Postcards!

Finally mailed the post cards from Kota Kinabalu!! The Post Office took 10 minutes and4 employees to determine they required stamp worth an equivalent 20c Australian... Finding stamps was tough enough as it was. Now I hope they arrive. I should've perhaps insisted for double the stamp value at least...
Let's hope they arrive.

I know there are lots of people I should've mailed a card, but unfortunately my admin skills and addresses carried with me were lacking... I am pretty sure I got all the $50+ donors, as they were promised! One late donor I have no address for. In any case card or no card, you have all been in my mind as I struggled up that mammoth mountain with a migraine like headache and struggling for air! Without all of you thinking of me I wouldn't have gotten half way up!

Kinabalu

Here is the certificate I received! It is not entirely correct as I believe I would've only reached 4000 meters, or maybe 4050. Last night I saw the many photos that the rest of us had taken on the Via Ferrata section and on the summit. Makes me want to go back! I know I did the right thing, was glad I had the oxymeter to remind me of how dangerously low my oxygen levels were at that height. If by some miracle my lungfunction goes up to 70% I'll be back!!

It was possibly the hardest thing I have ever attempted.

Certificate!

Boy oh boy! I struggled
And struggled up that height! Had to stop for 5 minutes every few steps to get my oxygen levels up a bit. Once I got to the ridge line the guide did not let me struggle to the highest point, which i think was sensible. I was also not able to do the via ferrata descent as I had missed the briefing the previous afternoon (the grueling climb to the base camp hut the previous day took me 7 hours and so i had arrived too late for the safety briefing). Again this was a blessing as I was suffering severely at the altitude!! Most of us bad headaches and nausea and feeling dreadful!

After a 2am start of the day I arrived exhausted back at basecamp around 730pm. Quick nap and breakfast and we made our way down the mountain to the bus. We got there about 4pm, and I did get my certificate for climbing the mountain!

Thank you all for thinking of me throughout this mission, and thanks for donating to CF Tasmania on my behalf!

Dawn Assault

Man oh man. That was some night. Top bunk and toilets down steep steps. Woke up for a pee 4 times and took 15 minutes to recover each time! Bad headache too of course.

2am we woke up for coffee and we rushed up the mountain. I was way last. Took almost 3 hours to cover 1km. My guide sticking to me like glue.

At a checking station right now. Looks like Iight make it!

At the hut

Kraikee! Now let's eat and drink. Tomorrow is going to be a serious challenge!

500 meters to overnight stop

Gosh it is really hard. Oxygen duping to below 50% at times and I wait for levels to recover to at least 75% before continuing. Almost there, well to the overnight hut at least!

2pm to Pendant Hut

Slow going! Stopping every
Minute or so to get oxygen level back to 80%, the next two kms may take me as long as two hours. One team member aborted climb, I passed a few strugglers, ... Easy does it!

1800 meters

Here we go! Starting from Timpohon Gate at 1800m.

Team Photo 1

Early morning bus to start of climb! A motley crew of keen and mean finely tuned Hash House Harriers!

Carboloading

One huge meal for the team! Kinabalu here we come. Tomorrow morning we walk the first half to Pendant Hut. Unlikely there'll be Internet access, so may not post much till when i get back to civilisation!

Climbing

The two days of R&R turned out not to be so restful. The one night in a traditional Long House involved lunch at the waterfall... Which was a 2 hour steep jungle trail up steep hills. And we walked home too of course, returning in a bath of sweat. And today we are bussing/flying to Kota Kinabalu from where we will get picked up for the climb at 7am...

Attempts at getting bottled oxygen have failed so far despite great efforts by friends, many leads and phonecalls. Tonight I will
continue with the quest, but the phone is almost out of battery charge.

Not a pretty sight

Yes, you have to agree. This is not a pretty sight, me negotiating a one plank bridge with bamboo railing in the Borneo wilderness. Spend 2 hours running and even ran 500m through a cave in this run. I ran very low in energy die to skimpy lunch. Had an energy bar, a small bottle of Red Bull, and a chicken sandwich, but was pretty faint at the finish - bought life saving refreshments from a village shop before swimming across the river to the finish!

Beefing up the runs

Good 90 minutes running through the jungle was awesome. There was some congestion for the first 15 minutes as we all squeezed into the Borneo jungle single file.

Lots of mud and slippery bamboo bridges, sharp grass, lots of ants,.... Soaked in sweat.

Kuching from the air

Orangutan

A rest day in Kuching with the Interhash. Great to have affordable prices in Borneo. Walked past a park and saw a helicopter land. Turned out it was some random charity (children with disabilities?) of sorts, and for $40 per person you could go for a ride! Hard to resist so I went up with fellow hashers for a 15 minute ride above Kuching!

After the ride I walked into a random hotel to change some dollars into Malaysian Ringats I saw the Orangutan tour, which was only $20 for the afternoon... Irresistable of course, and on the little bus we even had old mates from Canberra Hash! Small world. I do feel like a rich tourist here!

Good training runs lined up for Saturday and Sunday, so today is dedicated to carbon loading and sightseeing.

Health is going incredibly well and I am feeling awesome.