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Clambering down from the rickety base-camp bunk-bed, I turn off the 2am alarm and wonder vaguely what was going through my mind when I packed for this trip. Already shivering in the frigid early morning air, I blearily consider my woefully inadequate clothing options. Let me sum it up for you like this: I'm about to climb to the summit of the highest mountain in South East Asia and I don't even have dry underwear to put on. A t-shirt still wet from yesterday's climb, a pair of light running shoes, a thin jumper, rain-jacket, quick-dry travel trousers, a beanie, gloves & a make-shift scarf (the bandanna I used in India to filter out road-dust) complete my rag-tag ensemble. The up-side is that I don't have to decide what to wear; I just put on every single thing I have with me. As I pull them on, wincing as the damp t-shirt clings to my skin, I wonder just how cold it will be up there. I've been told it often dips below freezing. Should I be worried about the fact that I don't have any boxers to wear, and only very thin trousers? Is frostbite a possibility?! In my sleep-befuddled state, I actually start to genuinely worry about this.

Climbing Kinabalu

Michael Meadows
2007-01-23 12:14:54

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Clambering down from the rickety base-camp bunk-bed, I turn off the 2am alarm and wonder vaguely what was going through my mind when I packed for this trip. Already shivering in the frigid early morning air, I blearily consider my woefully inadequate clothing options. Let me sum it up for you like this: I'm about to climb to the summit of the highest mountain in South East Asia and I don't even have dry underwear to put on. A t-shirt still wet from yesterday's climb, a pair of light running shoes, a thin jumper, rain-jacket, quick-dry travel trousers, a beanie, gloves & a make-shift scarf (the bandanna I used in India to filter out road-dust) complete my rag-tag ensemble. The up-side is that I don't have to decide what to wear; I just put on every single thing I have with me. As I pull them on, wincing as the damp t-shirt clings to my skin, I wonder just how cold it will be up there. I've been told it often dips below freezing. Should I be worried about the fact that I don't have any boxers to wear, and only very thin trousers? Is frostbite a possibility?! In my sleep-befuddled state, I actually start to genuinely worry about this.

To cut a long story short, I'm here - at the Laban Rata base-camp on Mount Kinabalu (Malaysia) - because Jen & I broke up and I decided to get away for a while and do something 'significant', (eg. climb a mountain). I know that what Jen & I had together was special and I'll always be grateful for the chance we had. But, roughly six weeks after Jen returned to Korea, reality began to set in... She lives in South Korea. I live in Australia. It just wasn't meant to be. The decision to break up was hard for both of us, even though we knew it was for the best. Jen will always be special to me and I am very happy to say that we remain close friends and stay in touch. It has actually been about seven weeks now since we broke up, which also gives you some idea how far behind I am in ...