Mt Kinabalu Summit

Up at 01:30 for quick & chilly ablutions before hitting the trail...

Staying in a lodge a little above the main Laban Rata dorms meant that we were able to steal a march on the rest of that day's summiteers... From left to right: Susan, Clive, Alan, Viv & Ness...

 

At the summit at around 5:20...

 

Group shot... Alan, top of Barry's head (I think), Ness, me, Nigel, Susan, Clive & Viv...

Now the wait for the sunrise whilst watching a stream of headtorches ascend from below...

It was pretty nippy up there and even more bizarrely there were rats too!

The mountain casting an early morning shadow over the clouds above the South China Sea...

The shadow and the moon...

Full sun finally appearing from behind some of the summit features (with names such as Ugly Sisters & Donkey's Ears)...

Despite being only 6 degrees north of the equator there was still overnight ice on the summit plateau pools...

Looking down into the entrance to Low's Gully where two army teams got lost for three weeks in 1994 after descending a waterfall...

View over South Peak...

Looking back up to the summit on the descent...

Donkey's Ears...

A quick stop for breakfast at Laban Rata before heading back down the trail through the various vegetation zones to Timpohon Gate... hoping to look as cheery and breezy to all today's day 1 climbers as all the day 2 faces that met ours seemed to be to us as we ascended yesterday... entering the gnarly tree zone...

Rhododendron zone. A couple of hours into the descent and it started to rain heavily so the poncho & pack cover came out and the camera put away as I headed to the gate with as much speed as I could muster with thoughts of a cold beer and a hot shower...