Date: 10th July 2011

Place: Mount Kinabalu

Weather: Absolutely freezing to sunny

2am start. I think I got about an hours sleep altogether and it turned out Carm had been the same so maybe it was something to do with the altitude again. Or maybe we were both just nervous. We put on all of our gear which was some leggings and trousers, two pairs of socks, a top, a thick jumper and my wind and waterproof jacket, gloves, walking shoes and a head torch. I was still full from dinner so we just had coffee and then set off up to the peak at 2.30am.

It was a slow process because everyone set off at the same time pretty much. I was pleased though because you could feel the air was a lot thinner so it was harder to breathe. I was coping with the thin air OK until we got to the very open part. I think it mixed with nerves about the height and made me feel sick. As soon as we started up the slopes with the rope my chest would go tight again and Id need another rest almost instantly.

It was pitch black as well apart from everyone's head lights. When we got close to the top and was actually sat underneath it I thought I couldn't do anymore because I would literally take a few steps and feel sick again. I sat down to catch my breath and looked around and saw that sun rise was starting! That set me off because that was the reason I climbed this mountain; there was no way I was missing it. It hurt and I had a few standing breathers but I made it J.

It was absolutely breath taking and the pictures I have taken do it no justice. I was absolutely freezing though and kept trying to hide between people for shelter. I stood on the very top rock and couldn't believe that I had made it to the roof of Asia.

The climb down was so satisfying. It got warmer and warmer which was great because when we started down I couldn't feel my fingers at all. It was really steep getting down which was hard work but it wasn't breathtaking like the way up so I didn't mind. It was also light then so you didn't feel as though if you took a wrong step you would go sliding down the mountain.

We made it back to the lodge by 8.30am we had already walked for 6 hours!! We told our guide we would meet him at 10am to start the walk back to the ground. We had our breakfast and then went to warm up in our beds. Well we fell asleep and didn't meet him until 10.30am which was only because the other people in our room were leaving then.

It was so nice to know we were only going down hill from then on. And passing people on their way up we didn't say good luck we said have fun because otherwise they would feel nervous like we did. It got a bit boring coming down because it was all the same and my neck hurt from looking down.

It took us 4 and a half hours to get down and I was still warn out from that. When we got to the last bit which had been down hill at the beginning it looked terrifying. There were so many steps to get up it was just mean to put this at the end. I powered up the rocky stairs to get them over with but got to the last 5 or so wooden ones and thought Id never get up them, my legs wouldn't work properly!

We had a celebratory picture, waited for the bus back to the centre and went to have a lovely lunch that was included in the price. We then picked up our big bags and walked (yes again!) to the hostel we were staying at for the night. I crashed out at 5pm and slept all the way through the night.