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Climbing Kinabalu
Malaysia's Highest Peak Beckons
September 12, 2001- Seattle, Washington

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If you can't bear the thought of another vacation spent at Smith, Joshua Tree, or Chamonix, consider Malaysia's highest peak, Mt. Kinabalu. No lines, no betas, no egos, no ill-considered fashion statements, just acres of steep, clean granite await you, and most of it is either unclimbed or unattempted.

Mt. Kinabalu rises like a dragon's back 13,455 feet (4101m) above the South China Sea, the highest point between New Guinea and the Himalaya. Monsoon rains and "dry season" showers sluice the upper slopes free of soil. The summit plateau, polished by sheets of running water and recent glaciating, gleams like ice. It's the only part of Borneo that juts above the canopy. When the clouds part, the landscape resembles Baffin Island or the High Sierra, a riot of spires and faces cloaked in mist.

"Hugh Low completed the first ascent of Kinabalu in 1851, a diversion during an expedition to hunt pirates along the Borneo coast..."

One hour's drive from the airport and a stiff day hike to a hut puts you within striking distance of an unclimbed 3000-foot granite wall. The rock is rough and devoid of vegetation. Waterfalls dance down giant slabs. The hut features heated rooms, cooked meals, hot showers, cool Guinness, and a comfortable veranda. From the hut follow a trail three hours to the summit, then scramble to the base of the wall. All is not ease and glory, though. The 3,000 foot face on Mt. Kinabalu's satellite peak, Alexandria, sits at the northern tip of Borneo, the third largest island in the world and a bit off the beaten path. It rains almost every day, even in the dry season. One British expedition braved the Kinabalu rainy season, remarking that they felt at "some risk of drowning" in the steep gullies.

Reports of climbing activity are sketchy. Royal Marines ascended Low's Gully in 1962, a grim undertaking given the approach through the lowland jungles to the north. A 1983 British expedition spent three weeks based at the Sayat Sayat hut (12,500 feet, one hour above Panar Luban). It completed a long slab route in the rain. A 1984 group found the rock superb, "scoriaceous and abrasive," on a 1,800-foot slab left of Panar Laban, but flared, bottoming cracks made protection difficult. They depended on an occasional Friend and lots of hooks weighted down with bundles of Friends for protection. On other climbs they found oversized bolts, presumably left by Japanese climbers. I could find no reference to any attempts on the big walls.

Hugh Low completed the first ascent of Kinabalu in 1851, a diversion during an expedition to hunt pirates along the Borneo coast. After days of slogging through jungle, Low's party ascended the mountain on the south side, following essentially the same route the trail traces today. The character of the forest changed markedly at 6,000 feet. Tree ferns, orchids, and rhododendrons supplanted suffocating lowland jungles; the incidence of pythons, vipers, hostile bugs and foot-long leeches that attack like malevolent Slinkies dropped as dramatically as the temperature. The local Dusan porters insisted he carry a basket of crystals to the top. No, Low hadn't found the first devotees of the New Age. Kinabalu means "dwelling place of the dead," and the natives thought the crystals would come in handy if they had to buy their way out of a supernatural scrape. No spirits were on hand when Low reached the summit plateau. Within sight of the summit Low declared victory, toasted Queen Victoria with a glass of claret, and headed down, asserting with uncharacteristic overstatement the summit was "inaccessible to any but winged creatures." In fact, hundreds of tourists scramble to the top every year. These days, the easiest route up is considered more hike than climb.

Fortunately, today's climbers can avoid most of the pleasures of early-day expeditions. Crystals are no longer required and guides are mandatory. A 60-mile minibus ride brings you to the entrance of Mt. Kinabalu National Park, situated at nearly 6,000 feet. April and May are the driest months but still be prepared for moisture, from mist to deluge. If you're lucky, you can bask in the tropical sun for days at a time. Temperatures range from hot and humid to freezing. After a tough day on virgin rock, scoot down to the hut for a hot shower and sink into a lounge chair to await dusk's approach. As your friends imagine you fending off headhunters and serpents, watch the setting sun knife under the clouds, suffusing the world in a buttery light, rock glowing in the mist. Sip your beer and congratulate yourself on your adventurous spirit.

James Martin, MountainZone.com Correspondent