Sunday, March 14, 2010

10 tips to conquer SE Asia Highest Peak

This is a summary of what I learnt or experienced when climbing mount Kinabalu.

1. Bring lots of water. You never know who might need it (fellow climbers).
2. Bring spare food, you never know who might need it (fellow climbers).
3. Talk less, breath more. For the air near the summit is so thin, I walked about 30 paces and I am breathing hard...
4. Bring you tongkat (trekking pole). Always. Regardless of what your guide would say.
5. Eat an apple or chew gum to reduce the impact of Altitude Motion Sickness (AMS). Supposedly the chewing action helps.
6. Ensure your temples (side of your head) are warm and covered during the ascend. This helps to prevent AMS as well.
7. Do not stop too long or it will break your momentum and make you lazy to carry on.
8. Dress light when on the move. The constant movement will keep you warm. Change into something warmer when you reached the rest house at the middle.
9. Themal wear really keeps you warm. It is available in 2 materials, cotton (ard S$40) and wool (S$100). Wool is thinner and keeps you warmer (hence the price diff).
10. Persevere and you will reach the goal despite it being a tough climb.

5 comments:

  1. I'm curious about what you brought with you. What kind of equipment, supplies, clothing, footwear did you bring?

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  2. Nothing too special:

    1. SAF green water bottle & food (non-SAF fruit bar)
    2. SAF Brooks running shoes
    3. Thermal wear + long sleeve t-shirt + wind breaker (I brought along my no. 4 slacks)
    4. Trekking pole (aka tongkat)
    5. SAF jungle Hat or beanie

    Starting to sound like a SAF experdition :P

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  3. Good idea, make full use of your PE items. LOL

    I was reminded of your trip when I passed by a store selling camping and hiking equipment yesterday.

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  4. Yeah!

    But I still like to drive up a mountain instead of climbing it. More time to enjoy in my limited holiday.

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  5. Plenty of mountains along the Sunshine Coast...

    ReplyDelete