Mount Kinabalu (all images)

Mt Kinabalu, which lies in Sabah in northern Borneo, is at 4100 m the highest peak between the Himalayas and Papua New Guinea. Despite its height it is very easy to climb and does not require any special equipment or training. Anybody with sufficient stamina can climb the mountain - during my first climb in 2000 for instance I met a team of Japanese retirees on the peak. The climb begins at the Timpohon gate (1866 m altitude) and climbers usually make it to the Laban Rata resthouse at 3300 m on day one. Most of the climbers leave the next morning between 3am and 4am in order to reach the summit at 6am to experience the spectacular sunrise. It's important not to arrive to early on the summit, to avoid freezing in the cold night waiting for the sunrise. Adapting to the height is not really an issue, because Mt. Kinabalu is not that high (only 4100m - compare that to the Kilimanjaro, which is almost 6000m high) and because the whole climb lasts about 24 hours. Within 24 hours you go up and down.