Borneo Challenge: Final Climb on Mount Kinabalu

The lead-up to the summit of Mount Kinabalu was a strenuous one.  

After the high ropes course, we took a 9-mile hike from near the foot of the mountain, up to our first lodging on the mountainside.  That hike came at the heels of a long ride on mountain bike and a very hungry, high ropes effort.  I dug deep and concentrated hard, though, and ended up one of the first finishers on that hike.  It was on paved roads, so the fact that we didn't have to worry about footing eased the strain on our legs.  

I remarked to our Challenge director Brian Wilke that we had done a triathlon and each of the events taxed different set of muscles.

The next day was another long hike, this time up and through the wooded, at times rocky mountain trails.  It was raining hard that morning, so we slogged on in the mud and waters.  I found my energy and rhythm as the hike wore on, and even paced our group at the front several times.  I knew how to position my feet for big steps up rocky footing and to draw on my strong quadriceps.  

Our second lodging, nearer yet to the summit, was quite a crush of people.  I found it difficult to relax and recover.  About 10 of us shared the same room, with bunk beds to sleep on.  After dinner, some of us retired to our room to get settled further and carve a bit of quiet.  I was already dozing off in bed, when Brian gave us a briefing for the final climb to the summit.  I wasn't expecting it, and frankly I was annoyed.  

The noise, the crowd, and the fatigue all conspired to prevent me from sleeping that night.  We only had a few hours, as we had a wake-up call in the middle of the night.  Plus, I forgot to cap my water bottle, and ended up with a bed that was half-wet when I knocked it over.   

Needless to say, I was out of sorts as we embarked on the final climb.  I decided not to invest in a flashlight that attached to the head, as I already had a couple of the regular ones.  But as it turned out that hands-free flashlight was a necessity, because I needed both hands for my walking sticks.  I tried to rely on ambient light, but it wasn't sufficient at all.  That night was pitch dark.  So, with my feeling cold, wet and fatigued from the day the before, I got very nervous and turned back just several yards from the lodging.  

But Brian stopped me, and encouraged me to keep going.  So I kept going, and quickly fell behind everyone else.  My navigation and visibility were hampered for lack of that head flashlight.  Thankfully, the gentleman above became my de facto personal guide.  He was quiet, patient and helpful.  

I managed to find my pace.  It wasn't smooth in the least, but I kept myself moving forward.  Because my personal guide had a head flashlight, I followed him.  Believe me, I was glad for daylight, when it came.  But then it was foggy, it was raining, and wind was whipping horizontally for stretches.  As the terrain got steeper and rockier, it was also slippery.  I lost my footing quite a few times.      

             

I was 1.2 kilometers from the summit, when I decided to stop and head back.  My energy and concentration were waning, and I needed to keep some in reserve for what I knew was a strenuous, technical descent.  Also, I had slowed down to a crawl by that point in the climb, and I was afraid it would take way too long to finish the climb and descend from there.  I didn't want to get caught on that mountain, as daylight turned to evening.

There were two or three others apparently who didn't even get nearly as far as I did, and one of them was more than visibly discouraged.

Me, I felt neither angry nor discouraged from failing to reach the summit.  I had already proven that I was strong, disciplined and athletic.  I had also learned along the way how to do things better the next time.  I reveled in the fact that the majority of my friends hadn't done, and perhaps couldn't do, what I had just done.  So with my strength, knowledge, and confidence in tact, I had no doubt that I could scale Mount Kinabalu on the next go at it.

They say, discretion is the better part of valor.  All things considered, the wise decision was in fact to stop and head back at that 1.2-kilometer point.