Although the practice climb on Keladang Hill (2650') was not carried out on a regular basis or at fixed intervals, the continual 'training' nevertheless lasted slightly more than six months. While the practice was strenuous and taxing, the exercise gave me in advance some idea what to expect on the final test of actually ascending Mount Kinabalu (13,450', in the State of Sabah in East Malaysia) on the 23rd April.
In terms of physical reaction, there were no big surprises: I had already experienced or gone through for more times than I could remember about the difficulty in climbing certain short stretches of the Keledang at 70 or even 80 degree (angles of slope), about the demand, and the fatigue that befell on all muscles, the shortness of breath, the huffing and puffing, the drenching by my own profuse sweating. What DID surprise me, what tested my patience, my perseverance, my grit, my strength, my fitness to the limit, and beyond, was the TIME, the DURATION I had to endure, or even suffer, to become the last person on that day to reach Raban Rata at 11,000 feet in term of height, or 6 kilometres in term of distance, after struggling and labouring for nothing less than nine hours. It was so obvious that while the average practice climb of 2 hours per session on Keledang during the previous six months was useful, but DECIDEDLY and COMPLETELY insufficient and inadequate.
The climb started at the Kinabalu Park head quarter (at Timpohan Gate actually), which was 85 km and two hours by van (bus) from the city of Kota Kinabalu. The road began to meander upward, the engine of the van began to strain twenty km from the Park. As we were about 15 minutes from the Park, the majestic Mt K suddenly emerged in full view, with its various peaks stretching into the blue sky, commanding and demanding your respect. Depending on your own feeling, the silent mountain (some said it was just "an enormous block of granite") appeared to be graciously bidding you a warm welcome, or haughtily staring down at you, daring you to throw yourself into its embrace. You could not help but to be filled with a sense of excitement, expectation and elation, with a bit of awe thrown in.
After registration and meeting with our porter and guide, the van took us to Timpohan Gate, where the actual climb began. My watch read 9.20 am.
The first hour of the ascent, covering slightly more than one kilometer, was bluffingly easy, and I expressed that sentiment, particularly when it was pointed out to us that Park HQ was already situated at 5000' above sea level. All we had to do was to climb another 6000', and we would call it a day, or night. Georges was right: "never tamper with the gods" he said. For we soon found out that as we proceeded with our journey, the climb became more and more demanding, torturing, excruciating, burdensome, and the final half kilometer "brutal", as Eva put it. With each step, I became to move slower and slower.
For the first kilometre, Eva and Georges walked roughly 10 minutes ahead of me. They would stop at a "road side" Shelter **, or some convenient spot, waiting for me to catch up. Then they widened the distance between us; they were 20 minutes, 25 minutes, then 30 minutes ahead. At the 3.3 Km level, they were getting impatient, or tired of being 'controlled' by my pace of movement, and said: "We'll see you at the top", and I never saw them again until 6.20 that evening.
I was not exactly left alone. Apart from the accompanying guide and porter, there were individuals or groups who climbed ahead of, or coming from behind us. And of course, there were people descending from time to time. It so happened that a group of 20 UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) students and six lecturers were making the ascend more or less at the same time. While all the students trotted merrily upward, ('floated up like butterflies') one lecturer, Professor Nazlan, in his forties, and his two colleagues were struggling all the way with me. Prof Nazlan registered strongly in my memory, for when our body seemingly could no longer carry us another step up, our combined spirit continued to push us forward and upward. For more than once, there were self doubts, doubting our ability to continue, ("what am I doing here? what?") but we never turned back. Prof Nazlan beat me by 10 meters in the end.
Right from the start, climbers were advised: "there is no point to suffer, but to enjoy the climb, to take in the views as you move upward, to witness the rare ecological system, with lowland rain forest of the tropical zone at its lower level, with rhododendron shrubs and wild berries of the temperate zone at its mid level, and conifers at the summit zone".
What possible enjoyment could there be, when all strength had escaped you, when every ounce of energy was drained from your body, when you were in agony, when you ran completely out of food and water, when you were famished, and yet at every turn or corner, there was another and another and another stretch of relentlessly upward 500 feet of wet and slippery trail, glaring at you like a wall, challenging you to make another step. and you could do nothing but to oblige, especially when the merciless advice of the guide rang loud and clear in your head. "Kalau tak gerak, pagi esok baru sampai lah" (If [you] don't move, only the next morning shall arrive [at the top]).
We had been climbing through trees covered jungle trails all these while. When we reached 5 km, estimated at 3000 m, we came out for the first time into the wide open sky, nepenthes villosa (monkey cups) area, and I involuntarily lied down on the first flat stone surface I could find. why estimated height? because by then I had completely forgotten about the altimeter I was carrying, and did not have the strength to read it.
We 'replenished' our energy by resting at this point for a good half an hour. For the first time, we actually looked around and marvelled at the magnificent surroundings of Paka Cave shelter. We were no longer READING about the "wind blown, stunted, ghost-like trees", or "in the laps of mighty Mt K, exerting its magical quality, changeless and yet changing", but we were right in the midst of the scenery. At one moment, we saw nothing but a thick cloud or mist in front of us, at the next moment, the cloud or mist would be blown away, like the curtains of a stage drawn aside, revealing the mighty face of the mountain. It was simply dramatic!
We walked, climbed, crawled, trampled the last stretch of the 'brutal' journey that was made up of pebbles, stones, rocks, boulders, and hardly any earth. By that time, my energy was down to almost zero, somewhat like a vehicle with barely any fuel left. You twisted the key, the engine did not come alive, the vehicle jerked forward a few inches. That was what happened: I made no more than 10 steps, stopped, made another 5 steps and stopped.
Roughly 200 meters from the top, we could hear people laughing, shouting playing volley ball at the helipad, but could not see them. Prof Nazlan and his colleges and our porter and guide were soon out of sight. I struggled for another 10 minutes, and stood rooted on a patch of wet ground; it was sewage discharge from Rata Hut, the last shelter before the Rest House.
Entering the dining room of the rest house, I plunged myself on the nearly table and chair. Someone mumbled something like "this table is taken", but I did not and could not move away.
Food was soon served, and all of us devoured what was placed in front of, like a hungry wolf swallowing its prey it just caught, without chewing.
After satisfying our hunger, I turned to Richard our guide. "Kita tidak tunggu sampai pagi esok lah". [we did not wait till morning (to arrive)] But I told him then and there I did want to continue the climb to the peak the next morning.
Georges was the only one who made it to the peak, and I salute you, Georji. He started the climb to the summit at around 3 am, was back at 8.30 am when I was having breakfast. He spoke in an as-a-matter-of-fact fashion, without exaggeration, without sympathy. "The climb to the summit was treacherous, to say the least. You could not have made it"
It took Eva and Georges 3 hours to get back to the Park HQ; I arrived at the bottom in 4 and a half hours.
What have I to show you after the climb? Nothing, really, except I had lost 7 lbs. On second thought, I could probably ask: "how many 69 years old guys had climbed 11,000 feet, albeit it took 9 hours."
PS, the peak in the accompanying picture looked as if you could touch it with your hand. It is actually 2.7 km away.0.5 km - Kandis Shelter 1.5 km - Ubah Shelter (10.25 am) 2.5 km - Lowii Shelter 2267 m (11.15 am) 3.3 km - Mempening Shelter 2380 m (12.30 pm) 3.7 km - Layang-layang Hut 2560 m (2.00 pm) 4.7 km - Villosa Shelter 2729 m (4.25 pm) 5.3 km - Paka Cave Shelter 3000 m (5.10 pm) (height estimated) 6.0 km - Raban Rata Rest House (6.20 pm)