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If staying at Panar Laban the next phase of the
climb begins at about 3.00am the next day after you had having your early
breakfast (at least a hot drink is advisable) and the climb up to Sayat-Sayat
and the summit plateau. As there will be only one stop at Sayat-Sayat Hut for
another registration, given a whistle for safety precaution and refilling your
water, it is advisable for you to bring your own small water bottle to refill
water.
Above Laban Rata, the trail continues as a series
of wooden ladders, fashioned out tree roots and branches. This is where a good
torchlight is essential. This gives way to flatter, more easy walking just below
Sayat-Sayat, when the true edge of the tree-line is
reached. It would take about 45 minutes to Sayat-Sayat. This is the highest
mountain hut at 3810 meters (12,500 feet).
 Ropes are fixed at difficult places, but these are more to inspire confidence
than from necessity. Please be close to the rope. You would not get lost if you
stay close by. Tough grasses and other plants cling to rock cervices, flowering
and fruiting only a few centimeters tall. You will pass the 8km mark with the
South Peak and St. John's
Peak on your left. From here the bare granite slabs stretch endlessly
ahead to the pile of jumbled rocks that is Low's Peak - reached at last in time
to catch the sunrise. The view of the surrounding peaks is magnificent. About
6.00am, you will be able to see the peak clearly. This is usually the best time
to take pictures of the sunrise and the peak. By 7.00am, most of the climbers
will start to climb down the summit, back to Laban Rata.
On the way down, you can ask your guide to show the direction to see the
'sacrifice pool'. It is actually a pond where the
early explorers reported that their Kadazandusun guides performed religious
ceremonies to appease the spirit of the mountain as well as the ancestral
spirits who lived there. If it is cold enough, you may see a thin layer of ice
formed on the surface of the pond.
  Further down on your right will be the South Peak.
If the weather is clear, you will also be able to see
Kundasang and Ranau town from here. Along
the summit plateau, you will walk down with your Ugly Sister's Peak and Donkeys
Ears on your left. Soon, you will arrive at Sayat-Sayat
Hut and you can refill your water bottle with the mountain water. You
will arrive in Laban Rata after about 45 minutes.
Most climbers will arrive at Laban Rata at about 9.00am. You can now prepare
yourself and your backpack for the descent. You can have some breakfast, check
out from Laban Rata and climb down with your guide slowly. Please be very
careful, most accidents were happening during the decent.
 After climbing down you will arrive at Timpohon Gate.
There will be a bus waiting for you to pick you up and send you to the
Kinabalu Park HQ office where you will be given a
certificate. If you reached the summit, you will be given nice colorful
certificate, but if you only arrive at Sayat-Sayat or only Laban Rata, you will
only be given a grayscale certificate. The certificate was signed by your guide.
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