YES, you can climb Mount Kinabalu in ONE day, climb up in the morning, and climb down in the afternoon. I called Sabah Parks Ranger office just now, inquiring about the possibility of 3 US citizen summit Kinabalu in ONE day. They said it is possible, but there are few things that you have to do.
1. You have to present yourself (and your two other friends) in Kinabalu Park at least a day before your intention to climb. Look for the Manager of the Park, Mr. Haji Abdul Wahab and ask to get the permission & permit to climb in one day. If he is not around, look for the Kinabalu Park Ranger On-Call, and mention the same thing. If everything is satisfactory, You will then can check in to where you have book for your night stay.
2. For ONE day climb, you will then be allowed to climb next morning after confirmation from the Rangers. Guide, insurance and permit is compulsory, i.e. guide will be around RM100-150 for the group, insurance will be around RM10 and permit will be RM100 per person. Certificate of achievement is optional (RM10). All fees to be paid next morning before the climb.
3. You need to start climbing very early next morning, usually before 7am. Better to wake up at 6, and head to the Park office and you will be allocated the guide for you. You will start the climb earlier than other regular climber.
4. You will not allowed to continue your climb to the peak, if you are not able to reach Laban Rata before noon (12pm) or if the weather is not permitting.
Remember, you need to be really FIT, maybe as fit as a climbathon runner… or maybe at least 50%of their ability…
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks to Dr. Ruhaizad’s reply about the possibility to have a day climb to the Mt. Kinabalu, I actually made it last week. But my experience is a little bit different from the article.
To avoid a 2-hour one-way travelling to the HQ from my hotel before the climb, I gave a phone call to the HQ manager about my intention. After a brief hesitation, he said there was not much problem about this and asked me to show up next morning to contact an officer in the HQ before the climb.
I met the officer next morning in the office around the HQ. Initially he refused my request for the sake of my safety. After some discussion and negotiation, he finally approved my day climb but set a time limit of 4 hours within which I needed to get to the summit, otherwise I had to return. When the weather turned worse, I had to return too. After some bargaining, he agreed to extend the time limit to 5.5 hours.
Anyway, it was a great tour as I like the mountain which is very beautiful. With the help of the guide, Andrew, who kindly carried my bag for me, we got to the summit in about 4.5 hours. It was a good and memorable trip in Sabah.
regards,
alex ng
Thanks for the feedback, Alex!
Congratulations on your trip to Kinabalu also!
Hi, very valuable information!.. Thank you! My colleague and I are very keen on climbing Mt Kinabalu during an official 2.5 day trip to K.K. Surely we won’t have the time for an overnight stay hence wish to do it in 1 day. I have been trying to get the number for the Head quarters but have been unsuccessful in attaining it. Would greatly appreciate if either one of you could please send me the contact details for the appropriate person to get in touch with for making my trip possible. Once again thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Fariha Q.
@ Fariha:
You may want to contact Sabah Parks directly for more information on the one day climb.
Telephone: +6088-211881
Good Luck!
Thank you … Truly appreciate it!
Some updated info as of March 2010. I just talked to the park HQ about climbing the mountain in a day. The Park # is 6088 889-095. They said I need to show up by 7 am the morning of the climb. Based on weather they will determine if I can go. If I can, I then need to be back by 4:30 pm when the park HQ closes for the day.
Hope this is helpful.
Hey,
Just did the one day climb so hopefully this will help! The only way to do the one day climb is to talk to the park ranger, the park ranger then goes down to the office with you and he’ll let you do it. You pay and then go on a different day (the day after or two days after). For two people, it’s 299 rm, which includes a guide. You still need to pay for transportation there, the park fee, and any food that you want to bring.
Hey! Congratulations, one-day climbers. Me and my wife are intending to do so in june, so every info will be welcomed. How hard was it? How much time from the gate to the summit? Are you professional athletes or are you training regularly?
thanks, David&Eva
I intend to do a 1 day climb but it’s stated that you have to be really fit to do it. So as a normal person who doesn’t exercise regularly, will that be a big hindrance?
@Farah: YES, of course!
You don’t need to be that fit. It defintely wasn’t the hardest physical activity I’ve done… that being said, you need to make it to Laban Rata by 1 pm at the very latest.
My friends are on our way to a 3D/2N climb to Mt K in April. We are departing on a 8pm flight back to to KL on the same day of our descend. However, a friend strongly advised that we should not take a flight on the same day for it may have adverse effect on our health. Is this true?
Thank you.
I managed the climb in one day last week, its tough but definately achievable! Need to check in early (7 am) and get going ASAP. Managed to get up to Laban Rata in 2:15 hrs and summit about 4:35. Last stage of mountain is tough really steep and altitude kicks in so every exertion is multiplied X10 ( prob didn’t help i didn’t have any breakfast, helps to be prepared the day be4!) The view from the summit was very poor, the clouds were heavy. Met other climbers who did the overnight package and had been up for sunrise and said it was spectacular.Comin down was almost the hardest, had crap shoes so kept slipping and my energy levels were really low so was hard to focus on my footing. Grabbed some food in Laban Rata anyway and that made a big difference, the rest of the trip down was really enjoyable and included stops to see pitcher plants and the waterfall. Got back to park headquarters around 5, and got a taxi straight back to KK.
All in all a great experience. If you have the time (and money) i would say do the overnight experience on Laban Rata as you can saviour it a bit more. I just didn’t want to pay for the Monopoly that is SSL and their accomodation, but no alternative if you want to be able to get up for sunrise view from summit! In relation to flying that day i would say
its fine especially if your doing the 2 day package as you’ll be back down in park HQ by lunchtime so will have time to rest.
A hiking buddy and I did a one day Climb in April this year. Wonderful achievement and experience! Certainly doable but gotta get there early. We spoke to the Parker officer Ranisun (tel: 014 856 6061) and had a “phone interview” about our fitness etc with him. Must get the permission from him for a one day climb as it is not hugely encouraged. It also took a bit of persuasion to get the permission from him. As long as you it cleared the day before the walk, you will save much time do this in the morning of your walk. Get to the office at 6:45am (it opens at 7am) to ensure you can start early enough for the walk. Remember to bring your walking stick as I found it extremely helpful on the slippery parts as well as coming down the big steps.
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