When the alarm went off at 2:00 am... wait what?!?, did you say the alarm went off at 2 am? Why would you write such a ridiculous thing? BECAUSE the freakin' alarm DID go off at 2 am...
Because some idiot decided that it would be a beautiful thing, to view a sun rise on top of a mountain, versus, say anywhere else on the mountain or in the comfort of a bunk bed... we all got up at 2, had a light breakfast, brushed our teeth and hit the trail for the summit... Merry Christmas everyone.
The final push to the summit took about 2 1/2 hours, covering almost 2 miles with 3000 ft of elevation gain. Apparently, the Malays do not have a word for switchback, that magical concept of going back and forth up a mountain versus straight up.
To clarify... back and forth = good, straight up = bad.
A line of cheery Christmas elves, making their way up the mountain, head lamps guiding the way.
5:45 am, December 25th 2013; 13,436 ft, Heather whispered gently to Riad, next year better be something shiny.
So about sunrise on the top... the sun rose, but apparently the giant cloud bank did not get the memo.
The darkness turned to a blue, grey haze and we saw... nothing...
On a side note, to whom ever left the jackets at Laban Rata... thank you thank you thank you.
When planning the trip to Borneo, the focus was on beaches, jungle and leeches NOT scaling a peak.
There was absolutely no cold weather gear in our packs.
We basically wore, every article of clothing we brought PLUS, jackets that others had randomly left at Laban Rata from the fashion past.
Heather is rocking this lovely purple, Michelin man, hoodie with faux fur jacket, circa 1985.
I guess either Heather or I were on the big guy's Nice list, because he delivered on the way down.
Just below the summit, on the plateau leading to the final ascent, the clouds broke and the sun shone through.
I shall not sully these images with my prose, for words cannot describe the warmth and beauty beheld...
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