Climbing activities fully booked for next few months – Masidi

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KOTA KINABALU: Climbing activities at Mount Kinabalu are fully booked for the next few months beginning from March onwards, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.

Masidi said the response showed that people were eager to climb Mount Kinabalu, adding that most climbers were foreigners.

The fact that the daily limit to the number of climbers scaling Mount Kinabalu had been reduced from 192 to 135 which also meant that the queue was longer, he said.

He said the first trail to Mount Kinabalu, which was named Ranau Trail, had been utilized while the second trail, called the Kota Belud Trail was expected to be ready in March or April this year.

Masidi also announced there would also be a new point called the Aki Point overlooking Ranau town.

He said Sabah Parks director Dr Jamili Nais and friends initially offered to name Aki Point as Masidi’s Point but he rejected the idea consistent with the policy not to take anything from the mountain.

“Aki is part of Aki Nabalu. It is only proper that everything that is there should remain with Aki,” he said this when officiating at the relaunch of the Via Ferrata on Mount Kinabalu by Mountain Torq Sdn Bhd.

Mountain Torq also introduced the Aeroligne System, which is a continuous belay system that allows the climber to be in continuous connection to the safety cable.

Developed in France, the Aeroligne System is the first of its kind in Asia.

He said the reopening of the Via Ferrata marked the beginning of a new episode in an effort to resume activities on Mount Kinabalu.

“On December 1, we opened Mount Kinabalu to 120 climbers daily.”

He said the relaunch of the Via Ferrata would regain the confidence of climbers on the safety level at Mount Kinabalu.

Masidi lamented that Mount Kinabalu was perceived to to be unsafe due to the aftershocks.

“The aftershocks are normal, it does not affect the safety of hikers.

“Sabah Parks is cooperating with those involved to implement measures for the safety of all Mount Kinabalu climbers.”

On another note, Masidi pointed out that there had been a lot of fuss surrounding the renaming of Laban Rata as Panalaban.

He said the Laban Rata was merely the name of one of the accommodations at the pit stop, and it did not carry any meaning.

“The entire place is called Panalaban,” he said, adding that Panalaban meant ‘waiting point’ in the Dusun language.

He said Panalaban had cultural significance to the Dusun community and thus was an improved name for the pit stop on Mount Kinabalu.

Earlier, Masidi said not many people were confident that Mount Kinabalu could be reopened within months since the earthquake on June 5.

“We have gone through a painful journey to where we are now.

“Thanks to the perseverance of all those involved in rebuilding Mount Kinabalu, and with the support of all Malaysians, especially those passionate mountaineers, I am proud to say we have done our job in rehabilitating Mount Kinabalu in a rather short time.”

He said the close-knit mountaineering community of the world, including experts from Japan, Canada and the United States, had immediately volunteered to assist Sabah in rebuilding Mount Kinabalu.

“It also helps a lot that the Prime Minister immediately granted RM10 million in funds for the rehabilitation of Mount Kinabalu.”

Masidi said the staff of Sabah Parks, Kinabalu Park, rangers, mountain guides and villagers around the mountain had put in a lot of effort to ensure climbing activities could resume in December last year.

“Today is a culmination of six to seven months of hard work and the confidence of the public in the safety of Mount Kinabalu.

“It is my hope and prayer that the next few months onwards will be even brighter for Mount Kinabalu.

“Mount Kinabalu has been slightly battered, but it remains strong. Mount Kinabalu remains beautiful. I think that is something we should all be proud of.”

Also present were Sabah Parks chairman Dato’ Seri Tengku Dr. Zainal Adlin Bin Tengku Mahamood, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, STB general manager Datuk Irene Benggon Charuruks, Sabah Parks director Dr Jamili Nais, Mountain Torq director Wilfred Tok and Mountain Torq marketing director Quek I-Gek.