The Dream - Mount Kinabalu

One final Mission...

The mountaineering dream was sparked by Mount Kinabalu (4095m). Back then I was still serving my national service and the officers were having their weekly meeting in the mess. It started with a simple question from my Officer Commanding, “Eh, let’s climb a mountain!”.  The next thing we knew, the command team was on a flight to Sabah, Malaysia. 

I remember reaching the base of the mountain, it was at 1000m elevation and the temperature was much more cooling compared to Singapore's hot tropical weather. Slowly we reached the Pelandan Lodge where we spent the night before the summit push.

It was a beautiful climb as the environment morphed from tropical to alpine. At nightfall, stars scattered in the dark sky over the silhouette of Kinabalu, a magical sight to behold.

The climb required trekking and some scrambling. I was hit by altitude sickness on the summit day, but despite the discomfort we pushed on and were greeted with an amazing transition from the stars to the sunrise. It felt surreal, and that was when the dream of chasing peaks was sparked.