Braving Borneo

Last night was not what I would call restful. I was staying at Pendant Hut, which sits at about 3250m on Mt. Kinabalu, in a dormitory room which luckily was not full.  So the problem was less the other people (there were only 3 of us, no one snored, actually I was probably the most annoying as I had to keep getting up to go to the toilet – it seems I am doomed to have the need to frequently pee repeatedly be my altitude effect #1).  The problem was the strange hour at which we went to bed (19:00), the slight headache (altitude impact #2), the questions about the day ahead, and then during the night the onset of a storm.  It rained from 20;00 – 21:00 and then stopped.  So far, so good.  It’s monsoon season after all, periods of downfall and then  dry in between is perfectly normal.  But then at shortly before midnight, it started to REALLY rain.  I mean, in torrents.   And then the wind picked up and I honestly wondered if our little hut was going to be blown off the mountain.  At that point, any additional sleep was hopeless.  So I laid in bed listening until one of the hut attendants knocked on the door at 2:00 and informed us that breakfast was ready.  Really?  We’re going to climb out of our warm sleeping bags into the very cold hut, get dressed and have breakfast because we’re scheduled for a 2:30 summit departure…with THIS storm raging?  I went down to the bathroom (trip #4 since going to bed at 19:00), then asked the hut guy what the plan was.  He suggested we get ready, and when the mountain guides arrive at 2:30, they’ll tell us.  Okay – pretty clear.

So my guide Jano arrives at 2:30 and informs me it’s raining.  Very helpful indeed.  We pulled on all our rain gear (I am soooo glad at this point that I carried the full, heavy backpack up yesterday) and headed out into the darkness.  Since there was  100% cloud cover, we had no benefit of moon- or starlight, so the world outside of the small beam from our headlamps was completely dark.  We trudged up the mountain, feeling totally alone in the world.  We arrived at the gate to the summit trail just as the ranger came out of his hut to unlock and head up to his checkpoint station.  So we followed him through the newly opened gate, and headed up.  Many steps, trail, scrambled over some rocks, the rain continuing to fall and water dripping down off my hood in front of my face.  And I am loving it!  I actually said a prayer of thanks – that I could be up here right now, experiencing this alone-in-the-darkness-and-rain-on-the-side-of-the-mountain.  It was beautiful!

Until we got to the rope.  Where the trail turns into a rock face, they’ve laid a rope pretty much all the way up to the summit.  In some places (like right at the beginning), it makes sense to pull yourself up the rope because the wall is at a severely steep angle.  In most places, you don’t actually use the rope but follow it along so you don’t lose your path and stumble off an edge somewhere.  I put down my things to pull on gloves and blow my nose, and in that instant, I blinked.  And my right contact lens just popped out and fell into the rainstorm.  This is a big deal.  First, I’m more or less blind in that eye without that stupid little piece of custom-designed plastic.  Second, due to the custom design it also costs 500€ to replace.  I shout out and fall to my knees in the rain and trickling water, searching and hoping.  My guide comes over to help, eventually the next climber and his guide turn up and they help for a few minutes.  Then the next group.  After about half an hour, I finally acknowledge that the running water everywhere has surely washed it on down the mountain, and give up.  So I toy with the fact that my climb is probably over and my vacation a mess.  And then tell Jano “let’s go” and head up the mountain – in the wrong direction by all reasonable counts.  But I decided, my climb has now become even MORE expensive, all the more reason to get it done!

It’s a nice climb up the summit trail, scrambling over rocks and walking across an enormous rock field.  And going up, it was easy enough to feel my way  and not worry too much about the lack of eyesight.  Annoying, but since everything was dark anyway, it seemed to matter less than I expected.  I was extremely angry, however, which gave me frustration to work off and propelled me much faster than I should have gone towards the summit – thereby reaching it already at 5:00.

I made it! Quick photo and then down out of the wind

Sunrise is at 5:50.  I decided I was not going to wait around in the howling wind, and started heading back down.  And now was confronted with a severe lack of depth perception.  So for the 9 km down the mountain I had to complete, virtually every step required a leap of faith as I guessed how far down that next rock was.   I managed to turn my ankle once or twice, and do a bit of a job on my knees, but finally got down off the mountain at about 13:00.

Oh – if you’re wondering.  I was supposed to do the Via Ferrata, which I was still determined to do.  I had to wait 30 minutes in the cold for the Via Ferrate guide and the other 2 people in my group. So was absolutely trembling nonstop by the time we geared up (during a lull in the rain).  Just after getting started, the rain picked up again and we had to cancel the whole thing.  So I chucked my gear, virtually throwing it at the guide, and busted my butt as fast as possible to the next hut, a cup of hot tea, and chance to get slightly warmed up before the rest of the descent.  Bummer that I couldn’t do the via ferrata – I am sure it’s great: but not in those conditions.

On the way down again

My guide, Jano, on the way down the summit trail

Back in Kota Kinabalu, having taken a very long, very hot shower (I think this is the first time ever, that a hot shower felt good to me when it’s 31 degrees and very humid out!), gone out to dinner and enjoyed black pepper crab, I’m now packing up for the next leg of my journey.  Which starts bright and early tomorrow morning at 5:00.  But just before I climb into bed, I’m headed to the spa for a whole body massage.  I’m beginning to love Malaysia.  🙂

On my way up the mountain today, I saw a body going down the other way.  Wrapped in plastic bags, on a makeshift stretcher and carried by four porters.  How is that for a wake up call?

Especially when you consider that this is a tourist climb.  It is not an expedition, it is not at tremendous altitude, the trail is well prepared and maintained.  And therein lies the danger.  Climbing Mt. Kinabalu has become such a standard tourist activity, that people who really should be nowhere near a mountain try to climb up this one.  Even though it’s a tourist climb, it’s steep and very strenuous (moreso than I had expected!).  And then there is  altitude to contend with, particularly for people who have spent their entire life at sea level and suddenly find themselves wandering around at 3-4000m.  This particular (dead) tourist was apparently a Japanese middle-aged man who died during the night, while everyone was sleeping (and hopefully in his sleep).  The assumption is heart attack, to which they lose a number of people every year on Mt. Kinabalu – this was number 5 in 2012.

Aside from that sobering encounter, my climb is going well so far.  I was worried about not being fit enough, but we made it up to Pendant Hut in near-record time, arriving at 12:20 when planned arrival is between 14:00 and 15:00. I enjoyed all the exclamations and congratulations, of course, even though I find it a bit premature since we still have a summit to reach and via ferrata to complete.

The scenery is very nice.  We started in rainforest and transitioned into alpine bush.  And the trail is not bad; a little too prepared for my taste (LOTS of steps, either build up stairs or carved into the ground with metal/wood supports), but I guess anything that 300 people will walk up and down every day probably has to be like this.

Time for a nap, final summary tomorrow: hopefully with stories of success!