Climb MT. Kinabalu Park

by Susan Johnson
(Wales)

This is not one of the independent travel reviews you find on trip adviser but a personal travel experience.

MT.Kinabalu park is the place to start if you want to climb this mountain on Borneo in South East Asia.

I will share with you my experiences and give you some pointers.

What to do and what not to do.

We quite like a bit of adventure, something different from relaxing on a sandy beach or by a pool, so, when we were visiting our son and daughter in law in Singapore and were asked would we like to climb Kinabalu, we said, Yes?

We had trekked in the Himalayas and in the jungle on Borneo but we really liked the idea of climbing one of the highest mountains in the region.

We knew we needed some preparation so we added a little mountain climbing in Britain to our usual hill walking. We went to Scotland on one of our short breaks and climbed Ben Nevis. We really enjoyed it and thought it was a good start although it would be twice the climb up Mount Kinabalu.

In preparation you need to reserve your accommodation in Kinabalu National Park at Laban Rata which is two thirds of the way up the mountain and you need to sleep there before you tackle the final one third.

We looked at quite a few websites before we went to get an idea of the terrain. We wanted to know whether the path was steep of did it follow the side of the mountain.

It was quite difficult to find the information we wanted so I will tell you about Kinabalu.

The path is steep and within our first hour we had a torrential downpour which made the path very slippery. There were hand rails in some places but I would not call it a well maintained path. Some parts of the path are stepped but the steps are high.

I am 5ft 2ins and the depth of the steps often came to my knee and higher. Unless you are very sure footed you will need at least one stick which is just as important for the descent. Also be aware that the last third starts about 3am and it is sheer rock where you have to pull yourself up by rope, this is not for the totally unprepared.

We stayed a couple of hours away fromm Mt. Kinabalu, on the coast and this meant we were late starting the climb as there are quite a few things to sort out at the park entrance, before you can even begin the climb. You need passes and sort out a guide which takes longer than you might think. Also remember that acclimatisation is very important. Mt. Kinabalu in the National Park is app 1,000 mtrs then you are climbing up quite quickly. I would strongly suggest that you stay in the Park the night before your climb. The advantages are that you can start earlier and have a walk the day before at that altitude which is more helpful than you may think.

On the Mount Kinabalu website it shows happy people walking along a flat path in the sunshine and nowhere did it show just how steep it got only the bit about the very top which is sheer slippery rock. I did speak to some fellow climbers on the way down and the general consensus was that the website made this climb look as though anyone could do it regardless of age or fitness or experience. This is not really the case.

I would say that with enough correct preparation, most people could at least make it to Laban Rata which in itself satisfying. Do not expect to always have views of the sunrise, at the top of Kinabalu but at least you will have the satisfaction of getting to the top.

I would encourage anyone to have ago just ... BE PREPARED!

This is one of my best holiday stories.