Sunday, September 04, 2016

KY travels – Climbing Gunung Kinabalu, the highest peak in Borneo


Earlier in the year, one of my colleagues sent out an email to the whole department mooting the idea of a group hike to Gunung Kinabalu, the highest peak in Borneo and South East Asia, I immediately msg Haze to check on her interest, and a few months later in late July 2016, we found ourselves at the foothill of the sleeping giant.

First, let’s talk about the mountain and what one should prepare if you have the intention to scale all of 4096 meter. Here’s the check list of equipment that will be extremely helpful:

  • hiking stick(s), preferably a pair. This will aid in providing traction as well as relieve to the impact to your knees, especially on descent
  • water bottles or water bladder. It’s going to be a very long hike, you’ll need hydration, at least 2-3 litre
  • cloths for cold weather. Temperature at summit can be as low as a few Celsius, factoring in wind chill and you’re in for a treat. We find the down jacket from UNIQLO quite good for this application as it is very compact. You are also advised to bring at least a pair of long pants and maybe long john
  • snacks, packed lunch is provided with the package, but some condensed calorie such as chocolate or energy bar is helpful
  • hiking lamp or torch light. Head lamp is helpful as you may need to have your hands free for hiking stick or ropes on 2nd day ascent that starts at 2:30 am
  • hat & sunscreen. You’d want to protect yourself from getting sun burnt
  • gloves. Preferably 2 pairs just in case they get wet, doesn’t need to be very thick, you need them to protect your hands while grabbing the ropes, and also not have your fingers get too cold near summit
  • poncho/umbrella. Just in case it rains on you
  • extra change of cloths. It is a two day hike and it also may rain
  • ibuprofen. Taking 600 mg ibuprofen every 8 hours is shown to reduce incident of altitude sickness
  • a small first aid supply. Plasters, some bandages can be helpful

While these supplies are important, you are also advised to get it as light as possible. They get heavier and heavier every step you climb up, you can also hire porter to carry everything for you at a rate of RM 10 or so per KG (both up & down)

Secondly, you’re going to be needing some training. If you’re not already an avid hiker, you’re gonna need to get some practise hike before the Mount Kinabalu ordeal.

Many hikers used to go to Batu Caves to walk those stairs before Kinabalu hike, but whoever is now in charged of that public property seems to not be letting anyone do that anymore. Next best thing is going to places like Kiara Hills or Bukit Tabur if you’re near KL, or even better, Penang Hill. We did those places once each with quite a few gym sessions to get ready, and at the end wished that we had done more practise hikes.

You can’t climb Kinabalu Mountain like you do with other hills. Permit and hiking guide are required for every climber. The package we got was as follow:

* RM 1250 for Malaysian, RM 1630 for non-Malaysian inclusive of GST
* includes 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner & 1 supper
* 1 night accommodation at Laban Rata
* return transfer from KK to Kinabalu Park, and Kinabalu Park to Timpohon Gate
* mountain guide, climbing insurance, permit, & certificate

Haze and myself actually ended up renting a car and drove to Kinabalu Park ourselves since we had planned to stay at Kundasang after the climb while others in our group made used of the KK hotel transfer. I wonder if we could have gotten a slightly cheaper rate if we had stated that earlier.

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