Rejoiceful Moment For 135 Climbers To Be On Top Of Mount Kinabalu

KUNDASANG (Sabah, Malaysia), Dec 2 (Bernama) -- It was a rejoiceful moment for 135 climbers, including 55 foreigners, when they succeeded in their attempt to reach the peak of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, Wednesday. They are the first batch of climbers to reach the peak after climbing activities on the mountain was closed following an earthquake which shook Ranau last June 5. The climbers included national Mount Everest solo climber Ravi Chandran and 20 media representatives, including Noorazlina Jindeh, a Bernama journalist in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah state capital). "We began the climb at 2.30 am from Panalaban (previously known as Panar Laban) and reached the peak, a distance of about 2.7 kilometres, at 6.10 am, with the last person at 7.45 am," said Noorazlina through Whatsapp from the peak of Mount Kinabalu to Bernama. She said the group climbed the mountain using a new path, which she said was quite challenging. "There are many stairs, and there are zones where climbers have to move fast," she added. The group started the climb through Pintu Timpohon at about 8 am Tuesday after the flagged-off by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun. The new path on Mount Kinabalu was made when the old one was found to be no longer safe following the earthquake incident. A US$94,553 (RM400,000) allocation was provided by the government to build the new path. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA