TRAVEL MALAYSIA: Climbing Mount Kinabalu - A first-climber's guide

Traveling to Borneo and up for a challenge? Climb Mount Kinabalu! As long as you're mentally prepared for it and in a reasonable state of health, you'll be just fine. 

As cliche as it sounds, climbing that mountain changed my life. You can read more in my feature How Climbing a Mountain Changed My Business, which talks more about the psychological aspect of the climb.

This feature is more about what to do, what to expect and what to be aware of.

The format of the climb

Mount Kinabalu is a 2 day climb, 4095m high. Most of the mountain itself is covered in a staircase with pretty steep steps. In my opinion, the staircase makes the climb much harder, especially on the knees. It is compulsory to climb with a guide. After the climb you will need to allocate time for rest and recuperation.
The format looks something like this:

Day 1 Morning: Climb up to the mountain lodge (Laban Rata Resthouse). There are checkpoints along the entire trek, so plenty of places to stop, rest and refuel. This is a fairly easy climb.

Day 1 Evening: Arrive at guesthouse for dinner buffet and a big sleep.

Day 2 Morning: Wake up at 1am for the ascent to the peak with a light bag only. You can leave everything else in the mountain lodge until later. This is a much tougher, slower climb - especially as it's in darkness. This will be very cold so wrap up warm. 

Day 2 Mid-Morning: Collect things from guest house and make your way back down the mountain. 

Day 2 Afternoon: Collect your certificate (colour if you made it to the peak or black and white if you didn't manage it)

Booking

Because there is a fixed amount of people permitted to climb the mountain each day, there are different ways to book and different companies to book with, depending on your budget. We booked with Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures. You can see their website here.
I truly cannot recommend the company enough, everything from pick-up to the aftercare was exceptional. Certainly the best tour company i've ever used.
Book as far in advance as you can to ensure your place, at least a minimum of 6 months before. For more information on booking, view the website here. They took care of all the bookings and even arranged transport to the Poring Hot Springs afterwards.

Please note that you'll need to spend 1 night on the mountain. There is a mountain lodge for accommodation with food, showers, dormitory beds and a beautiful view.

Be careful what time of the year you book and be sure to avoid rain season as it will not only make the climb much harder, but you might not get a good view from the peak either.

How to get there

Fly into Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo. Meet where you have arranged with the tour company you booked with or make your own way to the mountain, depending on how you booked your mountain pass.

What to take

Although it's very important to travel light when you're climbing there are some important things you will need:

1. Water. Sounds obvious, but be sure to take enough with you. I recommend at least 2 small bottles or more to be sipped intermittently. (There are toilets at every check point so don't worry about that).
2. Wear proper walking shoes and a head torch. You'll need good grips and good ankle support - especially for the way down. Head torch is compulsory for the climb, since on day 2 the ascent is in darkness. 
3. Layers! I wouldn't recommend taking a heavy jacket, but rather a few tight, thin layers so you can layer up and lose them as and when need.
4. Hat and gloves. You'll need these for day 2 as you'll be climbing in a much cooler climate. Also the gloves help for the climbing since day 2 requires you to hold onto a rope as is more of a 'climb'.
5. A change of socks. You don't necessarily need a change of clothes, if you're planning to travel light, but you will need a change of socks in case your feet get wet or maybe your boots hurt and you'll want to double up the next day.
6. A rain mac or protective covering -  for both you and your bag.
7. A foldable walking stick. You can pick these up very cheap in sports shops. I got mine in Sports Direct and it was a LIFE SAVER on the way down. 
8. Plenty of high energy snacks. The tour company we went with provided us with a packed lunch, but you'll still need fuel for the climb. I recommend nut bars, chocolate bars.. anything that will give you some sugary energy, is light to carry and easy to consume quickly. 
9. Sun cream and sports sunglasses. I would suggest taking a small amount of sun cream to smother on your face, especially for the second day. Since you are so high you are more prone to sunburn or skin damage.
   For sunglasses, regular ones will also do as long as they don't fall off easily. It's very bright and you'll want to make the most of the view when you are up there, believe me.
10. Tiger Balm. Or some kind of muscle rub / pain relief because you might experience some serious ache on the second morning or as you're coming down the mountain. My knees were completely ruined on the way down the mountain and this would have come in really useful!

Tips for the climb:

There is no one right way to climb, but based on my experience here are a few things I would suggest you keep in mind.

1. The most important of all is do not overdo it on day one. No showing off, no sprinting up, no burning yourself out - especially if you're not used to climbing. You'll regret it the next day, I can promise you that.
2. You may experience a shortness of breath because of the thin air. Try not to panic and breath normally. When you're sleeping you may find the sensation odd, but do stay calm. This is quite normal, although it's very different to altitude sickness which can be very serious. If in doubt speak to your guide.
3. The second day you need to start extremely early so that you can get to the peak for sunrise. Make sure to sleep enough the night before. You'll need all the rest you can get.
4. I would suggest you consider not climbing if you have bad knees, because this climb will really take it's toll.

If you made it to the peak then really well done! It's a challenge, but worth it. After the climb I would recommend you go to Poring Hot Springs for some relaxation. You can spend the night there and it's exactly what you will need after the climb! This is available as a part of a package with Downbelow tours and possibly other tour companies too!

Hope you enjoyed this guide to the mountain and what to expect!  

This is part of a series of features about Malaysia, written mainly by the Malaysian community. Expect hidden gems, local flavours, off-the-beaten-track experiences and much more. Consider this steemit's first independent guide to Malaysia! This initiative will help the local talent (the writers) and aims to inspire and inform you about this wondrous place and hopefully tempt you to journey there! The authors of these posts will benefit from most of the SBD earned here. Please do help support this local initiative by resteeming and upvoting!

Have you climbed the mountain? Is there anything you would add?

Yasmine