(Another) failed attempt at climbing Mt Kinabalu

This year is my second attempt at scaling the famous Mount Kinabalu, that is located in East Malaysia in the state of Sabah. Some years ago, I made it right up to the halfway point, Laban Rata, but did not proceed onwards to the summit.

Flying over on the budget airlines, Air Asia, we were not allowed to board the plane due to arriving slightly late (25 minutes) before the actual flight departure. Thus, we had to book a place on the next flight. Not a good start.

Upon reaching Kota Kinabalu, found that it was raining. Quite heavily, actually, as some parts of the road on the way to the Kinabalu National Park were flooded.

Now, there are 2 ways to go up the mountain. One is via Timpohon gate, which was a wider trail, with more trees and going up alll the way. The other one was through the Mersilau gate, which was longer, but more scenic, with ups and downs. Needless to say, we chose to ascend via the Mersilau trail.

Unfortunately for me, the rain on the previous night had left the ground damp and slippery, thus, some 3 kilometers into the trail, I slipped and fractured my left ankle. This, I attribute to the fact that I was wearing tennis shoes (which have no grip on wet ground). Unable to walk, I waited for the emergency response team made up of 11 people to carry me out on stretcher, taking turns - 4 at a time. Well, my friends did proceed onwards and managed to reach the summit (and in doing so we discovered that there is no DIGI line at Laban Rate (016). However, Maxis line still OK (012).)

Now, at the hospital, X-ray revealed just a hairline crack. However, that was enough to ground me for months. The doctor was rather excited and kept asking me if he could inject me with some painkillers (I declined - my ankle hurt, but not as bad as that!). Medication for the pain was also somewhat of an overkill. I was given two types of pills - one to kill the pain, the other to prevent gastritis as a result of taking the first pill. I'm not too fond of medication, so I chose to endure the slight pain instead.

In the airport, the Air Asia people had wheelchairs, but you had to pay to use them. That's the part that made me not so happy - it's not that people choose to use wheelchairs, you know. Hopefully, they will become more aware of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)!

Well, that left me in a cast for a little over a month, and even now, 3 months later, I'm still not fully recovered (can walk, cannot run). I had to attend my company's Appreciation Night in a wheelchair. But me being myself, failure is just another obstacle on the road to success, so already I'm planning my next expedition to conquer the mountain in April 2009. This time, I'll be better prepared (need hiking boots!).