Training to climb Mt Kinabalu

Oh boy. According to Kevin Chia, you should start training two months before your climb.

The typical training programs (relevant if you are based in Singapore) are two months long covering the weekends and they consist of:

(a) Trekking at Macritchie Reservoir to Bukit Timah Hill (About 10 km) and Bukit Timah Hill Parks HQ to its summit (Take the steep slope up, rock path, dairy farm, jungle fall then summit) - This builds up your stamina for the Day 1 of Kinabalu Trek to Laban Rata (abt 6 km).

(b) Stairs climbing at 30-sty HDB Flats (You can choose Toa Payoh Lor 1. There are 40 sty blocks but we felt that the staircases were too short & winding) - This builds up your stamina for the Day 2 of Kinabalu Trek to Summit (abt 3 km).

Crud! I only have one week! If I start training now, wouldn't I be tired by time I get there?

Jame DiBiasio has a harrowing account of her climb up Mt. Kinabalu, all 4,095m/ 13,434ft (and growing) of it. Guess what's the sub-line of her article? "What ever made me think that I could climb Mt Kinabalu?" Ha!

What impulses drive people to go places where they're not welcome? Human beings have no business on mountaintops, even if the mountain is a relatively puny one like Kinabalu. There is nothing to eat, nothing to drink, nothing to shelter us from the wind and the sun, and not even enough air to breathe. The process is expensive and time-consuming and, at times, lonely. It's hell on your knees, your leg muscles, your lungs. Even sleep is denied you by the altitude and the thin air. You are stripped down naked, your willpower exposed. Jame DiBiasio

My only consolation is that I've been training for the half marathon so my cardio-vascular fitness shouldn't be too bad. Am a bit worried about getting altitude sick though. And it strikes at random! And it depends on something called "hypoxic ventilatory response", whatever that means.

Beyond mere huffing and puffing, some people begin to suffer such symptoms as headaches, nausea, and lethargy as low as 8,000 feet. Above 12,000 feet or so, virtually everybody suffers a bit, at least initially. As altitude increases, symptoms can become more severe, including potentially fatal cerebral and pulmonary edema. Oddly, altitude sickness seems to strike almost at random; a vegetarian marathon runner may be laid low while the fat chain-smoking slob in the next tent does just fine. One theory says that one's susceptibility to altitude sickness depends on one's involuntary background breathing rate, or hypoxic ventilatory responses. The higher yours is, the better. A Mountain Climbing Primer

The tips to combat altitude sickness sound just as scary:

The most important thing is to ascend gradually once you get above 10,000 feet or so—ideally, no more than 1,000 feet per day. This gives the body time to acclimatize by building up extra red blood cells and growing more capillaries. Altitude acclimatization days are an inherent part of any mountaineering expedition above 15,000 feet. Acclimatization on Everest takes weeks, with climbers returning to base camp several times to recover before pushing on. Your success as a mountain climber may well hinge on your ability to adjust to a low-oxygen environment.

Secondly, guzzle water like there's no tomorrow. This helps to keep your blood at the proper level of acidity, which affects your natural breathing rate. Thirdly, take Diamox, a prescription diuretic that has been shown to prevent or delay altitude sickness in most people. A Mountain Climbing Primer

Great lah. Laban Rata is at 3,273km (10,738ft) and the climb to the summit is another 822m (2,696ft) which is about 2.7 times above the recommended altitude increase a day.

Since I don't have time to train, I'm willing myself to grow more red blood cells. Does anyone have any tips?

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Update TrainofThot thoughtfully gave the links to two articles on mountain climbing. This article has good tips on treating altitude sickness, and this article has tips on what to bring.

The article reiterates that above 3000 metres, you should not climb more than 300m a day. Brilliant. It also states the side effects of the drug Diamox, and a second drug Dexamethasone that apparently makes you euphoric!

The prescription drug Diamox has been in use for over thirty years as preventative medication for high altitude sickness. It stimulates an increase in breathing, thus helping to maintain oxygenation and aiding acclimatisation. Many dose regimes have been effective with the most common being 250mg twice daily starting at least 24 hours before ascent above 2500m. However, there are possible side effects that include tingling of the lips and fingertips, blurring of vision and alteration of taste. Dexamethasone is a steroid drug that is also used to prevent AMS, although it is not as popular as Diamox and does not aid acclimatisation. The recommended dose for adults is 4 mg every six to eight hours and should be taken at least 24 hours prior to ascent. Short term use of dexamethasone is relatively free of side-effects, although it is usually associated with a euphoric feeling that may mask symptoms of HAPO and HACO.

Interestingly, lots of water, carbohydrate and garlic helps with altitude sickness. Yep, you heard right, garlic!

This, though, is the clincher. It made me laugh out loud. :)

Rapid accent to high altitudes often results in the syndrome known as acute mountain sickness (AMS). The first recording of mountain sickness was in the History of the han Dynasty (Ban gu) in 30 BC, where Chinese travellers named their climbed mountains "Mount Greater Headache, Mount Lesser Headache and Fever Hill".