The Mount Kinabalu Climb - The Laban Rata Climb

Ok now, back to the start. Let's start from the day itself.

We basically did nothing much on the first day, tired from the travelling one, preserving the energy for tomorrow two, haven't finished packing for the climb being three. Being constantly in need of food, we have went to the nearby mall to buy some last minute preparations namely maggi in cups, chocolate, isotonic drinks, yogurt, some buns for breakfast and some food for the kids.

I woke up around 5 or 5.30. Enough time to get ready. The hubs too, we were ready on time. The van supposed to pick us up at 6. But somehow, the rest wanted to put their things in our apartment (which is not a problem at all), but somehow they were quite delayed. So we got down quite late, 6.30 or so. So in the van, it was practically the first time that all of us, gotten the chance to really mingle for the first time. But somehow everyone just clicked, and we were so blessed for this tiny group of like minded people. We never really had a problem getting acquainted.

The guide in the van briefed us a little bit about what to expect during the climb. With the help and advancement of the internet, that is certainly not required, but definitely a good ice breaker. It helped of some sort to the hubs, whom had not had much idea of what the Mount Kinabalu climb has in store for him. Time and again, people keep on telling the following, but never would one have a good idea to gauge it unless you have experienced it yourself:

1. Mount Kinabalu is not a very hard climb. They even said it's just rated average in terms of difficulty. Especially when the trails were properly maintained and stairs were everywhere to assist the more difficult path.
2. Huts, toilet and untreated water were provided alongside, about every 1km mark.
3. The trails were not steeped, so there would be less concerns over slipping over. Unless you were really not careful and make a conscious decision to jump off the cliff
4. On average the Laban Rata climb will take you around 6 hours. Our longest hike so far has only been 1.5 hrs one way. God knows what can happen in the next 4.5 hrs, undiscovered.
5. Average, non fit 

So with that in mind, I didn't expect much challenge from the climb, and the same is expected by the hubs as well. But, while doing that, there will always someone telling that it will be much more difficult than such and such. So the briefing by the guide somehow give another mix feeling like that.

Upon reaching Kinabalu Park, as what me and hubs has expected, it was cold. Some of us bought new running poncho as advised by the guide in the van. It was not bad, costed only RM 8 and it was of good quality.

Before we actually started our climb, we had our bags weighted. Harith was never planning on giving his bag to the porters, and his weight was only 5 kg, so it should be quite fine. Hubs was 8kg. Kak Farah was at 6 and Pet might have been at 7. Mine was only 5 or 6, but the 2 litter plus of water, I'm sure it was around 6kg. It turned out, everyone decided to give their bags to the porter, except me, hubs and Harith. We had a kind of mixed feeling even by then. But still we proceeded as planned.

We had another briefing by our porters before our climb. We had 2 porters, due to our group size they say. Shah was quite cute. One of the main thing that he mentioned during the briefing was, if you have certain sickness, then you cannot proceed with the climb. The the hubs went to ask, what kind of sickness, and no pregnant being mentioned there, so we are safe.

The ladiesss

The guys

Everything were quite delayed for us. We reached there quite early, but we spent quite a while there before actually starting our climb. With the packing and unpacking as we were sorting things to tumpang around and give to the porter, that delayed us even more. In the end we started around 9.10, then stopped to take another pic.

Then we reached the much talked about Carson Fall. And this was when everyone was still excited to take photos and ever so eager to start the journey. Some time was spent there still.

Then only the real climb begins. Harith went fast ahead. Uncatchable even from the beginning. Wanting to have a decent record on my own (it's a competition within myself, to challenge how fast am I capable of, with 6kg backpack at 4 months preggy) I did not waste much time myself. The general rule is, it will take around 3-4 hours for fit people to reach Laban Rata, 5-6 hours for average, and 7-8 for non-fit people. So I would very much like to belong in the fit people category. So 4 hours was my target. 

Have left my hubs not very long after we had started. But before I did, hubs asked for me to stick by him since he was wearing my heart rate strap. Of course I had to go on with my own pace, so we switched watch. 

This group started before us. We caught up with them, and they have long since not seen.

The final glimpse of Harith, before he went off for good, until we met again at Laban Rata. It was not yet 1 km that time. The journey after that was nothing but endless flight of stairs. I started to breath through my mouth I think quite early on, maybe after KM1. That's how bad it affected me (considering it was jut KM 1). Of course it was not bad yet, but having to breath through the mouth has really indicated the lack of oxygen, through harder effort. That's when I knew, this is not going to be as easy as I thought.

Final glimpse of Harith

Kak Farrah managed to catch up with me at KM 1 ish. Suddenly Pet and Adrin managed to as well at KM 3 ish, Yo managed to reach right before I decided to leave the hut. Asked about the hubs, and he said that the hubs was not in a very good condition. It seemed that he couldn't go on with the backpack and the porters cannot take on anymore weight as well (macam ni pon ada, but I don't blame the porter as much as well). I had turned my phone to flight mode and had simply assumed that phone communication was not possible. So, even with that news, I had just went on with my journey, and hoped that nothing bad has happened. Bad wife.

I started having my packed lunch way before KM 3 hut, while walking, not even bother to wait for the rest stop. And the sandwich tasted heavenly. It was just a simple white bread sandwich with cheese and it already felt like heaven.

Final pic before we start separated again

Then me and kak Farrah left them for good.

1 hour 40 minutes at half mark point

1 hour 40 minutes to reach half way point. If everything goes well, and I would still follow this kind of projection, I would reach in like, 3.5 hours total time? It sounded quite impressive right. So I was very hopeful and quite highly spirited.

2 porters were constantly around my pace. Either I overtook them or they will overtake me. Nothing special about them but one of them boldly asked whether I was pregnant. Doesn't matter whether I'm really pregnant or not, but asking another woman pregnant, when it's not obvious that she's pregnant, is a total NO. I quickly brushed it off. Somehow kak Farah actually noticed their question and later on tried to comfort me saying that, Sabahan are mostly like that, quite direct. I just kept myself quiet.

It was of much relief again after I reached this area. Gotten familiar with this view from few blogs that I bumped into before. It marked another chapter of the climb. Positive progress.

The look when the well defined and structured like stairs was over.

And when this begins. At least it's something different

Possibly less than 3 hours for us to reach here

1.5km to go with 45 mins to reach my target of 4 hours. The target has a big chance to slip then

One of the girl that we met on the way up. We kind of chatted and hooked up. Apparently she came with her family, 2 of them wanted to break their previous record and try to make it to Laban Rata in 2 hours. She herself was on her own, despite being in a bigger group. All her team members is competitive then. She had nothing with her, not even water, complete opposite of me with bottles dangling all over, pouch on the waist and bag on the back. She was gone after that.

And the rain started

Though I bought the rain poncho at Kinabalu park, I didn't get to wear as it was with the hubs. So I ended up wearing the easily torn poncho that I got from the Mutiara Damansara New Year Eve Run. It heated you up as well, so another good reason to have it on. And the rain got even heavier. Then I suddenly remembered that I could actually turned the flight mode off to check on the hubs. Good thing was, by KM 3, the porters decided to take his bag. So he was back on track then. Phew

1 km to go with only 10 minutes to my target

This is where the dreading path begins. 

The rain got even heavier. I was on my own most of the time. I started to leave kak Farah at KM 5 hut since she had to take a longer rest. There were very few passers by. I was genuinely worried for myself. Not for any criminal attempt or what nots. I was quite sure that it was safe in terms of that there. But with the rain, and the slippery rocks, with my preggy condition, anything was possible to happen. I could have slipped, fainted, and got no immediate assistance. Alhamdulillah, Allah protects me again, give me the will and helped me to finish the journey safely.

At the time of writing this (more than a month since the adventure), I had mostly forgotten how I felt then, except for the sheer fact of accomplishment. But I do remember having felt reaching close to my limit. I haven't reach to the point where I was thinking, "What am I doing here, I could have been somewhere better?" For me that is the ultimate point where I would have reached my limit. It was not to that point yet. It was not to the point where I wouldn't do this ever again. Nothing in that regard. But it was to the point that it almost reached my tipping point, the point where I thought to myself ok, this is hard. I didn't even have that for my Full Marathon. Maybe my desire to complete the marathon was more. Maybe I had prepared less this time. My stamina was fine. Despite that, I definitely had to take breaks here and there. But the one that hurt me more was probably the legs. It felt shaky and close to getting weaker. But still I pushed. Slight breaks here and there were always for catching my breath. Once that is done, I would continue on with the journey.

Finally, the much awaited sign is there. I missed my target by 51 minutes. But that's fine, considering the 2 handicaps that I have. 6kg backpack and a 4 month old baby. The time was 2.11 pm. And I was still alone.

Then, there was a flat area, I knew the climb was over, but even the thought of having to walk slightly more was very much unwelcomed. But it's something that I had to do. I think it was about 500m distance from the sign to the Laban Rata Rest House. Due to the lack of arrow sign, I almost continued my journey up. Quickly I checked on the available sign which lead upwards and it says 'SUMMIT'. I believe and had gambled that it was not the path to take. Remember, even a single step is unwelcomed.

After some walk, I managed to reach the Rest House, and it was such a delight. Saw Harith and it was even more delightful. The journey to Laban Rata was very much about strength, endurance and will. Close to 5 hours for me, almost close to my Full Marathon time, only better. 

I met the girl in the picture earlier. Of course she reached before me. Had a quick chitchat and off I went. 

The first that I did was to get warm. My shoes and socks were wet cause I stepped on a puddle of mud, hence had to wash it off with the cold water. That only made the cold even more unmanageable. I straight away put on my Uniqlo jacket, with the gloves. Pet even worse, she even had her gloves on even while climbing.

Everything was so expensive up there, a cup of Milo is RM 12. I can't even remember what was the price for a plate of nasi goreng. But it was not required as dinner would be up at 4.30 or 5. I had a Nestum packet with me, so that gave me a breather. It would have been better if I had a coffee sachet (hence the list of coffee sachet in my itinerary earlier). What we had to do was just to hang on. The bad thing was, Harith got the wrong information that we couldn't check in yet, until our porters arrived, So wait was what we did. Next person who reached was Kak Farah. Strong girl she is. Next was Pet and Adrin. Pet was nice as she stood by Adrin all along, not like me. If it's not for Adrin, she would have reached earlier. Strong women in the house yo!! (Harith is an exception of course)

That was the bottle that I carried up. I had another bottle of 100 plus, and another mineral bottle early on, which I gave to kak farah midway.

Next, it was Yo, then my hubs, then finally, Anuar. Despite the hiccups my hubs reach within +/- 6 hours. Not bad right. Anuar and Yo commented about my hubs's complaints throughout the journey about what was he doing there, he could have just sit back at home watch tv, than being there. I was lucky that I was not there, his comments would have sounded differently if the comments was made to me.

Since tired waiting, we tried to ask for the room again. Apparently what we had to produce was just our tag. What a wasted 2 hours there. Our room was sadly not at the Laban Rata rest house itself. It was at Gunting Lagadan. I heard about it a lot, but I never know what it means. It means, it will take you another tormenting steps of stairs up, about 3 high pile of stairs to be exact. We were so tired, legs were numb, I had no heart to take anymore pictures. But here's how it looks from Google Image:

The hut and the slope that fell on...twice

The stairs that led to Gunting Lagadan. Endless, around 200 m or so

So put a different perspective to it, it would have been better if we had just stayed there, until dinner time. Once up, we were given quite a decent 4 bunk bedded dorm, with blankets and slippers. No heater of course, but the blanket with the jacket should be enough to keep you warm. We stopped the rest (Yo, Anuar and my hubs) from coming up and just stay put at Laban Rata.

As if that was not enough drama, another came. Since we knew we wouldn't have any decent shower early tomorrow morning, and it will be damn cold later at night, we had to shower then. Not only that there was no hot water, there was no water at all as well. The water stopped after a few drops. So, there was a commotion just to find water. And especially for me as I had to perform my prayer. That being said, all was settled. We 'tadah' air here and there, and it gave us decent amount to clean up, after the commotion.

So dinner time was up. We went down and have our hearty dinner. And thank God the food was nice. Not sure whether it was really that nice, or we were so tired that everything tasted so nice. But in any case, you will enjoy your meal no matter. That's what's important. Kak Farah just got her bag (she gave it to the porter remember), so she had her shower there. To her delight, the water was warm there. Lucky her. So, as a conclusion, if you stay in Laban Rata, there's a possibility of hot water (if the solar panels gathered enough power).

Due to the distance from our rest house to Laban Rata, we had decided to skip the morning supper. Plus, our porter suggested to start early, so we can avoid the morning traffic. It was a good suggestion, it would have avoided Yo and Anuar from being stopped at the Sayat Sayat check point later. More on that later. So, we packed some of the buns there. Adrin packed some burgers or even chicken or lamb.

Fully covered, even to the head. My hubs has always had kulit buaya, so he's always an exception

My love, my life

I was so glad that the rain was not as bad, unlike Nannoor's Kinabalu Journey. Now, at least the puzzle now would be whether the weather would be kind to us the next day. Kak Millie from soho-mama couldn't finish her climb due to the bad weather the next day. And this has been part of my prayer as well for the journey, for the weather to be kind and permissive enough for us to proceed with the summit climb. The earlier guide also did say that if weather is bad, the wind can get as strong as 120km/h. I have always have problem with strong wind. With no trees and barrier up there in the rocky Kinabalu surface, what could I be holding on to? I have always have issues running in the strong wind, on the normal surface.

Though it was raining during the Laban Rata climb, and left us feeling cold and limit the speed of our climb, it was kind enough that water was not gushing on our feet. We had to manage our step of course, and that was what worried me since I was on my own.

Now, at least half of the journey is over. Weather worry, kids' worries, preggy climb worries was at least partly over. Definitely the Almighty has assisted with our journey. and to Him that that was even possible. So thankful that it went so smoothly and as planned.

This is how the climb looked like. I really thought that there was no GPS signal. Apparently there was. Look at the sheer calory burnt by the hubs. Couldn't match my full marathon of course, but it was big enough.

So, there it was, our journey for the first day. It will definitely take time before I managed to complete the 2nd day, so let's wrap it up here. Stay tuned for the Summit Climb.

Check on these as well:
The Mount Kinabalu Climb - The preparations and the build up