20 years ago: before Kinabalu

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20 years ago, in July 2005, we climbed a big mountain! However, my story begins 21 years ago in Australia when I fell and broke two metatarsals. The consultant I saw in Cairns told me that in a few months I wouldn’t know it had happened. He was wrong. Not a day has passed since that I don’t know it happened and my foot is becoming increasingly arthritic.

Australia 2004, Part 2: Port Douglas disaster

The consultant I saw on my return to Glasgow looked less far ahead – he told me I would be dancing by Christmas and it’s true, I was, though it was painful. In the New Year I decided I needed a challenge to force me to strengthen my foot. John was booked to attend a conference in Singapore in July – I would go with him, and afterwards we would climb Mount Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo. Off we went to Trailfinders, and they came up with an itinerary. I don’t know what we were thinking: it was possibly the worst decision ever.

Nevertheless, from March to May we started a training regime. Below, believe it or not, the sunny picture is Ben Lomond in March and the snow is Helvellyn in April.

Ben Lomond March 2005
Helvellyn April 2005

However, all the hill-walking abruptly stopped when John put his back out and spent six weeks shuttling back and forth to physiotherapy. When we arrived in Singapore on 3rd July we were much less fit than we had intended to be and I was seriously worried about my ability to tackle such a big climb just over a week later.

Singapore from our hotel window

Soon, I had worse things to worry about. I enjoyed wandering around for the first few days while John was at his conference. The city was buzzing because the International Olympic Committee was in town to decide, amongst other things, on the host city for the 2012 games, a vote which London won on the 6th. Elation in the UK delegation turned to despair the next day: this was 7/7 when four suicide bombers struck London’s transport network, killing 52 people and injuring over 770 others. We both have sisters in London so, as well as the general horror, we were frantically worried about them and for a while it was impossible to make contact with anyone at home. Thankfully our families were safe, but my frame of mind was worse than ever.

On the 9th we arrived in Borneo where we had a couple of days to relax at a beach resort in Kota Kinabalu. The sunsets were certainly pretty.

Kota Kinabalu resort
Kota Kinabalu town
Kota Kinabalu sunset
Kota Kinabalu sunset

However, relaxing at a beach resort is not really my thing, we had already had bad experiences leading up to this point and always, always there was this big mountain looming over us both literally and figuratively. Would we make it?

Mount Kinabalu from Kota Kinabalu

To be continued …

Malaysia , , ,

56 Comments »

  1. Hi Anabel – glad I read this first post … I can understand your thoughts – challenging times – but you got there – cheers Hilary

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  6. Oh, my! I know you are a resourceful determined lady, but my goodness, whatever were you thinking? That looks a serious mountain, and with very damaged foot…I’m on tenterhooks now Oh, and
    relaxing at a beach resort is not really my thing

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  8. That’s a serious looking mountain and having watched several TV programmes about Borneo jungle trails the ascent and any technical sections is the least of the worries in that climate. Usually featuring SAS types with machetes clearing a path upwards as the foliage grows so fast over the trail. Bob. BSS.

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  9. Sorry to hear that your foot never truly recovered from your fall in Australia (I do remember reading your story about the accident). Looking forward to the climb which seems quite daunting. (Suzanne)

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  10. Wow Anabel what grit and determination, that mountain sure looks formidable. But I’m with you about lazing on beaches, even though we’ve got some beauties over here, I’d rather walk along the beach. Looking forward to next chapter

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  12. Phew, I’m already on edge waiting for the next instalment. I feel your pain, literally, with your broken bones. I managed to pull a big chip off my heel bone and several pieces off the cuboid in my right foot in 2019 and my foot will never be the same. It’s like it’s almost healed but not quite and there is always some discomfort. Like you, it hasn’t stopped me from doing what I want to do but I do think carefully first. Your last photo of the mountain is enough to make me wonder how far up you got.

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  14. I can relate to not enjoying the thought of sitting around a beach resort, nightmare material just thinking about it. This post is a good example of you pushing the boundaries out and making the most of what’s in front of you. I can’t imagine that attitude ever changing. Brilliant and pleased you have shared it.

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  17. Talk about a cliff-hanger! But there’s plenty of drama here even before that, with the broken metatarsals (I broke one years ago so I know how long they can take to heal!) and the worries over 7/7. I was in central London that day but thankfully not on the Tube network as I was already at my desk at that time. But I still remember the sound of the sirens, all the uncertainty and rumours about what had happened, the total chaos when it came to trying to get home but also the strong community spirit in the aftermath.

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  18. Intriguing. I want to say you did indeed make it, but I feel there is more to come that I couldn’t even guess at!

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