One Step Nearer to Heaven

Reminiscence of a Mountain Top

It was a crazy trek and scramble to get to the summit. And an even crazier stumble to descend after to base camp. I did it with buckling legs, couple of falls, tears of frustration and sheer determination.

I survived to tell the story of how a fat Tiger (aka Adrian), a furry Baboon (aka Dr Liew) and 2 sweet damsels (Cherie and me of course) conquered the tallest mountain in Borneo, Mt Kinabalu.



Fat Lazy Tiger, Adrian



Baboon Liew

The Damsels

We flew in to Kota Kinabalu on the 17 March, had a bit of a walk around town to stock up supplies. Next was a short tourisy visit to the native souvenir shops near the base of Mt Kinabalu to keep our spirits high.

It was the chill-out before the crunch.


Team building sessions: Jamming with native instruments.



Carbo-loading for the trek: Enjoying talap, an exotic fruit unique only to Borneo (Thanks Joey for helping me name it!). A yummy cross between durian and jackfruit which cost us only 1 ringgit.




And so we began our climb.













We started the ascend on 18 March, Tue, with our brave and trusty guide cum porter Ben- John leading us up the mountain.


Ben- John's as sure footed as a mountain goat (so are the other guides) and has a 5 star grading for his services provided. According to him, he can ascend the mountain in 3 hours max and descend it in 1-2. Of course I believe him. His effortless gait and cheerful whistling made the climb all too easy.

When it rained, he simply whipped out a foldable umbrella tucked in his small backpack and rolled up his trousers (market fashion), while i hurried to dig out my Northface waterproof windbreaker, put on my Deuter bag water proof raincover, double checked that my shoes really were made of Gortex and grabbed my Leki trekking stick harder in case I slipped. Then I continued stumbling, tripping and panting up/ down the mountain, with Ben - John ambling slightly behind, me all ready to catch me in case I tripped and get crushed by my 60 L backpack.





And so we continued up the mountain, stopping frequently for chocolate, nuts, raisin and museli binges; meanwhile Ben-John our guide fueled away with many puffs of nicotine.



Who can forget Cherie's citronella infused snacks? Thanks to her "Pulau Ubin Kill-All- Mosquitoes Repellent". It's natural infusion property (you don't even have to spray it - it just diffuses out of the bottle involuntarily) made sure everything she owned was protected against the blood sucking buggers - including her raisins and almonds. Not that there were any mossies up the mountain.


Red Pea Mountain Flower

Thirsty? Have a drink from The Pitcher


Fat Tiger w Little o' Me at Laban Rata




What lies beyond The Mist? - Laban Rata Resthouse










We reached the mid point Laban Rata in the mid afternoon and relaxed there for a bit, allowing the lactic acid to disperse from our very sore thighs.

That same night at a god forbidden time of 2 am we started our summit climb.


Into the darkness we trekked, guided only by a white rope, eagerly following the footpath traced out by Ben - John. Our morale was high and our pace was quick with anticipation. And guess what - we reached the summit 1 1/2 hours early before the sun rise. That meant sitting for the longest time ever in poorly protected area just below the summit - bracing ourself constantly against the blowing wind. Our only shelter were some boulders. We were chilled to the bones despite desperate huddling.

Fat Tiger left us behind to race to the top in an ego - boosting attempt to be the first one up there. Unfortunately, he was greeted only by howling winds as the sun was still tucked away beyond the horizon. He had only his blubber and no boulders to protect him there, but it was enough.







Yessssss. It was very very very cold. But it was so peaceful - away from the hustle and bustle of life. Just the rocks and the wind. It makes one stop thinking about one's goals, ambitions, needs and want. You just live for the moment, enjoying nature at its most simple and barren form.



Lo and behold - the rising sun.

The heat of the sun working like magic... warming up the surroundings and making the world a golden playground.









Huddling at the summit.







We could now see what we were trekking up before in the darkness - endless span of rocks.




19 March 2008 - Audrey's Birthday!!. The day we made it to the top @ 4096 m above sea level. Tiger, Baboon, Cherie and me - a step nearer to heaven on the top of the world.