IT HAS at least 14 notable peaks on its western and eastern plateaus, plus massive, glacier-polished granite walls that make big wall climbers go gaga, and yet Sabah’s Mt Kinabalu is pretty much under the radar when it comes to rock-climbing.
While there are various expeditions to descend Low’s Gully (the 1,800m-deep rift carved out by glacier 10,000 years ago), few climbers are ferreting out Mt Kinabalu’s technical walls.
However, in 2009 an A-list bunch of climbers, including world-renowned alpinists Conrad Anker and Kevin Thaw, big wall expert Mark Synnott, adventure photographer Jimmy Chin and Alex Honnold (best known for his rope-free ascents of Yosemite’s walls) converged on Mt Kinabalu for their Borneo Big Wall Expedition.
They rappelled down Low’s Gully and clawed their way up a 762m granite wall (1.5 times higher than Petronas Twin Towers) over a few weeks. Two years later, in June this year, Japanese climbing ace Yuji Hirayama decided to stamp his mark on the mountain.
Hirayama first arrived in Sabah eight year earlier to film a travel programme for NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and did the requisite hike up Mt Kinabalu. At Laban Rata resthouse, he spotted a photo of Oyayubi Peak on the western plateau.
“I was awestruck and I said to myself, ‘One day, I want to come back and make my line (to be the first to set a route and climb the wall) on Oyayubi peak,’” recalls Hirayama.
His Japanese agent pitched the idea to the Sabah side. Eventually Sabah Tourism, Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines and Kinabalu-based Mountain Torq helped to make Hirayama’s trip possible.
Hirayama based himself in Kinabalu’s Pendant Hut to scout out potential routes. Despite his impressive climbing résumé (having nailed many walls across the globe), he found Kinabalu posed its own set of challenges.
“The weather changes so rapidly. When the fog arrives, everything gets soaking wet. But just as quickly, the sun comes out soon after. So after one week, I started to grasp the weather window,” says Hirayama who had only experienced his highest climb at 2,000m prior to Kinabalu. Setting his routes from the 3,976m- plateau, he had to acclimatise to the altitude fast.
“Though I climbed slowly and deliberately, at times my heart was pounding fast. A couple of times, my hand went numb when I reached out for a handhold,” he adds, grinning. After a gruelling two weeks, Hirayama nailed four firsts ascents on Oyayubi and Donkey Ears peaks, with grades ranging from 5.11a (steep and difficult) to 5.14c/d (among the hardest in the world) and routes averaging 25-100m long.
“I hope to come back in September to set more routes,” says Hirayama before he left Sabah.
Since he posted his climbs on his blog, he has seen twice the number of hits he usually gets. “I will talk more about the Kinabalu and see how the climbing world will react,” he says.
Founder of Mt Kinabalu-based Mountain Torq, South-East’s Asia’s first mountaineering training centre and the world’s highest via ferrata, Wilfred Tok, concurs that Kinabalu has great potential to be a world-class rock climbing destination.
“Excluding Low’s Peak, the other peaks on Kinabalu requires technical rock climbing,” explains Tok who has more than 20 years’ experience leading rock-climbing and mountaineering expeditions internationally.
The lengths of the climbing routes, starting from the summit plateau, range from 25m to 400m. And climbers need to be equipped with both sport and traditional rock climbing skills in an alpine environment.
“However, to become a successful climbing destination, Kinabalu needs the support from various stakeholders since it will require, among other things, access to emergency evacuation and medical aid, and continuous education, training and promotion,” points out Tok.
The Star
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