Mount Kinabalu

[windigo]

plus if you get altitude sickness expect headaches and such which could last for 12 weeks or longer and you may never be able to go to altitude again from the damage done this can happen even taking a leisurely pace...everyone has their limit.

[lecter]

Well, I'm not the type to force myself even near a painful limit...in any case, there's plenty of stuff to see in the National Park itself in the unfortunate case that this would happen.

[lecter]

Well, I'm back...and a really great trip it was. We unfortunately didn't manage to get all the way to the top, one of my friends got pretty dizzy (Paracetamol took care of it for awhile, but he was looking very pale and we didn't want to take a chance) so we had to stop at the last rest hut, at ~3670m.

In any case, the views were stunning...sunrise when you're actually above the clouds is quite a sight to behold

Also, the last 2km are done by holding on to a rope and climbing up the rock face. I've never rappeled before and I really enjoyed the feeling of urgency it gave me...nothing like a long drop looming right next to you to motivate you to keep going

The way down felt much worse than going up, I also managed to sprain my ankle towards the end so the last couple of hours or so were a real bitch...thankfully, the hot springs we checked out after that offered great relief

The weather was great, it rained only during the night and besides the 3-5 degrees we experienced on the last portion of the climb maintained itself at around 20.

Of course, I am still quite dissapointed at coming so close but not making it, so I might just give it another shot.

Now, on with the pics: the rock formation in the background is known as "the donkey's ears", the last rest hut is a bit further from it.

[lecter]

It's just great to see the world from above the clouds

[lecter]

Carnivorous plants...I also saw the water-collecting pitcher plants, but only a very small-sized species.

[lecter]

A sunrise seen at high altitude, with the girl that I love in my arms and a bottle of schnapps nearby...what more could I ask for?

[lecter]

Nice place to put a "Danger" sign

edit: Damn, the forum only supports 4 attachments per thread?

[Brian Ellis]

Well done!

[lecter]

Ah, OK, it must be a time-limit thing with the attachments...

[lecter]

Pretty interesting vegetation towards the top...

[lecter]

As the morning progressed, a thin mist hung around the mountain...made everything quite damp. This is above the jungle level, a weird combination of temperate-climate trees as well as Asian ones.

[lecter]

Once again, the jungle...it was thick enough to blot most of the sunlight out at the beginning, definitely a good thing in this part of the world.

[lecter]

The city of Kota Kinabalu (starting point for the whole thing)...very nice place, but too sleepy for my taste. The way it's laid out is pretty un-Asian, you can definitely see its colonial heritage in the wide boulevards and trees planted on the street (instead of creating miniature jungles in peoples' backyards like here in BKK).

[Helevitia]

Nice pics man Thanks for sharing.

[KvHagedorn]

Ditto. Looks like you had a great time.