Here's an extract from the MBUK spring feature on my January 2003 record braking ascent of Mount Kinabalu.....
Not content with endless jungle single track Steve Thomas leaves the pack behind and rides out on to the roof of Borneo.
A few months earlier it had seemed like a good idea.
Brave, foolhardy and bold yes, but somehow a good idea. Now, on a very early
jungle morning in Borneo, it all seemed like a very bad idea indeed. What
was that idea? To bike on the summit of this majestic mountain before me,
naturally! I gazed up through the swirling mist towards the imposing grey
and bare arsed peak of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain not only in Borneo,
but all of south east Asia. There it was, looking down and shaking its big
grey pointed head at me. What the hell it was saying didn’t bare thinking
about, but I can kinda guess!
It wasn’t my first encounter with this particular mountain. Earlier in
the year I’d scaled it on foot, taking the traditional two days to summit
and descend, which was pretty tough. At that time some kind of language thing
had gotten in the way, which lead to me saying how cool it would be to bike
on the summit – an unairly 4100 meters high. That set the wheels in motion,
and much red tape later an official government letter arrived allowing me
to attempt this feat; "Permission is hereby given to Mr Steve Thomas
from England to carry his bicycle to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. However,
Mr Steve Thomas is not allowed to use his bicycle on the mountain in such
a way that he may endanger
himself or other climbers." Umm, now here I was, bike on my back and
off on another
ball breaking mission!
It turned out that ours was not to be the first ever bike trip to the summit
– two Japanese had summited a couple of year’s back, taking a long
two days to do so. And, as much as simply biking on the top was a task and
reward in it’s self, the challenge now took on a new twist – we
had to go one better, and the best way to do that was to do it faster.
At this point myself and my guide Maike, a local, really didn’t think
that it was going to be possible to get to the top, let alone take any time
out of the record. For the very fit and blessed with good weather, it is possible
to summit and get back down in a very long day. But that’s travelling
light – and without a bike. We on the other hand had a bike, a bag full
of cameras, and all the gear required should we get stranded overnight, not
exactly lightweight travel.
It was really quite daunting as we hit the base slopes of the climb. The pace
was really high. We were basically running through the steeply stepped jungle
clad lower slopes of the mountain. As we sweated onwards and upwards we passed
a train of early morning porters, taking supplies up to the rest house. Next
came the wave of descending climbers. Needless to say each and every one of
them stopped and questioned in disbelief as to our antics and reasoning. You
get sick of it after a while and come up with ridiculous answers – being
lost is the easiest!
We’d got the trail all to ourselves now, and the going was seriously
tough – I was already soaked through with sweat, and my limbs were pounding.
We were approaching the scheduled overnight stop – and the clock hadn’t
even reached mid day. It was crunch time. If we had it in us we could possibly
summit and get back to the rest house before dark, but it was a long shot.
Ten minutes later and we’d stripped to basics and were back on the summit
trail. From here on in it gets really serious. The air gets thinner and thinner,
and the trail gets steeper and tougher. A lowering mist made the going even
harder – greasing the steep rocky trail.
Both of us were suffering, even Maike who climbs this peak twice a week! We
were now down to using ropes, and passing the bike between us to avoid the
risk of a long drop. We’d climbed so fast that my fuel tank was running
on empty, and I was getting dizzy spells from the lack of air. The rain had
set in, and we were frozen to the bone. My hands could hardly grip the ropes.
The wrath of the mountain gods was lashing us hard for attempting such a feat.
We sat for a few minutes "bodo, bodo (crazy)" I shook my head to
Maike; he just nodded in agreement. But there was no way I was taking the
safe option of heading back down and trying again at dawn – we were on
to a possible new record here!
After a long and oxygen starved and roped crawl to a pre summit plateau so
the clouds parted and we were rewarded with a dose of sunshine. We grinned
like mad at each other - it had all been worth it after all! Hurriedly we
assembled the bike, and took the highest slick rock ride on the planet. What
an amazing experience, riding through some of the thinnest air ever biked,
high above the clouds, and in complete solitude. It was a very humbling experience,
and one we’ll both remember for a long time to come.
Now
we still had to summit. That final kilometre was really draining, but eventually
we sat on the peak – complete with bike! All that was left to do was
get back down without killing ourselves, and that wasn’t as easy as it
sounds.
We’d peaked
in less than five hours, so logic says we should get down a whole lot faster
– not so. Descending vertical wet rock by ropes is no easy task –
especially with a bike behind you. We more or less ran and slid the two hours
back to the rest house, by which point I was almost unable to walk –
my knees were shot. Once again it was decision time – be sensible and
rest up for the night, or try and beat the dark to get home. With honour and
a possible record at stake we hit the trail once more. Those final four hours
were some of the most painful in my life. My knees and legs had completely
gone; I was literally in tears, and was reduced to walking sideways, and using
my butt to get down the final two hours. I really did not think I would make
it.
As dusk crawled in the park gate came in to sight, at the top of a long flight
of steps. At the gate the park staff had assembled, staying on after work,
to see the "heroes"’ return. I just gritted my teeth and swallowed
those final minutes of pain, and signed out in 10 hours 15 minutes, well and
truly recording a new record for biking on Kinabalu!
