When my wife, Theresa first "conquered" Mt Kinabalu in 2008 with her old classmate as leader & a merry group of like-minded people, it inspired our family to do the mountain as well. Our second son, Daryl attempted Kinabalu with 3 male buddies in October 2009. Unfortunately one of them suffered mountain sickness & they were also beaten back by rain & high winds at night, just 2 km short of the summit. He learnt a humbling lesson that weather will oftentimes decide success or failure on the mountaintop.So the following year, Theresa sprung the idea of a family "vacation" atop Kinabalu for the four of us. It was an opportune time with both sons inbetween their studies & crucially, we chose April in 2010 to do our attempt, which was right in the middle of the "dry season". Of course, in any season, one can anticipate afternoon rains on a mountain, but there was less chance of heavy downpours / night rains during the months of February through to May.
To ensure a comfortable climb, we equipped everyone with sturdy hiking poles, Deuter backpacks (like the 25litre Zugspitze with an airy cross-frame & mesh back), lightweight quick-dry fleece tops & rain-proof trousers. For safety & trust, we booked Daryl's 2009 mountain guide, Mr Anddy Maz & he absolutely proved to be our guardian angel on Kinabalu.To top it off, we spent top dollar for private rooms with ensuite toilets at the Laban Rata Resthouse, ensuring an early night's rest before the final summit push at 3am. What we didn't bargain for was the next day's long descent & afternoon sprinkles, considering how much time we spent taking in the magnificent landscape above the clouds (see first family picture above). In retrospect, an extra night's rest at Laban Rata after summiting would have allowed us to enjoy more picture-taking time & a speedier descent to Timpohon Gate the following morning, to avoid the afternoon rain.
