Must do at Mt. Kinabalu - Via Ferrata

Another must-do attraction up Mount Kinabalu wil be none other than the Via Ferrata experience right from the summit of the highest mountain in Borneo. I first came across the Via Ferrata experience from another local outdoor adventure blogger but I didn't give so much notice about it. I was thinking, oh well, it was just another person climbing up Mt. Kinabalu.

A couple of months later, I stumbled upon the Mountain Torq's website while Googling on "how to prepare for Mt. Kinabalu climb" since I will be stepping foot yet again over at Mt. Kinabalu pretty soon. After checking out the Mountain Torq's official website and watched through their video, I was so amazed and excited about it that I really wanted to do the Via Ferrata too!

First up, what in the world is this Via Ferrata?

A via ferrata (Italian for "iron road". Plural vie ferrate. In German, Klettersteig) is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow via ferratas without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing - Wikipedia

Still clueless about it reading the definition despite above? Oh wait, you didn't bother to read the little Wiki definition I pasted above right? *wink

Alright then, this is a via ferrata.

* a print screen of the Google Images search for "via ferrata mt.kinabalu"

[caption id="attachment_714" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Via Ferrata at Mt.Kinabalu, Sabah"][/caption]

So as clearly seen here, via ferrata is where you climb a rocky mountain that has been fixed with special equipments which allow anyone without rock climbing experience to safely maneuver the mountain. Also, via ferrata by all means is not the same as rock climbing.

What is it doing at Mt. Kinabalu?
For all that I know, it's the World's Highest Via Ferrata and it's right here in Borneo, South East Asia. So what more are you asking? It's the highest in the world so you better land your feet at this via ferrata.

How to get to the starting point of this Via Ferrata?

I don't know if you already have an idea on how to get to this via ferrata. Obviously, if you are used to mountaineering, you would have instantly know the answer to this question. But being silly me, not dumb ( that's an understatement, haha), I just have no idea about where and how to start this via ferrata at Mt. Kinabalu. After much reading, I finally figured that you first have to climb the mountain up until the summit and the ferrata experience starts if you choose to descent down the mountain via the ferrata route. So it goes to show that, if you want to experience the highest via ferrata in the world, like it or not, you have to climb the highest mountain in Borneo- Mt. Kinabalu first. That makes a lot of sense right?

Furthermore, pre-booking is obviously necessary if you choose to follow this ferrata route and most certainly a bigger budget for your all together, unforgettable Mt.Kinabalu experience. As for this coming May which is the month I'm going to climb this mountain, we will not try out on this via ferrata. Hence, there will be more reason to come back to Sabah again soon just for the sake of the via ferrata experience.

If you happen to have done this particular via ferrata, do drop down some comments over at this post. Probably you can share some experience and stories about it with us. =)