The Day The Lions Banner Went Up To
In Commemoration of the club’s 35th
Anniversary
By: Lion Chan Kok Huat, Lions Club of Sungai Petani
I had missed the opportunity twice to climb
When I brought this out in one of our after Lions meetings, Lion Jason Lor Yet Sing decided to join me. We both planned to carry Lions Club of Sungai Petani’s banner up to the peak of the mountain. My initial idea was to carry a smaller PVC banner as it would be lighter. But then since there were two of us, we could take turns to carry the original banner …. So I thought!
Tragedy struck! Our flight was scheduled to leave on the 11th May. On 10th May, Lion Jason called up to say that he was very sick and could not make it. My heart sank. Firstly, Lion Jason was already well prepared for the trip and a pity that he had to miss it. My guess was that he was so over excited for this trip he fell sick. Secondly, there was not enough time to get a PVC banner printed and I had to carry the velvet banner by myself. Imagine the weight of the velvet banner. But still I had to do it!
The
climb to the base camp, Laban Rata started at 10.00 am on 12th May
from Timpohon. It was a 6km trail all the way up. The weather was fine until I
reached the 5th kilometer. It was 3.00 pm when it started to
drizzle.
Fear set in... On the advice of the mountain guide to minimize carrying weight, I had used a small haversack for my essentials. I packed the Lions banner in another plastic bag and carried it separately. My mind was running wild. If it rains heavily, the banner will definitely be soaked and I will be lugging a huge weight. The air was thin and I was already having difficulty in breathing and my pace was really slow. Thank goodness, after 50 metres, the rain stopped. I reached the base camp at 4.00 pm.
After dinner and rest (what rest? I was too excited and it was too cold to sleep! Only 11 degrees), we were told to get ready at 1.00 am for the climb to the summit starting at 2.30 am in total darkness. It was a 3 kilometre trail. “Supper” was served (what do you call a meal at 1.30 am?).
When
we were told not to hand carry other stuff than the haversack (as most of the
time the climbers would be pulling on rope to climb), I made a sling and slung
the banner over my shoulder. I still had the fear of rain in me. God must have
known that I am carrying the Lions banner - the weather was fine all the way.
The only difficulty I had was the slung banner kept bobbing here and there and
at certain stretches it was obstructing my view on the trail (the only light source
was the small lamp on my forehead). I managed to reach the summit by 6.oo am -
strong wind and around 4 degrees. Took a few photographs and the proudest
photographs in my possession right now are the ones taken holding the banner of
Lions Club of Sungai Petani on the top of Mount Kinabalu.
Trekked
down and reached the base camp at 9.15 am and after breakfast, started the home
journey at 10.15 am. Reached Timpohon by 3.30 pm tired out and aching all over
the body. I carried the banner for 18 hours and am really proud of my
achievement. By the way, I did not take any bath at all, it was too cold and no
luxury of hot water. Rinsing the mouth is like putting ice cold water in it.
Right now, as I am typing, the muscles are still swollen. A little twitch
caused a lot of pain from the waist down.
As for Lion Jason Lor, sorry that you did not make it, don’t give up, there will be another trip planned in another 2 years.
Note: The author paid for all expenses by himself, there was no sponsorship involved whatsoever.