Travel Photography | Mount Kinabalu Sabah

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | Sunrise at Mount Kinabalu | Sabah Malaysia North Borneo

“Because it’s There” | George Mallory

The photograph above were taken in 2005 with 6 Megapixel camera Nikon D70s, that’s why the quality of the pixel is not so good compared to any entry level DSLR today but nevertheless I manage to bring that camera high above the mountain and sharing it with you especially those who have never been there and I think that matter the most. I’ve been climbing Mount Kinabalu three times already, in 2004, 2005 and 2009 and I think if people were to ask me why I like to climb a mountain, George Mallory famous answer is the best “Because It’s There”.

Climbing a mountain definitely not for everybody especially those who hate being in the wild, climbing Mount Kinabalu is not so hard or technical, or need years of mountaineering experience but nevertheless it’s not a walk in the park and not everybody who climb a Mount Kinabalu mange to get into the summit. It’s not a guarantee, sometimes the weather can turn bad and when that happens, a mountain guide won’t let the people under their guide to continue their journey to the top. I was lucky for being able to summit Mount Kinabalu for every climb, I know some people have climb the mountain for more than hundreds times but for me, I guess three times is good enough and I think it’s time for me to reach or to look for  higher ground. I don’t need to climb a Mount Kinabalu for a thousands times just for the sake of breaking the records. I would rather use that energy to climb another mountain.

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | My Wife On Top of Mount Kinabalu

I forgot to tell you that in 2005 I climb Mount Kinabalu with my wife, lees than a year after our marriage, maybe I can say, we have our honeymoon on top of the mountain. Climbing a Mount Kinabalu in 2005 is not really in our plan, we are not really plan about it. When I was walking with my wife in Kota Kinabalu, we “thought” why don’t we climb a Mount Kinabalu and it’s just happen like that and without thinking any further we head to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges which is located at Wisma Sabah in Kota Kinabalu to try our luck.

Why I said to try our “luck”? Simply because normally people who wanted to climb a Mount Kinabalu will make advance booking, sometimes more than six month in advance booking since it is almost near to impossible to get a place if you just walk in and hoping to climb it in the next few days. Maybe we were lucky then, we get our place there. Just to let you know that there is only a limited place to stay up there, you can’t bring your own tent there.

My wife have no experience climbing a mountain before, this is her first time climbing a mountain and to my surprise she did reach into the top of the mountain with me. Sometimes it is not so much about whether you have any experiences or not, sometimes it is not so much about whether you are physically strong or not, sometimes it is more about our strong desire to complete our task, mentally we must be very strong, but nevertheless we must have a very good health condition in order to climb this mountain, I mean Mount Kinabalu, not K2 or Mount Everest, that one needs a different skills and stamina, that one is quite technical.

© 2005 Wazari Wazir | View On Top of Mount Kinabalu

To those of you who have a desire to climb a Mount Kinabalu but doubtful about your capability or ability whether you can overcome the adventure or the challenge, take my wife as an example, she don’t have any experience climbing a mountain before and we don’t have any special training prior to this climb and we did it but we must be realistic also, we must have a good health before we proceed with the climb. Actually there is a funny moment when it’s rains up there, we don’t have a sweater or rain coat with us, and when it rains we get wet and in the mountain  when it rains, it was very freezing cold, our Mountain Guide ask us, why don’t we have our rain coat ready when he saw us just wearing a T-shirt, the truth is we are not really prepared in advance but nevertheless without any preparation we did get to the top. Sometimes our mental or desire to summit the mountain is more important or more powerful than our physical condition. Most people fails to summit the mountain not because they are sick or get injured along the way but because they don’t mentally strong to finished the task.

If you were to ask me, is it really worth the climb?  Is it beautiful up there? My answer is simple, it is worth the climb, it is worth the trouble, the view was fantastic up there especially if the weather is clear and you will get to see a beautiful sunrise from the top of the mountain much earlier from the people on the ground level. Otherwise why would I bother to climb this mountain three times.

Related Post : What You Need To Know To Climb Mount Kinabalu