I don't know where I am getting the energy from to write this but I know that if I don't do this now, the vivid memories of pain and beauty may be lost forever. So I made it- yes I did. All the way to the top of the big ass mountain they like to call "Mount Kinabalu"- the tallest mountain in South East Asia. It stands at 4095m- the final 3km of the trek taking you up sheer rock faces. On Friday afternoon, Aman and I made our way to Kinabalu National Park, to stay one night at the base of the mountain. Our accommodation was fine- met a few local keen climbers who were climbing Mt Kinabalu for the 8th time- bonkers I tell you. We attended a briefing in the evening, where the woman took us through the basic trail and warned us of certain things- ie the cold, how people have been lost at the top, fallen off the rocks, injuries, deaths- all very exciting stuff. So basically we had to stick together, especially if the fog came in and there was a white rope we were not supposed to verge from. She also mentioned that the rest house half way up was very noisy and we may find it very difficult to sleep because some hikers are so keen to start their climb to the peak, that they stay up nattering. The guys behind us were moaning about this, then Aman goes- "What do I care? I'm deaf!" I creased myself. For dinner we had a cool "Steam boat", which is where you're given some raw food and a cooker and you can cook it all yourself. Admittedly, we had to get a kind member of staff to help us- but it was banter and a good meal. Got a very early night as we wanted to be as prepared as poss for the climb the next day. Next morning, Aman and I had breakfast on a balcony- directly facing the mountain. It looked soo intimidatingly humungous! We then paid for our guide, met with Georgie and Cathrine, and set off at around 8.30am. First we had to get transport from the park to the starting point, since the base of the mountain was a long way away. Once at the starting gate, we set off at a fairly brisk pace. First surprise was a beautiful waterfall we passed, which led on to a pleasant trail through forest on either side and the fresh smell of moss and plants. It was pretty foggy but I didn't mind- it made it nice and cool and gave the scenery an eery element. Aman and I were determined to get a good "Eery, misty forest photo", so were soon clicking away. The 1st km went pretty quickly and we were all chuffed to make the first shelter and 1km sign. With only 5km to go, we continued straight on to the next shelter- up some steep steps and rocks. We gave ourselves a small break at the 2nd shelter then headed on again. Our muscles felt fine on the way up and I loved the excuse of strenuous exercise, allowing me to eat as many snickers and cookies as I wanted on the way up. As we climbed, we met people on their way down, looking in pretty bad shape. Most people we saw were locals and were great at spurring us on. Most of those coming back down, gave us encouraging comments, like "You can make it!", "Not far now!" etc. Poor Georgie was feeling really sick for the first 2km, but as I said to her ("By the next shelter you'll feel better") she did indeed feel loads better by the 3rd km. So on we went up and up, taking a short break for choccies at each shelter and enjoying nattering with other hikers. It was a really great trail cause with each km, it took us through different terrain. The first few km were through dense forest (although we were on a very clear path), up mostly steps. The next 3km took us over boulders, rocks, steps and dusty tracks. After about 3km, I started to feel the altitude a bit. Became very dizzy after ever few steps I needed to keep taking a break for my head to settle. I didn't feel tired or in need of a breather- just felt mega "Whooo" like I would topple over, like a lack of oxygen getting to my brain or something. Taking a break every now and then helped though. At the final shelter we found a little furry friend. He was pretty sociable- well more eager to eat our food. I think he was a large pigmy squirrel, but I named him "Skoot" cause he was scooting about all over the place. He was soo cute- totally like the ferret outa "Ice Age". I found him highly amusing and got a few snaps. The final km proved to be pretty hard going. Not only because it was the final km before the rest house, but because it was pretty much a vertical climb, over slidy rocks. It took a lot of physical and mental determination to keep going- especially when the rain set in. It was actually quite refreshing, but it became a bit slidey underfoot. I expected I would have to overcome pain and emotion to the point that I would get pretty upset, but it really wasn't that bad. I actually enjoyed the first 6km and having Laban Rata (the rest house) in sight, felt like such an achievement. We were all so worried that we wouldn't make the rest house due to Georgie being ill or one of us getting altitude sickness or any other injury. But we had made it- and we were all feeling good about attempting the peak the next day. We checked in and straight away we layered up on clothes. Initially, we had climbed in shorts and t-shirts but when we arrived, it was 11 deg Celsius, which is a teeny bit colder than we're used to in Sabah. So we had everything on- wooly jumpers, scarves, thermals and all. We had a brief nap, then headed down to the canteen for a dinner. Aman started to feel a bit ill so headed upstairs early. We met a group of other backpackers who looked in good spirits. I bought a whistle (being paranoid that I would end up lost at the top of the mountain and need to blow for help!). Was so impressed that it had a compass and a thermometer on it- so I was sorted. With alarms set, we headed for a cosey nights sleep (we had a heated room). We were all saying how amazing it felt to be really cold, then get nice and warm. Cause we're all so used to the other way around now. All woke up at around 1.30am, got ready, had a quick hot drink, then set off at 2.30am so that we could make the peak by sunrise. It looked like everyone else had the same idea, cause when we hit the trail, it was single file, solid queue. It was good though cause it meant that everyone was taking a really steady pace. Pretty much straight away, Aman started feeling ill again, with shortness of breath- most prob cause of the altitude and lack of oxygen in the air. So we stopped a few times and ended up taking quite a few layers off. When we left Laban Rata, the thermometer outside said 7 deg cel, but I soon got pretty hot with all of the physical excursion and while all of the Malays were wrapped up, looking like they were about to face the Arctic, I was happy in my thin fleece jumper rolled up at the sleeves and put my hat and gloves away. The first leg of the second half of the trek, took us up steep steps for about 0.5km. We were unbelievably lucky with the weather. As I said to Georgie- "Pray, (or in your case, wish) for clear skies" and we did and we got them. When we stopped at one point for Aman to take a seat, I looked up and I can't really describe how incredible the sky was. It was just completely full of stars- like star upon star- I couldn't even make out the constellations, it was just crammed full of the clearest, most beautiful stars. And within the space of about 2 minutes, I saw 2 shooting stars, and the wishes I made on each of them have already come true. Was totally incredible. That moment was the highlight of the trek so far, and even one of the best moments of my GAP year. That's when I kicked myself that I hadn't read my camera manual properly, cause I couldn't figure out how to capture the sky on camera. Doh. So as you will be able to see in my photo album, there is a picture of the sky and if you look reeeeally closely, you can see speks of light. But trust me when I say it was beautiful! It was such a surreal atmosphere- everyone walking in pretty much silence, in pitch black. I couldn't help getting so excited and some of the local guys found it quite amusing when I started singing full pelt- "And I would walk 500 miles!" and some of Sabah's fave songs- "Miya hee! Miya Hoo!" and various things like that. Everyone else seemed a bit puffed to join in but I'm sure they were at least "thinking" along the lyrics! The next bit of the trail was absolute banter. We had to edge along a rock face, using a rope, with no idea how far down the drop to our right was. It was great, and wasn't too tricky either. Looking down, we could see dark shadows of mountains below us and what I think were clouds or fog, was eery and beautiful. Next, we had to haul ourselves up the rock, using the rope- now this was just a teeny bit hardcore. Seriously, some major determination was needed by everyone here. This is where the huge group of trekkers gradually separated off- the keenest to the front, whereas others stopped off for a breather next to the rope. We stopped a couple of times for a quick snickers but couldn't go too far away from the rope incase we happened to drop off a cliff. I got talking to some of the guides cause they were enjoying my sing songs and I was soon getting "How you getting on Kristy?", "You're doing well Kristy" etc. Was nice to have some encouragement now and then. It really did get harder and harder as we continued to the last couple of km. We kept thinking we were getting close as the rope took us to the top of a steep mound. But once we were over it, we could see the light from everyone's head torches, leading a trail far in the distance to another horizon on top of another mound. Fun fun. This went on for a couple of hours. Our guide was becoming familiar with the phrase- "How far to go?" He was once of those nasty people that tell you 100m when it's really 300m. But all in good will, cause it really did help us to get there. On the final stretch, we knew we had around 1km to go, so we really pushed ourselves. This is the point where I thought- "Wow, I actually might make it". As the light began to rise ever so slightly, I could see a shadow on my left, and could make out a familiar peak that I have seen on postcards. It automatically gave me the "chill factor"- don't know where from, but I got such a huge adrenaline rush and even though I previously felt totally knackered, at that moment I felt amazing and upped my pace a bit. After around 200m, I turned to see where Aman and Georgie were. Catherine had gone ahead and as I stood still for a second, a different guide came up from behind me and grabbed my hand to help me keep going. I was like- "haha, thanks, I'm OK". But then he genuinely took my hand and dragged me full pelt up the rock. I felt myself jogging beside him- and I was like- "Waah- why the fek am I running?!" He was like- "We've got to make the sunrise and we've got 600m and 6 minutes to make it!" Was soo weird- I have no idea where the energy came from, but I just laughed and kept running. On my right, we past "Ugly Sister's Peak" where the sun was beginning to peek behind. We made it to the base of "Low's Peak", just as the sun started to rise. It was pretty crowded up there so the guide said I'd get a better view from somewhere else. So he took me over to the mouth of a chasm, where we stood at the very edge- looking down over a sheer drop to a canyon. There were peaks all around us, with the sun rising directly ahead. It was too surreal to describe, it was just overwhelmingly beautiful. I couldn't understand how I'd ended up here, with this random guide, in the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Part of me thought "dude, is this even a guide, or some random geezer that's gona push me off this cliff edge?" since we were miles from the white rope we were warned to stick by- but that thought soon evaporated in the bliss of it all. As the sun came up, the light bounced of every rock surrounding us. When I turned round and looked behind me, I really couldn't believe my eyes. Cliché I know, but it was like we'd arrived on a different planet overnight and we were waking up to an extraordinarily, crazy, different world. The rocks were just beautiful. These huge towering peaks all around, cliffs dropping into canyons and the vastness of it all was unreal. Not to mention the carpet of clouds below us, all around. I could turn 360 deg and we were completely on top of everything. Once I managed to get my breath back- not from the run, but by the sheer beauty of it all, the guide took my hand again and we ran back to the base of Low's Peak. He showed me the peak that resembled an apes face (was really clear and impressive to see) then let me climb the last bit alone and it felt like the biggest achievement to touch that "Low's Peak- 4095m" Sign. But more so than feeling pride, I felt in complete awe of the surroundings. I was too busy taking it all in and trying not to get all emotional, that I didn't actually get that many photos of the sunrise! I met the group of people I chatted to the previous night and we all snuggled together for warmth and I shared my snickers. My jaw and cheeks were actually getting cramp from smiling so much! We took loadsa pics from the top and it was fantastic to see Georgie and Aman clamber over the rocks to reach the top. We were so so chuffed we all made it, despite our various mis-haps on the way up! We just enjoyed the feeling of achievement for a while, but soon the cold set in and my stupid Rhenodes Disease ("Simpsons Disease" by Glennie's standards) started affecting my wee fingers so we decided to head down. We enjoyed the walk back past the various peaks, and took some more pics (since that route was dark on the way up). Over every peak, leading to the trail below, we saw sights we hadn't seen yet due to the darkness- so the trail back to Laban Rata was actually quite enjoyable. We got to abseil down the rock faces we had previously hauled ourselves up and had to be very steady on the slippery steps back to the rest house. It started to get a bit tedious for the last km but we were very happy to reach Laban Rata and get a good breakfast. Georgie was really having problems with her knee by then and was in a lot of pain. We most certainly were not looking forward to the next 6km to get back down to the base. My legs started seizing up over breakfast and when we started the walk back down, the pain really started to kick in. Georgie was a lot worse and couldn't put any weight on her right knee. As I said before- that last km was the worst for coming up- so it was a bloomin nightmare going down as well. When we reached the shelter, we decided that Georgie really couldn't walk the rest. After much debate, our guide offered to carry her down, and there really wasn't any other option. So he actually piggy backed her and set off at a crazy pace, down the hill. I tried to keep up, but after literally a few steps, I knew my legs were about to give way on me. They felt so so wobbly and I just couldn't walk much at all without feeling like they were going to physically snap. So I just stopped and took one step at a time as the others practically ran down. After a couple of mins, Aman came back to look for me, I said she should go on but I'm so so thankful she stayed with me cause it got a lot worse. Basically, I couldn't put much weight on my legs at all and every step I took was a nightmare. I was worried that it was my stupid muscle problem I've had in the past but didn't know for sure. We just had to take it very...very slowly. Like one step ever 10 seconds and breathers in between. I was really starting to give in and ahead I saw a distance sign. I was so sure it was going to say 2km but when I read "3km" I didn't know what to do. I was pretty sure there was no way I could walk to the bottom. Coming up the mountain, every 500m didn't seem that far, or that difficult. When I was going down, 500m seemed like a lifetime, no exaggeration, was just awful. Loads of people told us that coming down was nasty but I never expected anything like this and Aman was doing fine- no probs with her legs- and Catherine had managed to run after Georgie and the guide. So I was like- "Why are me legs so utterly fecked?!" I became defeated by the 2km sign and just felt like I really couldn't keep going- no way. I stopped to go to the toilet- but to get there, I had to climb up and over a fence thing, which took like 5 minutes in itself! Aman helped me keep going, but getting tearful and trying to forget about the pain was not fun. Once we reached the 1km sign, I packed it in and just couldn't take any more. Aman txted Georgie to get the guide to come back up for us. Knowing that he would probably take a while, I kept on going. But every time a big set of steps came up, I got a major lump in my throat and it was so hard to decide to face going down them. We just kept, slowly slowly going until at last we passed the 1km sign. I started listening out for the waterfall we had first passed when we set out- but could hear nothing. The mozzies set in and started having a fair nibble, then the mist started getting thicker. At last we sighted the guide- poor guy was totally knacked. He took my bag and gave me his hand for support. I refused to let him carry me but he helped me get down some steep steps that came up and updated me on how far left there was to go. Finally, I could hear the running of water and we made it to the waterfall. One bit of the trail I'd completely forgotten about was the start. It was downhill when we first set off, so the final bit for me had to be uphill. It wasn't that bad, cause I was using different muscles. But when we reached the very end, there was about 100m of vertical steps up to the starting/finishing line. I was so determined to make it to the end but had zilch energy left. Every step made me feel like I was gona pass out. I soon found myself in a van, driving back to the park Headquarters. Once back, I actually couldn't get out of the van, I had to bum-shimmy then stumble to the main office, were Georgie came out to see me. That got me going straight away. The guides that I had previously been singing with were wondering why I was in such a state. I didn't really have the energy or comprehendible voice to speak to anybody. So I just collapsed in a chair and took a breather. Georgie and I gave our guide a bit of extra dosh for his troubles, each got a certificate to prove we actually made it to the top, then decided to go and get a bus ASAP. I'd taken about 3 hours more than I'd expected to, to get to the bottom. Luckily a taxi pulled up and offered to take us to KK for mega cheap, and 2 Chinese girls piled in the car with us, so we knew we'd be pretty safe instead of just having 2 of us there. They were from Hong Kong and we nattered a bit to them but I was so tired, I couldn't take too much conversation. Luckily the driver was in a rush for something, so he drove about 5 times the limit to get to KK (bit worried I was gona be projectiled through the windscreen since I was in the middle seat, no seat belts in the back and at the speed he was going, he was pretty likely to crash) but all was good. We got him to drop us off straight outside Little Italy and we hobbled inside. The staff instantly asked us if we were OK, what had happened etc. Once we told them we had climbed the mountain, they all congratulated us and the boss (Winston) wanted to see our photos. The restaurant was pretty quiet at the time we arrived so we got to chat to them all a bit. Thoroughly enjoyed our meal as always but I was feeling pretty majorly crappy over all. Went on the net with the intension of a few emails, but I just felt too ill so called straight away for a taxi and once at the school, we hobbled to our room, then collapsed in our beds. I had to call Johnston to tell him I was feeling awful and wouldn't be able to make it to class etc. Then had to inform Penelope about our escapades as well. She's so funny. She's been in contact with Georgie a lot, cause of Georgie being ill so much, so she already knew that I'd had a bad time coming down. And she was like "Kirsty, you do know you shouldn't have even climbed the mountain with your condition?" and I said " Well I could hardly not climb it if I'm in Sabah" and she was like "s***, I suppose not"- found that quite amusing since she's such a High ranking woman in the society we're in. As I said to the others about the mountain- It's a bit like how I imagine going through labour would be like. The pain would be intense, yet forgotten about almost instantly, but the beauty will always be remembered. But hey, what would I know, only a notion I had through Duke of Edinburgh and after climbing that beast.