Mount Kinabalu

[Magoo82]

Hiya folks.

As it's currently autumn, the Scottish weather is feechy, and it's getting me down I'm starting to put my imagination to work looking at ideas for next year's hiking challenge/adventure to cheer me up. Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo is one such idea that appeals to me and I'm wondering if anybody has done this recently who can recommend a guiding company?

Mountkinabalu.com do guided treks which, for one person, come in at about £400. This seems a wee bit spicy to me for a two day hike given that I did Mt Toubkal in Morocco for half that only a couple of years ago. However it includes park fees, permits, airport transfers etc and seeing as how Borneo might be quite a challenging place to get by for an anglophone tourist like myself I'm thinking the extra expense might be worth it for the potential hassle it'll save?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[Alteknacker]

I have no personal experience of Indonesia, but my niece returned from a couple of years of global travel last year, and said that the only place she didn't like and wouldn't return to was Indonesia. She said there was much of interest to see in the country, but that she found the culture quite intolerable: absolutely everyone she encountered was pretty or very unfriendly and out to rip off tourists - tricks like taking payment for a tour, and then not providing key aspects of the package (like a hotel room!!!). My niece is a seriously chilled and nice person, so for her to have this reaction it must have been pretty bad.

You might want to check out a bit further anyway before you part with any money...

[Ian Burton]

Hi there, I am presently resident in Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia) so may be ale to offer some comments. First, Malaysia is quite different from Indonesia, so don't be put off by thoughts of being ripped off by the locals. Also everybody here speaks English, so no problems with language. Kinabulu would be quite a straightforward trip as it is only 50km or so from the airport at Kota Kinabulu (KK). I know a local chap who went there earlier this year. He reckoned on around MYR 2,000 for a foreigner, similar to the price you mentioned. I can recommend Borneo Adventure. They are based in Kuching but also have an office in KK. Check out their website to see what they do. They are a well established company with about 30 years experience of adventure tourism and will be quite professional.

As for the climb, I did it in 1991 so I guess things will have changed a bit, particularly with the permit requirements. Permits are restricted to 130 per day (I think) but this would be arranged by the trekking company. Their is a good trail all the way to the the summit with wooden steps or ladders at the cliffs so not at all technical. So its a bit like climbing the Ben by the pony track - 3 times. Bit of a slog but the scene it the top is worth it: huge area of granite slabs with obvious signs of glaciation.

If you are travelling all this way and have the time, have you considered doing other things? Sabah has nice beaches and quite good snorkeling/diving, then there are other mountains worth climbing, such as Mulu, famous for the huge caves with millions of bats or Mount Murud, the highest point in Sarawak. Not as high as Kinabulu but way in the interior so it is a four-day trek.

Hope you manage to work something out

[jmarkb]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keep your clothes on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-33105999

[neil684]

Hi,

We (self, son, daughter and son-in-law) did Kinabalu in 2001 whilst living in Singapore. We used a tour company, can't remember which one but it was all inclusive of accommodation, guides etc. We flew from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu then got taken to a sort of bunkhouse near the entrance to the Kinabalu National Park. The park entrance is at around 6000ft and the views from the roadside outside the bunkhouse were brilliant, 6000ft down to the valley below.

The next day we were driven to the park entrance to meet our guide. The first day involved walking up to a pesthouse at approx 10500ft in readiness for a pre-dawn start the following day. The sunset amongst towering cumulus cloud from the resthouse balcony was amazing and provided loads of great photos.

The next day, sort of, we got up for an early breakfast, 2.15am! then set off in the dark towards the summit. Still easy walking. Just before the summit the path crosses bare flattish rock and there is are rope to mark the route and/or hang onto (not necessary but many did).

We reached the summit for sunrise and have a photgraph of the 50km long shadow of Kinabalu across the Borneo countryside. The other spectacular sight is Low's Gully, 5000ft+ deep and forested where a party of British marines got lost some years ago.

No longer visible are the 'Donkey's Ears', a pair of pinnacles near the summit, one of the ears collapsed during a recent earthquake.

The descent, 7500ft is down in one go and I found this the hardest part, in fact I was scarcely able to walk the next day. (In Singapore we used to joke that people we saw limping along Orchard Road had probably just cone from Kinabalu.

The final night was spent in a luxury hotel in Kota Kinabalu (KK to it's friends, SE Asia loves acronyms!).

There is a slight chance of mild altitude sickness - both my daughter and son-in-law had it but my son and I were unaffected.

All in all it was a brilliant, unforgettable experience.

Hope this helps.

All in