Mt. Kinabalu Climbaton 2005

When Tey Eng Tiong, a Pacesetters runner, returned from the Mount Kinabalu Climbaton on 02 Oct 05 without announcing his triumph promptly, I knew that his results would be the same as his two previous years’ attempts – DNF (Did Not Finish). I admire and salute him for his courage to participate in this race. As for me, I have not even got the courage to stand at the starting line let alone compete in the race.

Kinabalu National Park was designated by UNESCO as one of the most important biological sites in the world. The focal point of the park, of course, is the majestic Mount Kinabalu; a towering mountain at an imposing height of 4095 meters (13,435 feet).

Even before the start of a climb, the Kinabalu National Park Headquarters (or the base), is standing at an elevation of 1,563 meters (5,000 feet). Which means a racer has to climb 8,435 feet (13,435 – 5,000) to reach the summit – Low’s Peak. Genting Highlands, the popular hill resorts in Kuala Lumpur, only stands at 6,000 feet tall!

To many people, not reaching the peak is considered failure. But to TeyET, there is no failure; instead, to certain degree, a success to him – without failure, there would be no success. He would have learned or found out three different approaches to be in better control of the situation when he does this fourth attempt next year.

Tony (Penguin-3) and I and 10 other friends trekked up Mount Kinabalu on 27 Aug 2005. On the average, it takes 45 minutes to one hour to trek one kilometer up the mountain. From the Timbohan base to the Low’s Peak, the total distance is 8.75 km. Under casual trekking conditions, we would require at least eight hours to reach Low’s Peak. The champions in the race took about two hours to reach the peak -- really an amazing feat!

It is indeed a different ballgame when racing in the Climbaton as each racer is required to run up the mountain swiftly. Another obstacle would be the thin air due to the high altitude that would tire a racer very easily. Worst still, with the quick ascent and descent, one would contract high altitude sickness problem.

With more than 10 experiences trekking up Mount Kinabalu, Tony is interested in the Climbaton. He is considering joining Tey in next year’s Climbaton challenge. They will both train together and challenge the peak together. It is indeed a good idea as both of them would motivate one another to achieve their goals.

We wish them good luck and no DNF record.

Photos and website links:

All photos are by courtesy of Tey ET. Please click here to visit Tey’s weblog. For easy access to his weblog, I have established a link from this Penguin Runners weblog. Tey’s weblog is unique as he also writes in Mandarin. He works as a reporter in one of the leading Chinese newspaper.

To view 135 great photos taken by KC, please scroll down the pages on Mount Kinabalu report.

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By KC

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