Mount Kinabalu

Day 1: After catching the bus from KK and embarking on the 2-hour trip, I arrived at the foot of Mount Kinabalu at about 11am. Despite catching the earliest bus available, this was quite late for beginning the climb as most people start between 9-10am so you can arrive at the mountain-side accommodation mid-afternoon. Probably didn't help that the bus was on the verge of falling apart and being overtaken by every other vehicle going that way.

Arriving late didn't help my cause either as I'd hoped to get there when it was busy so I could find some people to split the cost of a guide with. For the climb, a guide is mandatory and it's the same price whether it's one person or three people paying it. Thankfully, a nice Polish couple (Filip and Beata) arrived on the same bus as me and were happy to split the cost. Was really grateful to them as it saved me a fair bit of cash. Also nice to have some others to climb with.

After sorting out all the paper work, we met our mountain guide (Freddie), who confirmed our suspicions that we were the last people beginning the climb that day. He didn't seem unduly worried though, predicting we would be overtaking several Chinese people along the way. Funny because my Lonely Planet had said the exact same thing - not the quickest of climbers apparently.

And so it began, a 4-hour climb to reach the guesthouse we were staying at - Laban Rata. The climb was really tough and totally relentless. The guide book had warned that every step was uphill but I didn't take it literally - I should have! Normally you would expect some flat parts or perhaps going downhill for a few seconds but literally EVERY step was uphill and that made it really difficult. The first half of the climb was mostly manufactured steps and the second half was more rocks and boulders, which I preferred. The three of us pretty much stayed together throughout and I was really impressed with Beata, who managed to keep going, despite clearly feeling the strain. We had a few breaks along the way but all agreed to limit them as much as possible so we could maintain a steady rhythm, which is key to getting up there in a reasonable time. As predicted, we passed lots of ambling Chinese, who, at their pace, wouldn't be joining us at the guesthouse for several hours! We also passed lots of people returning from the summit, most giving us a jovial and slightly sarcastic ''good luck'' as we passed them. I made a mental note to use that myself the next day, if we made it to the summit that is.

We made it to Laban Rata at about 3pm and it was definately a sight for sore eyes. I was shattered and we were all grateful for a rest and a coffee once we got inside. It was a difficult trek but very enjoyable also. We had covered 6km so far and now had some time to recuperate and have some food before finishing the climb to the summit. The food was great but the guesthouse was absolutely freezing, due to limited electricity up there. Guess that's what to expect from mountain-side accomodation! I did toy with the idea of a shower but, after gingerly dipping my hand in and feeling how cold it was, I whimped out. Have had my fair share of cold showers on this trip but these were something else. No chance.

Off to bed at 7pm. Not just because of tiredness (although that was a factor) but mainly because we had to be up again at 2am to finish the trek. Best to get as much sleep as possible in preparation.

Day 2: I slept more than I thought I would and we were up at 2am for some supper and to begin stage 2 of the climb. The idea behind leaving at this time is so you are at the top to see the sunrise. I like a nice sunrise but have never been as enthusiastic about them as others so you can imagine how I was feeling at that time of the morning. This one better be good!

This part of the climb was twice as hard as what we had already done. Ignoring the fact that it was pitch black and we all had torches to light the way, the majority of the rest of the climb was done by pulling ourselves up by a rope. I only had a hand torch but soon kept this in my pocket once I realised that both hands were needed for the rope. No more nice steps either - this was mainly smooth, steep rock, which got quite slippy in places and wasn't helped by the cold, harsh wind that was blowing in our faces. It was really tough but also a fantastic experience and made us all the more determined to reach the summit. I've never done a mountain climb like this before, let alone one in the middle of the night, so it was definately a new experience for me and one I won't forget in a hurry.

The smooth rock was eventually replaced by more tricky terrain and it meant basically climbing on all-fours as we got close to the top (or at least when I thought we were getting near the top - seemed as though we were never going to get there at some stages). Freddie also told us that some people had died or gone missing while doing this section of the climb, which was nice to hear! Apparently, if it rains heavily and the weather gets really bad, they now abandon the climb for safety reasons - I can see why. I was ahead of Filip and Beata for this stage as I wanted to try and keep and constant pace.

Finally, at about 5.20am, I reached the summit and it was a great feeling. The poles weren't far behind and we were full of congratulations for each other when they joined me. Freezing at the summit, making me even more grateful that I'd bought some proper clothing back in KK - one guy was finishing the climb wearing shorts and a pair of converse, and he had just stepped in a puddle. I think it's fair to say he was regretting this decision.

We stuck around at the summit for around half an hour and caught the sunrise. It was a bit disappointing as there were clouds covering most of it but I didn't mind too much - was more pleased at having made it all the way. Met a couple of nice english girls (Rosie and Katie) at the top before we began our descent. 30 minutes at 4095m = pretty damn cold. Now for the ''easy'' part - climbing down.

Once we reached about 6.30am and the sun was fully up, the mountain seemed so different from the total darkness we had gone up in. Some amazing scenery and spectacular rock formations, that looked like they were straight out of a Lord of the Rings scene. All got some great pictures as we made our way cautiously back to Laban Rata for breakfast. The rope was just as necessary on the way down I can assure you.

The three of us had breakfast around 8am and then began our final descent at about 9am. This climb wasn't cheap but I certainly couldn't fault the service at the guesthouse, who really looked after us with the food.

Whilst it was obviously easier doing the mountain downhill, not as much as you would think as it was really tough on the knees. I was going much quicker than Filip and Beata this time around as I found it better to jog parts of the descent to ease the impact. I stopped and waited every couple of kilometres and the guys weren't far behind. I also took great pleasure in wishing new climbers ''good luck'' as I passed them. They guessed right that they would be needing it.

We reached the bottom early afternoon and were all completely shattered. All except Freddie that is, who does 2 or 3 climbs a week and yet still looked fresh as a daisy in preparation for another climb tomorrow. Rather you than me mate.

The three of us had some lunch and then headed back to Kota Kinabalu for the evening. The poles were a really nice couple and we had a good laugh together over the 2 days. Filip gave me some good tips for my time in Singapore as well before we went our seperate ways.

Needless to say, a very subdued evening for me. Time to give my legs a rest before an early bus trip to Sepilok. Trekking complete, now time to find some Monkeys, Orangutans and the other vast species of wildlife Borneo has to offer.