During the Songkran break from 5th – 9th April, a party of students and teachers from Harrow flew to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, and then on to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo to climb Mount Kinabalu. On the first day, having left Bangkok very early, we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur to visit KL Tower and Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) before flying to Sandakan, Sabah in the afternoon. The second day began with a visit to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan which was interesting, despite the fact we did not see as many orangutans as we had hoped. Later in the day we flew to Kota Kinabalu. Upon arrival we were taken by coach to Kinabalu National Park where we stayed the night. The accommodation was 1,500 metres above sea level and the temperature around 20C which proved to be ideal for our hike the following day.

As we passed through Timpohon Gate at the start of the hike each of us was given an identity tag so that the park authorities could keep track of us on the mountain. The party was accompanied by five experienced mountain guides provided by the Park. The trail took the form of a seemingly endless number of steps made alternately of wood, rocks and earth. Although some members of the party were quicker than others, on average it took about six hours (including rest stops) to reach our mountain lodge accommodation at Laban Rata, which is about 3,300 metres high and above the clouds. Most of us felt extremely tired after what was a very demanding 6 kilometre walk, but having dinner in a restaurant perched on the side of the mountain while watching the sky turn various shades of red renewed both our energy and our determination.

After what seemed like very little sleep we woke at 2.30 a.m. and set out shortly afterwards in the dark using our torches to light the steps which rise very steeply from Laban Rata for over 500 metres. By that stage we were above the tree line and had to use a rope to pull ourselves up the sloping granite rock surface. Having passed through the official check point at 3,850 metres our bodies were chilled by the cold which made it very tough going to the extent that all of us, at one stage or another, felt like giving up. However, as the sun rose it started to warm our hearts if not our bodies, and gave us our first view of the breathtakingly beautiful mountain summit less than one kilometre away. Psychologically, if not physically, recharged, we made a final determined push to reach Low’s Peak at 4,095 metres. The feeling of being on top of the world was very special, as was being able to rest our weary legs before heading back to Laban Rata.

Students who reached the summit were Guy Hannay, Line Jessen and Pei-Hsuan Rachel Wang from Year 9, Ivy Grimshaw, Chaichana Vareekasem (Win), Nantakorn Udompholkul (Ig), Arsa Archapiraj (Tor) and Thai Youngvanich from Year 12, Suebwong Suwanprateep (Ob), Suebsakul Rotrakarn (Meik),Punyakorn Prayoonsakul (Ake), Chinnawat Sakultangphaisal (Chin), Warit Sudsaengphan (On) and Phanid Maneerattanaporn (Joe) from Year 13. Teachers who reached the summit were Jessica Briffa, Donna Mclaren-Moreton, James Beere, Tina Jurado, Alexandra Love and Jess Grimshaw. In total, 14 students and 6 staff reached the summit, which was a tremendous achievement by those concerned.

Jess Grimshaw