Tips For Beginners

1. Food & Water

You will get thirsty. Carry a small mug with you for the first part of the climb. There are several huts or pondoks along the way. Water and basic bathroom facilities are provided. Just turn on the taps, fill your mugs and drink all you want. No need to carry any bottled water. At Laban Rata, hot water is sold at the canteen. Bring along a small thermos flask and lots of 3 in 1 mixes.

Have a hot meal before the climb. Instant noodle soup would be nice. During the first part of the climb, you can snack on Mars bars, Kit Kat etc. Dried fruits and candy are also good. Target to reach Laban Rata at noon or even slightly earlier if you’re on the traditional route. Have your lunch at the canteen. The food isn’t fantastic, but it’s edible.

Breakfast at 3.00am won’t be easy to come by. Have some biscuits ready. If you’ve bought some hot water the night before, you can make some coffee. If you really must have some instant noodles, there are cooking facilities at the unheated huts around Laban Rata. Pop by at their kitchen, boil some water in the kettle and make a cup of noodles with it. Even a hot light snack like that will make a tremendous difference.

2. Dress Code

The is a high tendency to overdress for the first part of the climb. Many beginners don’t realise that they will sweat under exertion even though the ambient temperature may be in the teens. Always dress lightly for this part of the climb. Bicycle shorts and polyester T-shirt are perfectly fine. As you’re chugging up the steps, you’ll feel warm. Once you take a break, you may shiver when a gust of wind comes along. Keep a windbreaker handy.

Even if it’s not raining, most climbers will arrive at Laban Rata soaking wet. Change out of your wet clothing immediately. Have a hot shower in the bathroom and change into a nice, dry set of clothing. A wool/fleece sweater/jacket would be appropriate.

For the final push, you’re dealing with temperatures around 0 deg C. Have a good insulating layer like thick fleece under your windbreaker. Never wear jeans or any soakable colthing for this part of the climb. Wear a pair of polyester tights under water-resistant but breathable nylon pants. You can find them at many sports shops.

Remember that a lot of heat is lost from the head. A fleece cap under your windbreaker hood will make things a lot more comfortable. A balaclava is also useful if you don’t want to keep wiping condensation from your nose. Waterproof gloves are essential for protecting your fingers. Wear good trekking boots and wool socks. Don’t wear running shoes. Kinabalu will reduce them to shreds. Don’t wear an old pair of shoes that you are about to throw away. Many climbers have regretted it when their soles came off at Pondok Nowhere.

3. Training & Technique

This is a non-technical but highly strenuous climb - especially for those who are attempting the Mesilau Trail. The most appropriate training exercise would be stair-climbing. Find a 30-storey building, climb up and down 100 times. That’s what Kinabalu is about. Get a new pair of boots. Train in them.

For any part of the climb, pace yourself. Once above 3000m, the effects of altitude will set in. You’ll find yourself breathless upon exertion. Go slow, go steady, don’t stop too often. Keep rests at the pondoks under 10 minutes.

Beyond Laban Rata, soil gives way to rocks. It is rather steep above Sayat Sayat. Thick fixed ropes hang from the rockface. A traffic jam often occurs here because tired and inexperienced climbers hog the ropes. Remember to let your feet do the walking. Don’t hold tight on the rope and lean backwards. You will swing like a pendulum, moving side to side instead of up. Hold the rope lightly without resting your weight on it. Use your feet to propel yourself upwards on the steep rock.

This is a health/fitness book with an emphasis on strength training. Written by a doctor who is a nutrition consultant and a personal fitness consultant to Hollywood celebrities, it dispenses valuable facts and tips on nutrition and exercise routines.

Part 1 tells us the basics of nutritional science. Dr Lydon gives us just the correct dosage of facts and figures to keep us informed. She also debunks some fad diets and nutritional myths. There’s nothing groundbreaking or sensational here, but just some honest and scientific facts. Only a few supplements are recommended - nothing exotic or amazing. Dr Lydon distinguishes herself from other authors of anti-aging books with a section on exercise by showing that she really knows her field.

Part 2 is a prescription for a strong and shapely self. Again, Dr Lydon dispels strength training myths about women turning into hulks after a few workouts. Encouraging muscle hypertrophy is not just about looks and vanity. It also helps keep metabolic rate up (hence help weight loss), reduce risk of osteoarthritis and even lower blood pressure.

After extolling the merits of strength training, Dr Lydon goes on to help design a routine. She begins with basics going into terminology like strip sets, drop sets, ascending, descending sets etc. Even for those not new to strength training, this has a few useful tips on how to get more mileage out of a workout. A few safe supplements are recommended. We’re also warned against overtraining and exericise addiction.

The book then zooms in on body parts, muscle groups and gives tiips that even experienced bodybuilders will find valuable. The appendices offer a good reference for calorific values and glycemic indices of various foods. There are also exercise tables offering a guide for workout routines.

This is an excellent book on fitness and healthy living which I would recommend to any friend, male or female, who is interested in better health and physique. In an age when sensational, “revolutionary”, misleading and unorthodox ideas consistently win the hearts of readers and get into the bestselling list, more factual, concise and honest books like this should be promoted.

For the first time, an airline will ply routes from Singapore to Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and Malacca.

Firefly, a fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, flies to Kuala Lumpur, too, but touches down at SkyPark Subang terminal, which is situated only 20 minutes away from the city, about 40 minutes closer by bus than from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

All-inclusive airfares for a one-way trip start from $31.

Although its prices put it in the budget range, Firefly aims to differentiate itself from with its convenient landing points.

“We’re thankful to Firefly for flying to less popular destinations in Malaysia such as Terengganu, which makes it easier to go to places such as Redang. You can spend less time on travelling,” said Zalizam Zakaria, director of Tourism Malaysia in Singapore.

It is also an exciting prospect for travellers who have had to endure long land journeys. A journey to Kuantan takes around eight hours by car or bus, but will only take about two hours by plane, including the time taken for checking in and out.

A little lower but far more scenic than Kinabalu, Gunung Semeru (original Hindu name was Mahameru) forms a majestic southern backdrop to the Tengger Highlands or the Bromo-Batok Caldera of East Java. Standing at 3676m, it is the highest mountain in Java and an active volcano to boot. Climbing it when it’s just quietly puffing is very safe. Doing so during an eruption is courting death.

Going solo, my approach to the mountain in 1997 was on foot from Cemara Lawang (at the lip of the caldera overlooking Mt Bromo). It was a long, exhausting walk to Ranopani. This is not necessary for a small group as jeeps can be hired at tourist spots like Cemara Lawang. The “climb” is not a straightforward one. Ranopani may be regarded as “base camp”, but there is very little real climb (a long way to the mountain rather than up the mountain) until towards the end where it can get really strenuous. The itinerary is as follows.

Day 1
Arrival in Surabaya, bus up to Cemara Lawang. We will stay at Cemara Lawang which overlooks Mt Bromo. Here, we can stock up on food items and hired a jeep for the trip to Ranopani.

Day 2
After a quick breakfast, we’ll travel to Ranopani by jeep, pick up our guide/porters and start trekking to Rano Kumbolo. We only need to carry water for the 4-5 hour trek to Rano Kumbolo. There is a lake here where we can draw water for the next day. We’ll have lunch and dinner here.

Day 3
We’ll move off after catching the sunrise. Our lunch stop will be Kalimati, a grassy, windswept, treeless patch just below the treeline. As there is no water here, we must draw and carry as much water as we can from Rano Kumbolo. We’ll have lunch at Kalimati and then proceed to climb up to Arcopodo where we’ll have dinner and rest.

Day 4
Starting off from Arcopodo at 4.00am, we’ll summit at dawn (keeping a safe distance from the crater), lunch at Rano Kumbolo and descend to Ranopani where we’ll take a jeep to Surabaya.

Day 5
Return to Singapore

This is a camping trip (no bathrooms) from Day 2. Tents, sleeping bags, warm clothing (near freezing at summit), food and fuel must be carried. The expedition must be self-sufficent beyond Ranopani. About 2 litres of water must be carried on the first leg from Ranopani to Rano Kumbolo.

Ample water (4 litres per pax) must be drawn and treated from the lake at Rano Kumbolo before moving further. There is no convenient water source above Rano Kumbolo.

For maximum comfort and good pictures, this mountain should only be climbed during the dry season from June to early September. August is usually the best month for dry weather.

Gunung Semeru is an active volcano. The last major activity on the mountain took place around March 2007. The expedition will be postponed or an alternative destination set if conditions are deemed unsafe. The activity of Gunung Semeru can be monitored at this link.

June 10, 2009
Seeking personal glory is not a bad thing
I REFER to yesterday’s Forum Online letter, “Mountaineering is not about seeking personal glory”. Homo sapiens has it in its DNA to seek personal glory.
Seeking better academic qualifications, trying to excel in sports and striving to lead a better life are all part of that.

This is not bad - for this fuels the drive for research and advancement.

It is a mindset which predominates and which, in quintessence, satisfies the hunger for recognition. Thus, it would be unnatural to dissociate personal glory from the action of climbing a mountain.

Anyone who goes out to test the limits of his endurance and to see if he or she can scale, in this instance, a high peak, need not advertise the action if no glory or recognition is being sought. Instead, he could do it quietly.

Dudley Au