Mountain Adventure: Packing items

Went to Center Point shopping center this evening to do some last minute purchases for my mountain climb and, well, I got almost all that I need for the adventure.

Here's what i ticked off this evening from my list:

• Wool socks (2 - long and short)
• Trekking poles (a pair - antishock) - this definitely would come in handy on descent.
• Diamox -Acetazolamide (Pills for altitude sickness - 8 tablets)
• Long John (two-piece) - just so i don't have to use many layers of clothings, also to lighten my pack.
• Head Beanie
• Chocolates (Mars & Snickers - 2 each) - for energy

Others such as jacket, poncho, boots and backpack--I've got them all from previous adventure. I now only need to get a new headlamp (the one i got in 2007 has malfunctioned) and triple-A batteries for it. Ah, and gloves. A Thinsulate.

Packing tonight. As light as possible.

World's Highest Via Ferrata: 4 more days!

After today, it's four more days (oh forgot to tell that i postponed it to 21 Sept) till i put on my boots and head off--for the 5th time--to Southeast Asia's highest mountain, Mt Kinabalu, where the ultimate mission is to walk on the world's highest Via Ferrata.

The Via Ferrata on Mt Kinabalu. (Photo credit: Mountaintorq.com)

Stamina and fitness wise, i think i'm prepared. I just have one concern. That is, the altitude. The last time i remember i got really sick from being high on the mountain. Altitude sickness or also known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) kicked into my system as soon as i stepped into the heated mountain lodge of Laban Rata at 11,000ft. There I felt nauseous, like everything was spinning around me, the headache was unbearable and I remember only feeling better after throwing up all the food that was supposed to be fuel for the next leg, the early morning journey to the summit. Well, we'll see this time if I'll respond better to AMS as i have now read up a bit about it.

Just something to share: AMS happens to just about anyone who goes on altitude, whether they're super fit or not. It normally occurs at 2,500m (8000ft above) and it happens when one goes high too fast. But you can't really predict who will get it because different people respond differently to altitude and acclimatize at different rates. One person may be easily susceptible while the other may totally be in excellent condition. In general, the key to avoiding AMS is to ascent slowly to give time for the body to acclimatize because as you increase in altitude the number of oxygen molecules in your blood reduces. Because of this reduction of oxygen in the blood stream, you need to allow the body to undergo an adjustment process called 'acclimatization' or rest day, that is, adjusting the body to the decreased availability of oxygen at a specific altitude so that one functions well enough to continue on the next leg of the climbing journey. During acclimatization, you should not indulge in any activity, just rest.

Here's what the International Society of Mountain Medicine recommends:

-If possible, you should spend at least one night at an intermediate elevation below 3000 meters.

-At altitudes above 3000 meters (10,000 feet), your sleeping elevation should not increase more than 300-500 meters (1000-1500 feet) per night.

-Every 1000 meters (3000 feet) you should spend a second night at the same elevation.

Remember, it's how high you sleep each night that really counts; climbers have understood this for years, and have a maxim "climb high, sleep low". The day hikes to higher elevations that you take on your "rest days" (when you spend a second night at the same altitude) help your acclimatization by exposing you to higher elevations, then you return to a lower (safer) elevation to sleep. This second night also ensures that you are fully acclimatized and ready for further ascent.

Packing of gears and sorts starts tomorrow. I am excited!

World's Highest Via Ferrata: 10 more days!

...I'm all pep up and ready to give my all.

Counting days to climbing the World's Highest Via Ferrata

19 more days to my fifth climb on Mt Kinabalu--Southeast Asia's highest mountain with a height of 4,095m above sea level--and my first time descending the mighty granite using a route--other than the normal climber's route--called via ferrata, located on Mt Kinabalu, 3,800m above sea level and currently the world's highest among other vie ferrate that are located in various countries such as France, Italy, Canada, Mexico, North America, Peru, Singapore (currently holding the record as having the tallest 'indoor' via ferrata in the world), Sweden, United Kingdom and Japan.

I'll be doing the Low's Peak Circuit (LPC), a via ferrata activity that starts just a few hundred meters below the summit, just close to the Sayat-Sayat slab/checkpoint and it is tackled in a descending manner. LPC is one of the three options of the via ferrata activity that's offered by the operator Mountaintorq--the other two being The Preamble and Walk the Torq--and it is graded as intermediate, physically demanding, and not for the faint-hearted and those that have a fear for heights. Well, I do have a fear for heights but i think, after the bungy jump i did in Bali, i can pull this off. I'm challenging myself once again.

Low's Peak Circuit - an activity that leads you to descend the mountain using fixed ropes, rungs and cables. The square indicates where the LPC via ferrata route starts. The starting point is just a few meters down the Sayat-Sayat slab/checkpoint. The activity ends at Pendant Hut, mountaintorq's lodge that is located a few hundred meters above the heated lodge of Laban Rata.

image courtesy of mountaintorq.com

The challenge - pic courtesy of mountaintorq.com

Next up...

Would be to scale and summit Mt Kinabalu for the 5th time (yes, i can never have enough of doing this) and descend her on the world's highest and Asia's first via ferrata.

Climbing dates: 17 & 18 September 2009.
Cost Breakdown:
Mountain Torq Activity (Low's Peak Circuit): RM750.00*
Climbing Permit: RM30.00 (for Malaysian)
Climbing Insurance:RM7.00
Trail Fee: RM5.00 (Timpohon Starting Point - Summit - Timpohon)
Guide Fee: RM50.00 per day(for 4-6 climbers)
Certificate: RM1.00 (black & white) or RM10.00 (colored) - OPTIONAL
Porter: RM40.00 per 10kg (Timpohon - Laban Rata- Timpohon)- OPTIONAL

*Cost include
-1 night stay at Pendant Hut
-1 buffet dinner at Laban Rata (lodge at 11,000ft)
-1 early morning continental breakfast at Pendant Hut
-1 late morning american breakfast at Pendant Hut
-Safety equipment and trainer

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: RM817.00 per person of 4 in a group