Climbing Mt Kinabalu SABAH with kids

We did that a few years ago when they our kids were 13, 10 and 8.

It is a long ardous trek - cold, wet and tough. The 13 y.o and I made it to the top. My wife and the 8 & 10 y.o. stopped at the last cabin before the peak (as did some other adults). They all did extremely well, though.

You can read more here. .

It will be a challenge for your family. This is not just a two day hike.

We were not warned of any possible health affect for the kids at that altitude- and they were fine.

David

My husband did the climb this summer when we were in Sabah with our kids. He did not take the kids and was extrememly glad not to have done so as it was a really tough and, at times dangerous climb. We waited at the bottom for him to come down and nealrly everyone was limping into the home straight obviously absolutely exhausted. He is very fit and found it very very hard. I would really think twice before taking kids up there. There are so many fun things for them to do in Borneo but I don't really think this is one of them !

I don't think( and I am no expert) that this height should be a problem. I think around 3200 metres you can start to get altitude difficulties but only if you are going higher. After about 3200m you should end each day only a few hundred metres higher than you started your day. So during the day you can go up quite high as long as where you sleep is only a few hundred metres up from the beginning of the day. It sounds like you sleep 2/3 of the way up(no problem) Then go up and back in a day....hence no probs. I havent done this walk but appreciate the other 2 experienced walkers who posted. Congratulations to those kids. I assume your kids have had some experience Candice and this isnt a first time tramping.My kids have done heaps of trekking and as your husband is a kiwi Im sure he has done heaps of tramping as New Zealand is one of the most fantastic places (in my opinion )for tramping. My kids did the cradle mountain walk(6days) in Tasmania at your kids age and people on the track ranged in opinion from we were mad to bring them to total amazement that they could do that walk. We knew what they were in for and also what they were capable of and we were also lucky to have great weather. Before you get your hopes up about them doing this climb be sure you know what they are capable of and dont be disappointed if you have to abort the climb.....theres been heaps of people waiting year after year to climb everest...but most of them had the sense to abort etc when things go wrong ie bad weather health etc....the mountains not going anywhere

I don't think( and I am no expert) that this height should be a problem. I think around 3200 metres you can start to get altitude difficulties but only if you are going higher. After about 3200m you should end each day only a few hundred metres higher than you started your day. So during the day you can go up quite high as long as where you sleep is only a few hundred metres up from the beginning of the day. It sounds like you sleep 2/3 of the way up(no problem) Then go up and back in a day....hence no probs. I havent done this walk but appreciate the other 2 experienced walkers who posted. Congratulations to those kids. I assume your kids have had some experience Candice and this isnt a first time tramping.My kids have done heaps of trekking and as your husband is a kiwi Im sure he has done heaps of tramping as New Zealand is one of the most fantastic places (in my opinion )for tramping. My kids did the cradle mountain walk(6days) in Tasmania at your kids age and people on the track ranged in opinion from we were mad to bring them to total amazement that they could do that walk. We knew what they were in for and also what they were capable of and we were also lucky to have great weather. Before you get your hopes up about them doing this climb be sure you know what they are capable of and dont be disappointed if you have to abort the climb.....theres been heaps of people waiting year after year to climb everest...but most of them had the sense to abort etc when things go wrong ie bad weather health etc....the mountains not going anywhere

Sorry about this double posting. Candice if youre a kiwi too then youll know what mud is like.I imagine that this could be a very muddy ascent as I took the girls on a 3 hour walk in the cameron highlands on the mainland of malaysia...it was sooooo muddy but probably like nz walking s.island...stewart island to be precise Mmmmm memories.let us know what you decide . We only can guess as to your level of experience etc

A great part of the world. I made the climb a number of years ago and there were a few children in the group. As many adults as kids did not make it to the top, a combination of altitude and fitness issues. It is not a particularly steep climb, but everyone who was not used to altitude found it very heavy going after 10,000 feet, if you were also unfit this was a big problem.

Overall I think it is worth giving it a go so long as you can get the kids up to a decent level of fitness. RTW's link brought back some great memories.

I climbed almost to the top of Mount Shasta in the US when my kids were 8, this is higher than Kinabalu. I was the one with the altitude headache and made them turn back - they were running around having a snowball fight at the edge of one of the glaciers. Lots of fun until one broke her ankle and I had to carry her down. With no-one to help and the other 8 year old carrying the backpack almost as big as her none of us was in particularly good shape by the time we arrived back at the car park.