Luggage: During the Climb to Mt Kinabalu

Luggage Arrangement

This was how we dealt with our luggage when we started our climb to Mount Kinabalu. You may do the same too.

In the morning before we started the climb we divided our things in luggage into three groups.

1. Things that we DO NOT need to bring up to Laban Rata,
2. Things that we need to bring along with us on the way up to Laban Rata, i.e. bottles of water, energy bars, a set of clean and dry clothing, raincoat, camera, first aids kit, etc.
3. Things that we need to bring up to Laban Rata, but we don't need them on the way, i.e. clothes, sweater, etc.

Outside Operation Office, the porters weigh our luggage.

For items in Group 1, we packed them in plastic bags or luggage bag and left them at Operation Office of Kinabalu Park's HQ. The cost was RM10 per piece of luggage.

For items in Group 2, we put them into a lightweight backpack and carried the backpack to Laban Rata. I had 4 bottles of water, banana, energy bars, a set of clean and dry clothing, raincoat, camera, lunch pack (provided by Sutera Sanctury Lodges), etc. in my backpack walking up to Laban Rata.

For items in Group 3, we let the porters to carry the luggage for us. The cost for the porters to bring our luggage to Laban Rata (and back) was RM80 per 10kg.

In that morning of climbing Mt Kinabalu, we made luggage arrangement as above right in front of the Kinabalu Park HQ's Operation Office.

Mountain Guides

Beside the porters, the Park's operator, Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, requires climbers to engage at least one mountain guide for a group of 6 persons. For group of 8 persons, we were required to get 2 mountain guides. The cost for one mountain guide is now RM150 (started from September 2011) which include entire trip of going up and coming down. This cost to hire mountain guides is not included in the original package you paid to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges.

Personal Mountain Guides

You can engage a personal guide solely for yourself, on top of the mountain guide(s) for the group. With a personal mountain guide, you can get him to carry your backpack, hold your hand when you need strenght, etc. This mountain guide will not serve as porter to carry your group 3 luggage.

Edited in 7 Jan 2012:
However, they may charge you for the backpack that they carried for you by weight, KG. So ask them first, if they offer to help you to carry your backpack. In our case, the personal guide of Sept 2010 climb did not charge my teammate. In Sept 2011 climb, the personal guide, after the descend, insist to charge my teammate by weight of the backpack. This is on top of the personal mountain guide fees that we had paid to hire him. Dealing with locals, sometimes we are dealing with their own sense of logic trying to make a few bucks more from their labor work. Ask about price first, before engaging their service.

Checklist to Climb Mt Kinabalu

It is important to have a checklist to climb this mountain.

This is a summary of checklists from various posts. You may follow the links in the checklist below for details explanations of why we need these items.

You may also print out this Mount Kinabalu checklist here from Google Docs spreadsheet or download PDF file.

Checklist in Spreadsheet

Checklist in PDF

 

Clothing to Hike
1. Four sets of clothing that include T-shirt, pants, underwear & socks.

Set 1 from Kinabalu Park HQ to Laban Rata
Set 2 from Laban Rata to Peak and back to Laban Rata
Set 3 from Laban Rata to Kinabalu Park HQ
Set 4 clean shirt leaving Kinabalu Park

• 4 T-shirts
• 4 pairs of pants, i.e. Bermuda shorts and at least 1 lightweight (and water resistant) track pants. Don't wear jeans during the climb. Jeans will be heavy if it rains
• 4 pairs of socks and underwears

St John peak. The second highest peak.

2. Other Clothings

• a pair of good trekking shoes
• a pair of Kampung Addidas
• a pair of slippers
• a pair of knee guards & ankle guards
• a headband or baseball cap
• a towel (optional, as there are towels provided in Laban Rata and Kinabalu Park HQ)
• a pair of gloves (to hold your hiking pole and fence at the side of the trail). Cotton gloves is good for summit too but it will get wet.
• rain coats (disposable type is lighter in weight, 2 sets)
• water proof jacket or wind breaking with hood to cover ears (temperature may drop below zero degree Celsius during rain or night)
• spare socks and underwear, just in case if rains

Near Sayat Sayat check point.

3. Other Clothings for Night Climb to Summit

• a layer of thermal wear outside T shirt
• some simply add a few more layers of T shirts
• some may opt of lightweight jumper/ sweater instead of multi layers of T shirt
• Beanie, to cover ears in cold whether
• Note: water proof your clothes by putting each set of clothes in different plastic bags.

 

Gears & Equipments

• Headlamp (Important: you must have this to climb safely during the night. Make sure you check your battery before you start.)
• Battery for the headlamp
• One small lightweight hiking backpack to carry 2 - 4 bottles of water, a few energy bars, a set of dry cloth, etc.
• Shrinkable hiking pole. You can buy wooden stick from mountain guides at RM3 (US$1) right before the climb. Due to a new rule to reduce impacts on environment, we can no longer buy the wooden stick from mountain guides. (However, in our previous climb, we managed to buy proper hiking poles (shrinkable) at the Transport Office (beside Reception Office) of Kinabalu Park Headquarter.)
• Plastic bags (black garbage bags and small plastic bags to keep your clean cloth dry)
• Whistle (in case of emergency in bad weather and visibility)
• Hair dryer (blower) is extremely useful to dry your wet clothes. Your shirts are likely to get wet due to sweat and rains.

We climbed this stretch of trail during night.
Climbers must wear headlamp as both of their hands will be holding on the rope.

We climbed this stretch at night. We have to use both hands to pull the rope.
Therefore headlamp is a must. We cannot hold torch light.

Rest, drink water and eat...

Food and Drinks along the climb

• Snacks, i.e. energy bars, chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, jelly beans, etc. for the climb
• Bottles of water (at least one litre, preferably in small bottles)

Small First aid Kit

• Headache tablets
• Bandaids
• Antiseptic cream
• Crepe bandage
• Triangular bandage
• Safety pins
• Cotton buds

Body

• Cut your toenails. It can be painful when you walk downhill with long toenails.
• Sunscreen cream
• Sunglasses
• Muscle relaxants
• Altitude sickness tablets (buy from pharmacy or clinic)

You can download or print out the Mt Kinabalu checklist at Google Docs Spreadsheet here or PDF here.

Mt Kinabalu. View from Kinabalu National Park.

Morning view of the land from Mt Kinabalu summit.

More Resources

• Read more on how to book a package to climb Mount Kinabalu
• Read more on preparation to climb Mount Kinabalu

Experiences in climbing Mt Kinabalu

I found a few good bloggers' stories on climbing Mt Kinabalu.

First:

This is the story from Teun, a blogger and traveler from Europe who spent years travelling the world. He wrote how he climbed Mt. Kinabalu...and NOT make it to the summit. So this should be inspiring for those who doubt that they can make it to the peak. This is his blog post on climbing Mt Kinabalu.

Second:
This is a story from a hiker, Derek, from United States. He posted a really funny post poking funs on the things that he expereinced. Read his blog post on climbing Mount Kinabalu here.

Blog claimed at technorati
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Tour Operators to Climb Mount Kinabalu

I found three very interesting websites on climbing Mt Kinabalu. I think they are tour operators' websites. The ideas given in the websites are useful and the photographs are stunning.

1. Climbing Mount Kinabalu: Via Ferrata

This website introduces another route other than the usual Timpohon Trail and Mesilau Trail to the peak of Mt Kinabalu.

According to Wikipedia, Via Ferrata "is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow vie ferrate without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing."

You can look at the website Mt Kinabalu Via Ferrata here. It lists the itinerary and packages of its offers. The price seems reasonable.



2. Beautiful KK on Climbing Mt Kinabalu

This is another tour operator. I simply like the photo in this website.

Despite being a tour operator website, it provides a wealth of information on climbing Mt Kinabalu and different views of the mountain from different places.

Follow the links at the website for more information like this one on conquering Low's Peak.

More Resources

• Read more on how to book a package to climb Mount Kinabalu
• Read more on preparation to climb Mount Kinabalu
• Download our checklist to climb Mount Kinabalu

3. Pinoy Mountaineer

This one is a Philippines tour operator's website. The photo is nice, therefore I included it here.

More Resources

• Read more on how to book a package to climb Mount Kinabalu
• Read more on preparation to climb Mount Kinabalu
• Download our checklist to climb Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu: The Climb of September 2010

Below is how we designed our journey for the climb of 19 September 2010. It serves as a guide for you to design your own journey.

We have a very tight schedule, i.e. reaching Kinabalu National Park Head Quarter (KNPHQ) on 17/9, went up to Laban Rata on 18/9, reached summit, returned back to Kinabalu National Park Head Quarter (KPHQ) and departing Sabah on 19/9.

Thursday, 16 Sep 2010:

• 9.30am
• Eight of us flied from LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), KLIA, To Kota Kinabalu with Air Asia. We came one day earlier so that we can walked around Kota Kinabalu. We stayed in KK's Cititel Express.

Kota Kinabalu seaside

Friday, 17 Sep 2020:

• 3.00pm: The van from our travel agent picked us up to Kinabalu National Park Head Quarter (KNP HQ), where we spent a night.
• 6.00pm: We had buffet dinner at Balsam Cafeteria in KNP HQ. The food is good with satay and BBQ.

Saturday, 18 Sep 2010:

• 9.15 am: We started our way up from Timpohon Gate.
• 3.30 pm: I reached Laban Rata.
• 5.00 pm: We had our buffet dinner at cafeteria.
• 6.00 pm: We went to sleep.

At LCCT, before boarding. I was holding the camera. We flied with AirAsia, of course.

Sunday, 19 Sep 2010:

• 1.30 am: We woke up to get ready
• 2.00 am: We had our...buffet supper or breakfast, and started our way to summit on 3am (which was late. we should have started the trip at 2.30am)
• 7.30 am: I reached the peak (I was having some altitude sickness problem right before and after Sayat Sayat checkpoint) as the last person reaching the peak for the day.

Lows Peak, Mt Kinabalu (4095.2meter). Yes, I made it to the top of the summit.

• 10.00 am: We returned back to Laban Rata before 10am and had our breakfast and lunch. (which was late too. Most other hikers had packed and left for mountain's foot.)
• 11.30 am: We left Laban Rata in heavy rain. 
• 6.00 pm: Finally reached Kinabalu National Park's HQ and rushed to airport (which is about 2 hours away) as our flight back to KLIA, West Malaysia, would be departed on 9.30pm. We did not have time to waste. We needed to check-in an hour earlier as we were having trouble in web check-in at Kinabalu National Park's Headquarter.
• 9.30 pm: Finally we managed to catch the 9.30pm Air Asia flight back to West Malaysia. By the way, I really like to eat in the plane.

Monday, 20 Sep 2010:

• 12.30 am: We reached LCCT, KLIA, Sepang and finally 
• 1.30 am: reached home. 
• 3.30 am: I slept, finally, after cleaning up my luggage and myself

In total, I was active for more than 24 hours since waking up in Laban Rata for the summit assault. The only time that I rested was probably in the van and in the Air Asia plane.

It was a fantastic trip... :-)

Step-by-Step Terrain of Mount Kinabalu:

Follow our step-by-step photos series to see the terrain of Mount Kinabalu and our climbing experience, KM by KM:

• Start here: Timpohon Gate Briefing
• Next: Start from Timpohon Gate
• See the whole trip: Our Journey Page
• More about the terrain and climbing experience:
• Summary: Climbing the Terrain (Part 1: Ascending)
• Climbing the terrain (Part 2: Descending)

Personal Hygiene while Climbing Mt Kinabalu (Toilets & Bathrooms)

8 most important tips on personal hygiene in climbing Mt Kinabalu:

1. There are flush toilets, approximately one in every kilometer distance, all the way up to the last 1.5km of the peak of Mt Kinabalu. Thus, through out the climb journey, you don't have to dig a single hole or to find bushes to hide. ;-)
2. Sayat-Sayat has the last toilet before reaching Low's Peak. Most people take about 2 -3 hours from Sayat-Sayat to reach the peak and about an hour back to Sayat Sayat. So don't miss this last toilet.
3. At Kinabalu Park, the place that climbers spend a night before the climb:
• There are hot shower and clean bathrooms at Kinabalu Park's hostels.
• Gentlemen and ladies bathrooms are separated and are not attached to sleeping room.
• The resort provides dry towel, body shampoo and shampoo.
• We stayed in a 4 beds dormitory. There is no separated room for man or woman. It is up to your arrangement with your teammates.
• The beds are clean and comfortable.
4. At Laban Rata Resthouse, the place climbers rest and sleep before the night climb to summit:
   
   
   • They are clean bathrooms at Laban Rata Resthouse.
   • Gentlemen and ladies bathrooms are separated.
   • Laban Rata provides dry towel, but not body shampoo and shampoo. So remember to take the shampoo and body shampoo from Kinabalu Park along.
   • We stayed in a 10 beds large dormitory. There is no separated room for man or woman.
   • The beds are clean and comfortable.
   
   Theoretically there is hot shower water at Laban Rata Resthouse. But since the electricity at Laban Rata is not stable, practically we still had to take freezing cold bath water. In a different trip, my friends (another team) managed to upgrade to a smaller dormitory with lesser beds. They had hot shower (arrrhhh....!)
   
   Shower water in Laban Rata is freezing if you do not have the luck to stay in that small dormitory. My teammates shivered in bed covered by blanket for an hour after taking the cold water bath. This was how I dealt with cold bath water:
   a. shower your head and face clean
   b. while washing your head and face, cover your body with towel provided by Laban Rata Resthouse
   c. then, wipe clean your whole body with the wet part of the towel and wipe your body dry with the dry part of the towel
   
5. As the electricity at Laban Rata is unstable, hair dryer or charger can hardly be used. I found only one power point in that ten-bed dormitory.
6. After the climb, when we descended back to Kinabalu Park from Laban Rata, we had a problem taking bath. Since we were to leave Kinabalu Park for airport the same day, we had already checked-out from Kinabalu Park's hostels the morning we climbed up to Laban Rata. We had to use the toilet beside the HQ's Operation Office & Reception O7. ffice to change clothes before leaving for airport. No bath.
   
   My colleagues who came earlier with another team simply went back to the hostel they stayed (and checked-out earlier) and just used the bathroom (as the bathrooms are not attached bathroom).
   
   Another group of colleagues simply booked to stay for another night in Kinabalu Park after descended from Mt Kinabalu. This solves the problem.
7. Remember to clear bowel in Kinabalu Park the morning before going up to Laban Rata, because your next morning is at Summit.
8. Please don't think that there are 5 stars toilets and bathrooms. This is National Park, not luxury hotel. I found dead moth in a toilet. One of the hot showers at Grace Hostel was not working. Sutera Sanctuary Lodges had not been doing a very good (though reasonably decent) job in maintaining the facilities.

Outside the ladies' bathroom/ toilet of Grace Hostel at Kinabalu Park.

Outside the men's bathroom/ toilet of Grace Hostel at Kinabalu Park