i am climbing mt kinabalu this june with ian, my son-in-law, and five of his church friends from melbourne. mt kinabalu is the highest peak in south-east asia. climbing the mountain has been one of the things on my 'to do list' following my retirement in 2007.
i had been naive enough to think that all i needed to do was to fly to kota kinabalu and from there make my way to the base camp to begin my climb. i was not aware of the number of procedures that needed to be adhered to before you could access the peak.
one of the requirements is a climbing permit. a climbing permit costs rm$100 for a non-malaysian. it is also compulsory to have a licenced guide to lead the group to the summit. in addition to these, all climbers need to pay rm$7 each for insurance fee.
the climb will normally take two days. most trekkers start their climb at timpohon gate near the park headquarters (1800m) with an overnight stay at one of the guest houses at laban rata (3273m) before pushing to the summit at an unearthly hour, usually around 3.30 a.m. after visiting the official website, i now understand the rationale for the need to wake up at 2.30 a.m. to prepare for the push.
fortunately, i have someone in my saturday's walking group who has successfully reached the summit in march this year. she has been giving me useful tips on what to take along and how to prepare myself for the climb.
in fact, last sunday she sacrificed her beauty sleep to introduce me to the training route/trail at bukit timah nature reserve that her group had used in their preparation for the assault on mt kinabalu.
some of the items that i have secured for the climb include the miner's lamp - the torch that you wear on your forehead, the china-made telescopic trekking poles and a pair of non-slip gloves. i also have my rain-coat, leather jacket and woollen gloves.
