Thursday, August 21, 2014

A Mirror Image

How ironic! APOH Chapter 8 resulted in Day 1 failure (due to rain) and Day 2 success in reaching Mt Kinabalu summit. It was a total opposite scenario compared to last year's event. One of the climbers thinking it will be dejavu, switched last minute to climb on Day 1 but encountered the same failure he had on Day 2 last year. What a gamble!



APOH Chapter 8 held from the 12th – 16th July had a total of 229 climbers. Day 1 climbers totalled 115 pax and Day 2 climbers totalled 114 pax. This year APOH also had participants from 10 other countries apart from the usual Malaysians and Singaporeans. In all the 8 years of APOH, this year was seen the largest climbing contingent ever. Among the climbers were day trippers (going up and down Mt Kinabalu in one day). They were luckier as they had success on both days. Sad to say that this could be last time the Mt Kinabalu park management is allowing day trippers up the mountain.


As usual like on all other years, there are climbers making 'remarkable' journey up the mountain. One of which reached Laban Rata at midnight, she was an Indonesian and she was one of the participants that signed up last minute, thus evidently no training effort made. One of my constant advice to new climbers is, never underestimate Mt Kinabalu although many have climb it. We had one family turned back (a first in all the years of APOH) when they reached kilometre number 2 as they couldn't imagine themselves doing it anymore. The mountain indeed was quite torturing for them as one of them had an injured leg coming down.



Whether success or failure during the climb up Mt Kinabalu, APOH Chapter 8 carries on hopefully to reach the RM200,000 donation collection target. Up until today, our collection had surpassed well over the middle mark of RM100,000. We still have time as the year hasn't drawn to a close. Indeed excitement has died down but not our spirit to collect donation.


As one would say, the FUN is over but raising FUND is just starting. My sincere wish for all who had participated in APOH Chapter 8, is that we continue to solicit donation as you had benefitted in some way or another from being part of A Piece Of Hope. Help us help Rumah Keluarga Kami. The donation form is downloadable from this blog, just look to the right hand side to find it.

 Day 1 trekkers at Zen Garden Resort 2014

(click photo above to download)