On Saturday 8th August, Mount Kinabalu’s new limits are tested after the June 5th earthquake by a group of 88 climbers, who are mostly Sabah Park’s staff, rangers, mountain guides and some members of the media too.
It’s been 2 months since the 5.9-magnitude earthquake, and the climbing group will be testing out the challenges of the new trail after the extensive repairs, with the aim of reaching the Laban Rata plateau at 3,333m altitude.
Sabah’s state Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun, reports: “We have repaired the damaged routes and built new paths…This may not be the final trail but whatever we end up with will likely be more challenging [than] the previous route.”
Masidi also went on to disclose the alternative route will be half the capacity of the previous summit trail, which means the number of climbers would be limited to less than 100 a day.
Dr Jamili Nais, Director of Sabah Parks’, commented this alternative route will only be a day climb with a ‘cut-off’ time of 2PM. Climbing to the summit is closed and still under review because there are still extensive safety measures that need to be met. Recommendations of the worlds’ mountain experts from Canada, Italy, Spain and Japan, concerning the ascent from Laban Rata to the summit, are being given great consideration for the necessary action.
Contact us for more information about climbing to the Laban Rata plateau come September, and follow our Facebook and Twitter for the next update on Mount Kinabalu.
