Part 52: The climb day two...
We reached the laban rata rest lodge 11000ft above sea-level late that afternoon, and we did it in good time according to our friendly smiling guide, although it certainly didn't feel like it.
I'd suspected he was just being kind to us, rather telling us what we wanted to hear, because at times I felt every last one of the steep steps up here.
My attention then turned towards a helicopter landing pad to the left, and my mind wandered for a moment, thinking about the easy option back down. Especially after being told that the descent was even more gruelling than the climb up!
But the £500 fee for the white knuckle helicopter ride back down to the foot of the mountain seemed like a pipe dream, if not way out of my paltry budget.
I looked around the camp where there were several alpine inspired wooden lodges around the main laban rata accommodation, typically ours was a further 10 or 15 minutes up some very steep steps.
Not too far; but with weary legs, I could not face one more step, let alone another 100!
So Instead we made our way inside the camps warm restaurant lodge directly ahead to escape the gathering whistling chilly winds, unclipped our back packs, and collapsed into the stiff wooden chairs - there were no comfy sofas here.
Other climbers already filled the room, whilst more continued to arrive.
I tried my best to stretch out my muscles and got a few funny looks as I barely managed to touch my toes.
The tired, impatient, and hungry climbers looked towards the busy chefs, prepping hot food in the canteen just to my left - it smelled amazing, they were waiting like a lurking pack of hungry wolves.
I too was craving something warm and savoury after munching on sugary snacks all the way up here.
The subject on everyones lips, other than the food, seemed to be the grey storm clouds gathering above us - this did not bode well!
There was not much we could really do but hope it would be clear in the morning, basically the rangers would not let us proceed if there was heavy rain fall, because the steep slate pathway would become way to slippery and treacherous to manoeuvre.
In the meantime we helped ourselves to hot Sabah tea and coffee, waiting for supper, making conversation with other climbers from Australia and Germany – they were all good company as we shared stories of our travels, plus it took my mind of my increasing grumbling stomach.
Then a large group of Japanese hikers all quietly sat together in a circle whilst their expedition leader began giving them some kind of pep talk as they all attentively listened on.
All around me on the wooden walls were pictures dating back to the 1960's of various climbers over the years, posing proudly at the summit, and I couldn't help but think it was an experience I very much wanted too.
But of course our fate would very much depend on the weather.
A group of impatient English guys were the first to unapologetically shove their way past everyone towards the food, with little consideration for anyone else as they piled their plates higher than Mount Kinabalu itself!!
Suddenly panic set in as everyone realized this was their last chance for food and a large line quickly formed - and not wanting to miss out, our group followed suit.
The Japanese climbers seemed to give us all a lesson in etiquette and manners as they patiently waited for everyone else to inadvertently scoff themselves, before calmly and respectfully making their way to what was left of the food.
I looked at my plate and felt almost embarrassed if I was not feeling so hungry.
The quality of the food was all freshly prepared in front of us and was surprisingly very good.
Suddenly remembering that every last fresh ingredient was painstakingly carried up here by the porters made me savour every mouthful even more.
After the carb heavy dinner we made our way to our wooden log cabin further up the mountain where we would try and get some sleep for the night.
The temperature dropped even more, the air was really thin and chilly, made even more so, that this morning when we left it was 90 degrees - what a contrast.
Below you could barely see through the fluffy clouds now. The sun dipped behind the mountains in the distance casting a huge shadow over the rocks behind us - this was easily the highest distance I had ever been on by foot in my life with incredible surroundings and breathtaking views of rolling mountains, dense jungle under the overcast sky blanketed with white clouds - it was a wondrous site.
The lodge was cold, damp and cramped, with no warm water, no heating, and very limited electricity.
And our 4 birth cabin was even more damp and cold with creaky bunk beds and mouldy smelling, thin, itchy brown blankets - certainly not what I was expecting for the price we paid! But it would have to do.
My friends were so cold they left all their clothing on in bed - I on the other hand, knew that was a bit of a mistake so stripped to my boxers, wrapped my self in the itchy old blanket and tried to get some shut eye.
But we all began laughing at how ill equipped we were, and once we started we could not stop - so much for our early night.
Instead we put some music on and had our own little party which seemed to go down quite well with the rest of the climbers - for a little while anyway, before we could hear the groans and complaints through the thin wooden walls.
So it was lights out out once more to try and get some elusive sleep.
Then just as I was beginning to drift off, and right outside in the narrow corridor, a group of young drunk hikers were running around making a huge amount of noise waking up the entire cabin!
Unlike a couple of really annoyed Norwegian girls, who started shouting at them to keep the noise down, I saw the funny side of it.
And so did the drunk lads who were trying so hard to contain their laughter, which made it even funnier.
They momentarily quietened down but came back even louder making more noise, to the fury of these two Scandinavian girls, who by now were literally screaming at them to shut up.
Eventually the drunk guys must have passed out and at long last every body slept, apart from me.
I was looking out of the tiny single glazed cracked window, keeping a close eye on the clouds in the sky, they appeared to be clearing as the brightest stars I have ever seen in my life appeared.
Yep, you guessed it - another of my moments beckoned.
We were miles from anywhere, cold, and thinking nervously at what lay ahead, but it was not detracting from the magnificent twinkling stars in the cold night air.
The jagged silhouette outline of the mountains peak was also in view, resembling a Stegosaurus's back.
I was not in the least bit tired now, the silence was deafening and apart from the tinnitus ringing in my ears you could not hear a thing!
Eventually, and after what seemed like all night, I drifted off to sleep.
But less than 2 hours later we were woken by the noise of the rest of the climbers in the corridor preparing for the final ascent.
My head poking out from the brown blanket was freezing, and the temperature dropped to 1degrees!
With aching muscles, I had to muster up all my energy to get up, dress, and motivate myself for the climb - trust me it was not easy.
The crew were not that energetic either, and they had far more sleep than me, although Tracey managed to rally her troops quickly reminding us that the hot breakfast buffet would not eat itself! and if we did not move our sorry asses then we would miss out - that was all the motivation we needed.
When the near freezing, cold, early morning air hit us, we quickly realised even more how completely unsuitable our clothing was.
Looking around at the rest of the climbers who were covered from head to toe in flashy waterproofs, windbreakers, wooly hats, scarves and gloves, making a complete mockery of our ladies leggings, plimsoles, and cheap plastic water proofs (the kind you get given at a theme park)
I was hunched slightly with my arms crossed tightly covering my chest to warm up, it was colder than I thought.
luckily the rain appeared to be holding out for now, but the chilling wind was biting.
Our guide told us we were slightly behind schedule and had only 20 mins to eat breakfast before we continued the climb so we wasted no more time before heading to the lodge to quickly eat.
This indeed was going to prove a challenge as once more our fate would be decided by the weather.
Again remembering my old friends words echoing in my mind and quietly whispered to the mountain for good weather.

Next stop, the summit.....