were in our beds sleeping.  To cut a long story short and you can continue reading it in the next writing, wrong footwear for this trip.  My toes were sore, I kicked a rock and that was it!  The start of my 'hell' experience.  

I've had this experience before in 1996 when I wore a very tight boots and...yep! I forgot to cut my toe-nails.  At the time, on the way up my toes were already injured and at Laban Rata, I couldn't take off my socks because they were already stuck to my feet as a result of

all the dried up blood. I continued to summit the mountain like so and coming down was like a special forces soldier dying to pass his test.  

This time it was like a sledgehammer pummeling my toes with each step I took.  And every stone I accidently kicked made me scream my heart out from inside.   From the first experience in 1996, I walked hard. Yes you are right! Like a 'special forces soldier who wanted to pass the gruelling test' I walked like it was my last.  The descent was all downwards.  I wanted to make that 4.30 pm cut-off time - or when the gates closed.  It felt like forever.  Each hut checkpoint I went past (I didn't stop for a rest except for one) was a relief. By now the excruciating pain became 'numb' and I couldn't feel my toes anymore.  The pain was me, and I was the pain.  The hard part was the last hut checkpoint which to me, was the worse sensation of all.  It felt like the longest and farthest checkpoint to reach.  
After all, as the saying goes, "All's well that ends well."  The moment I saw that starting gate, the gate in which we had left from the day before, I began to gathered my last strength to reach it.  Do you know why?  There were a large group of people gathered there, watching climbers walked in.  It was also the closest they can be to the mountain if you are a non-climber.  So I heroically walked up the pathway like nothing's ever happened (I was crying inside 'cos of the pain I felt in my toes again) and as soon as I stepped into the checkpoint a huge downpour began and it was really heavy.  I slumped to the ground after checking my name in on the register.  That was it.  I was hungry, tired, delighted and yes it was a hard journey.  Was worth it!  Oh..and another medal to show.   

For the thirteenth time, "I never want to climb this mountain again..ever!"

(Do you believe this?)

"Why am I here?"

(Alternate saying.)

The End