The Mount Kinabalu Climb - The preparations and the build up.

I don't know how to structure this still. It looks like there's a lot to tell, so I might as well break it down into few separate entries. So let's see how it goes first.

Just like how it always go with my other running entries, I will always have some write up on how the logistics goes. Yes, logistical issues are always a crucial part of my activities. It is a main factor for any fitness related enrollment and decision. So, having something as big as this, it is even more a problem.

I always wanted to go since many years back. I think it was mentioned earlier that it was amplified during our last visit to Kota Kinabalu, where we spent a night in Kundasang, getting to see the mighty Mount Kinabalu the closest possible at that time. Gotten some hint on how the weather was supposed to be like. Having seen other climbers in their full winter suit. It just triggered this inner desire to be one of them. Being pregnant at that time, any plans were put off, and a good friend, being my biggest hope of going together just enrolled herself in and went off. She did not make it to top in the end.

Fast forward 2 years, Petrina, the initiator, a Villa Surian neighbour, advertised, all of a sudden in her facebook page that she was looking for people to go for the Mount Kinabalu climb together. The hubs was in Germany at that time. I was busy preparing for my Marathon Virgin, if had not completed one yet. Quickly I asked him, and surprisingly, he was easily up for it. Maybe it's partly due to the fact that he had initially planned this with his friends, so it has become his bucketlist as well, apart from getting to go with me together. With 4 more slots to fill, we were struggling to find at least 3 more participants to complete the slots. Long story short, we managed to find 7 and confirmed our trip. To our luck, another friend suddenly decided to join and that made us complete 8. I tell you, filling the spots was a trouble on its own.

Next issue was determining the time. I had secretly planned on my own of maybe trying to get pregnant within 2015 and deliver within the year itself. On my own means, without prior consultation with the hubs. I knew full well his position on having another kid. Coincidentally, Pet has that in mind as well. That leaves us room for the climb to only within the first 3 months. March is the final window to conceive, if you want to deliver within 2015. December and January are totally not an option, as weather is known to be bad. So, end of Jan to early Feb window is the best option, also given the fact that it will coincide with public holiday at that time. And the Malaysia Airline ticket was dirt cheap. The more reason why we were so anxious to fill up the spots for the 7 team members, and finalise our trip. Pet suggested a time, stating that it will coincide with Thaipusam. Little that we know, that we would have the kid's schooling to worry about afterwards. And this was only realised much later. We could have opted for the long weekend before that. Alas, everything happened for a reason. By us delaying the trip just a few days after, we had been able to participate in the Nike We Run KL which happened on 1st Feb 2015. I said we cos, it was the hubs who was so eager and registered for the race, during the busy race day of SCKLM 2014. But we decided that he better not run it, for fear that it will take long for him to recover for the Mount K mission. So I got to run the race and everybody wins.

So, decent amount of training was done, Only 3 hikes were managed to be squeezed. Everyone was quiet during the final week before the climb, leaving me some fresh leg for the We Run KL the day after.

For our trip, the family alone was 7 adults and 3 kids. Knowing that we would be away, and the rest would be on their own, we had decided that the venue had to be close to amenities and civilization. And the trip was quite a bargain for us. Malaysia Airlines ticket in the range of RM 270 per person, and the apartment only costed us around RM 250 for the whole apartment of 3 rooms. It was very much suitable for us, with 7 adults, and was very much suitable for the rest of the team as well, being 6 of them altogether. And good thing Pet and Adrin were willing to be apart, throughout the trip. Such a sport.

Then come the big day. We had decided to commute to KLIA using the Putrajaya ERL. This is the most cost efficient for us. and it's not too troublesome. We got to drive, hence less waiting for the cab etc, but of course slight hassle when we arrived back from KK, as we had to wait for sometime for the train to reach. Probably partly due to the fact that it's already past midnight and the train is less frequent. With tired kids and elderly, it was indeed a hassle. But it was all good during the journey to the airport. The fees was also minimal. Altogether we were only charged somewhere between RM 50 - 60. The parking fees (known only once we reached) was only around RM 14 per car. Saved us around almost RM 200 compared to riding the cab.

Putrajaya ERL station towards KLIA

 We arrived just in time for checkin etc. Come to our turn for baggage checkin, everyone handed out their IC and boarding pass (we had done online checkin), except for me. My IC was not in my wallet, I noticed earlier on that there was some card missing due to a vacant card slot. Little did I know that it was such an important card. Tried to control from panicking, I searched the wallet, bag again. Nothing. Then the people around started to panic, especially my mom in law. We spent quite a while there, my kids were also trying to help my missing IC. My MIL had started to sit on floor, and they had asked her to find a seat. I was sitting on the floor myself, trying to go through the possible places where my IC could have been. It was none of course. Then we had to think of the next possible option, whether driving license would be accepted. Of course it wouldn't. Then we had no choice but have to consider going back, all the way home, in trying to find my missing IC. Even then, I doubt that I would find any. I had taken it out during the race last weekend, and mush have not put it back. Silly me. Worst thing that could happen is for the IC to go missing. Fell off from my pouch. There goes my Mount K climb, there goes my family. It was one of the most panicky moment ever. But I was all set of letting the rest go first, and I will try to catch the next available flight. It was Thaipusam by the way, so any chance of going to the registration office will not produce anything. Before I decided on going back, I calmly went through my bag again, the inside pocket specifically, and, by Allah's will, my IC was suddenly there. I started to rethink about my journey, is it an indication that I shouldn't climb, since the least possible thing to happen had happened. But since I found it, I took it as I still could. Maybe it's a soft reminder from Him to be careful, and whatever achievement that I have from this trip, is all due to Him. And I truly hope that I have did just that.

Was so relieved that everything was settled now. And Harith and Kak Farah got easily acquainted with the rest of the team members. We were the only link they had to the rest, and we had to settle other matters and had to let them manage each other on their own. But somehow everyone clicked. So that was another relief.

The flight was fine, except for there was quite a long delay from takeoff, due to the queue at the runway. First time I saw that a runway got as busy as that. There was no earphone on the flight, so we had to watch silent movie throughout.

We took the bus to our apartment that costed us RM 5 per pax. A lot of other people used the same method as well, and the bus was actually almost completely filled up.

The apartment itself was very decent. My mom in law was very satisfied with the condition. Enough utensils and things required for her to cook. Nothing much was done for the rest of the day, except the hubs went out to look for his sunglasses at the opposite mall after our lunch, and the parents in law went to the Filipino market to look for stuff. We had a homecooked meal for dinner, and quickly started the preparation for the climb.

I had prepared the checklist way earlier, in order to know what will be needed and what will be bought. The countless blogs on Mount Kinabalu climb on the internet has been very helpful on this. Various essentials has been suggested. But, other people had other priorities. It was quite a task finalising what you really need and making sure that you are not overdoing things. So for those who are quite similar to me, my preparation can be served as guidance and somewhat close to perfect, at least to me. I had almost everything while being minimalist at the same time. So here's my concerns and priorities:

1. I would be carrying the backpack myself. Yup, throughout the whole journey to Laban Rata. I saw few did it, and I think I can. This is classic me, always want to see what my body is capable of. So I won't opt for the 30L even, let alone 50L.
2. I'm a camel, but I won't stay without water for long. So water and isotonic drink must be plenty.
3. I'm pregnant. Even if I'm not pregnant, there are some people who won't favour untreated water as well. So water has to be optimal. Nothing more, nothing less. And cannot be refilled along the way. 
4. I can't last long in hunger. And my energy consumption is huge. So fuel is important.
5. I cannot stand cold. Me and hubs always argue on whether to turn on the aircond on or off at night. I wear layers on constant basis in office. 
6. I'm very concern about weather condition particularly rain. 
7. I have low blood pressure and self proclaim anemic (doctor would never diagnose me as one). This would mean that headaches is highly likely. 

Having said all that this is what I have managed to finalise and proven to be useful:

1. 22L backpack for me
2. Waist pouch
3. Sunnies
4. Altitude sickness pill - the pharmacist said pregnant women shouldn't be taking it. So I didn't buy it. Lucky another team member had it, and few of us had it right before our climb. This might be one of the contributor to the surprising good health.
5. Rain cover for the bag, if your bag doesn't have one for extra protection. The black plastic rubbish bag is sufficient. The rain poncho covers the bag though, but it's good to be prepared for very heavy rain condition. 
6. Energy gels and chomps. 
7. Dried fruit - brought cranberries and dates
8. Chocolate
9. Water - 1.5 liter should be sufficient. But I had 2 litres
10. Isotonic drink - I brought a bottle of 100 plus, a tin of 100 plus and a tin of malta. Unnecessary. 1 isotonic going up and 1 going down is enough
11. Plastic raincoat. Based on what I read, the normal poncho is sufficient. But this isn't really the case. We had to buy the raincoat at Kinabalu Park. That is more sturdy, although I didn't get to wear it during the climb, as it was with hubs. My normal plastic raincoat worn on the way up got torn
12. 3 in 1 - Coffee, milo, or cereal - 1 upon reaching laban rata, while waiting for dinner and possibly for breakfast.
13. Compact telekung
14. Toilettries, basic necessities
15. Slippers for toilet - although they do prepare bedroom slippers, it can be quite slippery for the toilet. If this is still sufficient for you, forget about the slippers then.
16. Medicine - Panadol, pil chi kit teck aun, clarinase - Headache, flu and stomach ache is always the common visiting sickness.
17. Recovery powder - brought my Amino Energy, and many has agreed that it did provide a stun to your system.
18. Some food - yogurt and maggi for breakfast is sufficient. Or any other combination would do, Don't overdo it.
19. Track bottom or pants for summit climb.
20. Socks
21. An extra 1 set of clothing, depending on what you wear is sufficient. No need for multiple extras.
22. Inner thermal - most inner layer
23. T-shirt - 2nd layer
24. Waterproof windbreaker - 3rd layer
25. Winter jacket (Uniqlo or any mild winter jacket would do) - 4th layer
26. Face mask - buff wear
27. Glove
28. Power bank - used it to charge my GoPro
29. Extra battery for the phone and the headlight.
30. The GoPro of course
31. The GoPro stick
32. Headlight
33. Small torchlight (a very nice to have though), but it was helpful with the foot area.
34. Spare small, light weighted plastic bags - I used it to wrap all the belongings inside the bag.
35. Altitude sickness pill. For us, not sure whether it's a bad thing or a good thing, the team member brought Veloxin. Veloxin is not actually an altitute sickness pill, rather, a prevention and treatment of nausea, vomitting or vertigo associated with motion sickness and other vestibular disorder. I had it, right before our climb, and I never had any sickness throughout.

These are proven not useful to me, although I have found it to be suggested by some:

1. Umbrella - it's hard to handle so many things with only 2 hand
2. Too much food - sandwich was provided as lunch, Too much food is quite unnecessary as it can cause uneasiness. But snacks is good.
3. Shower foam - the toilet provided sufficient shower foam and shampoo. Shampoo in understandable but shower foam may not be an unnecessary added weight.
4. Water bottle like tupperware. Disposable mineral bottle would do in this instance. Although I'm a big advocate on saving the environment, I think this can have an exception, once a while.
5. Unnecessary extra pieces of clothing. Just have one set for the climb, and another set for the summit. 
6. Towel - they provide a decent towel. Although I have bought a small towel only, it still an unnecessary additional weight. 

These might be useful for others, although I didn't seem to need one:

1. Minyak angin
2. Deep heating cream. Only the heating one. The cold one like perskindol is said to make you feel cooler. I just brought them, but didn't use them for that reason
3. The hiking stick. Usually people would need one. Since 2 of our team didn't use it, I decided to not use it as well, as I like to have free hands. It seemed to be a good decision as well. For those who are sure they will need one, please do.
4. Knee and ankle support or guard - I was worried about my ankle, but surprisingly, with His will, I didn't have any issues at all with those joints. But for those with history, please pay close attention to these areas.
5. Smecta - Some teammate had a real tummy issue that time, with many toilet visits. Pity him. Despite having prepared my tummy ache medicine, it didn't seem to help much. But Smecta did.
6. Water purification tablet

These might be handy if I had them:

1. 3 in 1 coffee - I just brought nestum. Having coffee along would have been better
2. Balaclava - I only used the buff type. Quite sufficient but would have been better if you wear a proper mask

Only 1 extra piece of clothing is required. Even if you have the porter to carry your stuff, and you don't have to be calculative on what you bring, another extra set is just unnecessary. Unless you are a super duper hygienic person, maybe you will need 3 sets of clothing, to serve you throughout the journey. Other than that, 2, in total seems enough. You wear your summit attire for your sleepwear (minus the bulky jackets of course). I don't know about others, but all of us in the room was like that. So, you avoided from getting too cold, and you save time preparing in the morning. You wouldn't even think about having shower in the morning, 1 am, when the water temperature in broad daylight has killed you enough. All you have to do is wash your face and brush your teeth, and have breakfast. And of course, putting the rest of the layers on.

As for the sickness, Alhamdulillah I wasn't troubled with much. I did have some slight flu during the summit climb. But it is common with early mornings, and sometimes during physical activities. So nothing to worry there. The one thing that I was especially surprised was with the lack of headache, nausea and the likes. God's will of course, probably due to the pill. Wrong pill or not (the right pill should be Acetazolamide ), it has helped. Since it's also safe with pregnancy, then why not, why would anyone take the risk. Especially for the highly risk me (remember the self proclaim anaemic and being pregnant at the same time).

There you go. The 3 weeks back journey, drafted since 2 weeks back, finally completed (hopefully). Stay tuned for the next installments.