Mount Kinabalu and Via Ferrata

Well this post is about four months overdue but still, better late than never! I had previously been to Kinabalu but i was there alone. This time I wanted Marian to climb it too, and also to be away for New Year's eve, as it has been my plan for the last 3-4 years. That is, away from civilization. Add that two labmates that were also willing to come and ther eyou have it, we were a party of four!

The plan was to climb Kinabalu on the night of the 31st to the 1st of Jan 2011, and then descend on the Via Ferrata. The via ferrata was more the cherry on the cake for some than the actual climb. For others, it was really hard and they struggled to pull through but pull through they did, much to their increased confidence and esteem after that! I was a bit miffed by the fact that you are actually downclimbing the via ferrata rather than climbing it, and also by the fantastic price (~400RM) we each payed, but I thought it would be a nice touch.

While in 2007 I payed for everything separated by myself, these days it all comes in a package: accommodations in Laban Rata, buffet lunch and breakfast, etc.

Here's us at park headquarters. We came in early and by 7:30 am had gotten ourselves a guide and were ready to go.



What I really hate about the normal route on Kinabalu is the amount of stairs that you have to climb (and descend). This is why last time I took the Mesilau trail. And while last time it was all about training for the Alps and Aconcagua, this time it was all about taking it slow. And slow we took it.





It was the rainy season and as such the rain started around 11 am and kept up for the bigger part of the day. Good thing for our rain jackets!


Around 3000m B. started to feel the effects of altitude and lack of training and we had to move very slow (and hear him wail). Nonetheless, he pushed through and we were at Laban Rata in no time. Of course, flowers and pitcher plants greeted us on the way.





At Laban Rata we dried our clothes while waiting for the buffet dinner.



In the meantime, around 3 pm, we went to the Via Ferrata guys for briefing and safety instructions. Chris Bonnington had been there!!



At night, during dinner, Marian unveiled why his bag was much heavier than ours: he had been sekretly carrying a bottle of champagne, which we shared with everybody in the mess hall. A great New Year's celebration at 6pm.



And so we went to sleep. At least we tried, because B. was sadly still feeling the effects of altitude. We woke up around 1am, got dressed, and headed out. Our formation was me, B., C., and Marian closing the line. It was dark, thankfully not cold (last time i froze my ass off), and drizzling. I am very happy about the "dark" part of everything, because like that neither B. nor C. could see the walls we were moving on - there is a roped section on a slab wall that I think might be scary for noobs. We moved slowly, very very slowly because B. was really struggling to put one foot in front of the other. Amazingly, he did not quit and we managed to reach the top before sunrise.


We took various sunrise pics and then started to descend for our second part of the journey!









We got to the meetup place for the via ferrata descent. Here's us looking very pro:



And we started the descent. This is where things shifted in our group. Where before C. had been the rock between the B.-C. duo, now she was suddenly aware of the enormity of the task at hand (we had to descend 600m! on a vertical wall! rock! harness! gear!) and was slowly breaking under pressure. In contrast, B. was loving every minute of it, trusting the gear, and all in all having a fantastic time. This time, I was the first, followed by Marian, B. and C. last, next to our guide - a good thing too because he could take care of her - a bad thing too because he was prone to joking and saying stoopid stuff, which i do not know how well went down with C.





The route was nice enough to keep Marian and me somewhat entertained, but it was also very very long, enough to break C.'s composure and leave us wondering how much more is left.




I loved my new yellow jacket and i think it comes out quite nice in pictures.



We had various bridges we could monkey on:



And we reached Laban Rata before the morning rain




A quick breakfast - the buffet breakfast was over by now but they let us order something - about a half an hour more of rest, and we were off. Sadly, B.'s knees chose this particular moment to give in and it took us quite a while to negotiate the horrible steps below, but in the end we reached the park entrance (among the last), but happy and content. I was even more happy because Marian had snuck ahead and collected a LOT of wild raspberries for me.


We were supposed to have buffet lunch, but it was 5pm by now, so they allowed us to have buffet dinner instead. The food was not great but we had free flow of tea ...

Back!

And a happy new year everybody! Climbed mount Kinabalu (again) and descended a via feratta (for real, not the plastic-y, fake one in Singapore), all during the night of the 31st December -1st January! A tiring, but still exhilarating way to start the new year! My charity project, in which I sometimes take people mountaineering, was not a stupendous success like the Nepal trip, but it wasn't a horrible failure either. The two people we were with were unfit but complaining, which by now I am really intolerant to. Nonetheless, it was great and we ALL made it in the end. The sad part is that I still have to accompany 2 more people to Kinabalu, which only means that I have to descend those horrible stairs again.

The only problem with having such a great start to the year is that the rest of the year must match the start. Hopefully, this year I will (finally) manage to graduate and find some poor sucker to hire me, for real money in a real job :)

Kinabalu!

You know the one important thing that was NOT on my list but was absolutely important? A book! (and no, lonely planet does not count!) Anyhow, here's the story ...

Took the air asia flight from Johor Bahru (07:21) (to get to the JB airport, i took the bus from kotaraya terminal). I met an english girl called Miranda who was headed for Sabah and Sarawak for this month (going to climb kinabalu on the 26th - go girl!!), afterwards meeting some friends in australia, going to new zealand and then for THREE months in South America, whoa!!! We got to Kota Kinabalu on time and managed to board a bus (no 16) that apparently goes from town to the air asia terminal (not listed in the lonely planet guide book, good to know). In town, Miranda and i part and i head for the bus station and board a cab/4wd to Ranau that drops me off at the park gates (15RM).

There, after paying the park fees (15rm - entrance, 7 rm-insurance, 100rm - climbing permit, 80rm - guide), I went to change my reservation from the hostel at Timpohon gate to the one at Mesilau gate, because i wanted to do the Mesilau trail instead of the Timpohon one. It's 2km longer, but it's much much nicer, wilder and not crowded at all!!! At the resort reception, Surprise!! Apparently i had not made a reservation not even for the timpohon hostel - i had reservation for the Laban Rata (lodge at 3300m) but not for this one - but they have free space at mesilau! So no need to argue there. I buy a shuttle ticket for the Mesilau gate, but end up in one of the staff's car who was going there and dropping me off! Some australian guy also give me tea, noodles and some gloves: no, I was not begging for them, he just wanted to get rid of them and also was happy to ensure that i got to the top!

At the Mesilau gate i had a lovely lunch/dinner and walked around a bit. I started the trail next day at 8:10am. Did i tell you there were female guides? Yes, I had seen one the previous day at the Timpohon gate, and what do you know, she chose to guide me! The first thing she told me was "slow and steady". Well, I steady but I not slow! The trail is magnificent, much nicer than the Timpohon one which I descended on. You can see the Kinabalu ridge, bonsai trees, pitcher plants, and it's not so wide as the one descending to Timpohon.
We met with a german botanist on the way who was so absolutely excited that you have [insert name here] forest here, and that higher there's [insert forest name here] forest, and that this place is full of white orchids (saw three on the other trail) and rhododendrons and pitcher plants (pictured)! Yey!

Managed to get to Laban Rata in roughly 4hrs and 5 minutes (yes, i counted, it was important, ok?). And i got there first (i overcame an english couple that had left from timpohon gate) - arrived at 12:15 but check-in was only at 1. My guide decided that it will be ok if we leave at 3am instead of the 2-2:30 am period, and i was left by myself until that time. I took pictures, ate lots and lots of raspberries (a bit more on the sour side, but good!!!), played with the squirrels, cooked some noodles in my hut (I was all alone there, as in timpohon also). There were only large groups that stayed together so i could not interact with anybody. Went to bed, and at 2:50 started to descend to laban rata (my hut was higher) to get my guide (Rumia). Of course i was passing everybody that was going up!! So Rumia and I were the last to leave. After passing some guys that were stopping to rest, i ended up behind two english guys. Now, I would not have minded the misogynistic comments ("some bimbo turning back", "yeah, well, what do you expect", etc), but the part when one of them farted and didn't say sorry really got the best of me.



So I started to pass by everybody, with Rumia following behind. Around 3500 you get to this plateau (30-40 degrees inclined) with many false peaks. This is where i lost Rumia and overtook the last 10 people that were ahead of me (except the english couple, who was first on the peak). I walked ok, constant but with heavy breath, but one sip of water cured it. I got to Low's peak and froze my ass off with the English couple till sunrise. Beautiful pictures! Rumia later told me that she could have walked as fast as me but didn't want to freeze on the summit. Smart!!


Got down and started descending to timpohon. Managed a whopping 2 hrs and 30 minutes till the gate but was left with incredible pain in my calves and thigh muscles that lasted for 2-3 days (I'm ok now). Got to KK (a guy driving a pirate taxi took me from the bus stop opposite the park to kk for 15 rm) and then to the airport (bus no 16) and was left to kill my boredom (remember, NO BOOK?!) for 6 hours till my flight.


Things will be ok in the alps i think, i just need to get back my strength in my arms (especially my left arm) - i have started doing pull-ups and climbing. CLIMBING SUCKS!!! I now need special novice routes: whatever routes the girls are doing, i get big jugs and extra foothold, just for me!!

Flickr pictures here. Picasa ones (350) here.

Kinabalu list

Yup! The time has come for me to go kinabalu! Yupii!!!! I will be leaving on tuesday and coming back on thursday. It's about time i made a list of things to take. What better place to keep it up than in your blog, you might say... So here goes nothing!
[Draft]
- leftover cereal bars - give you energy - check
- torchlight - check
- sunglasses - check
- polartec jacket - check
- gore-tex jacket (in case it rains) - check
- 1 pair trekking pants, long (for the last stretch) - check
- 1 pair short trekking pants for the first parts - check
- 2-3 changes underwear - check
- 1 dry fit tshirt (first part) - check
- 1 cotton tshirt (Second part) - check
- pink cap :) (can be easily spotted)
- 2 changes socks (1 pair short, 1 pair long) - check
- lonely planet guide
- ipod - check
- bobby (that's my camera) - must charge!
- moneyz (unfortunately) - check
- passport + green card - check
- phone
- watterbottle - check
- elbow guard - check

If you feel that i've forgotten anything, pls comment!

Whew

The good news is that I passed the QE! Yey! Unexpected, after the total fuck up with the virtual memory, but still very well received. I found out that the guy that made up the questions for the architecture part is an assistant professor who does research in 3D graphics. That explains the virtual memory part, but it does not explain them not bothering to check if it's in the reference book or not. As I've said before, it's wonderful to be reminded you're at the bottom of the food chain. It's a ... refreshing feeling ...

Kinabalu is coming in 12 days! I decided to rent a car since the park is about 80 km from the airport. This will also help me for the Alps trip since we'll both (M. and I) be driving and I haven't driven a car in a year or so. The Autobahn is a very scary concept for me right now

I must focus on my training. This week is the last week of climbing rest I am giving myself. It's been almost two months already since I injured my elbow and I can't stand not climbing anymore. I must focus on running, hiking, but also climbing with weights.