Mt. KinabaluOscar M. Lopez has oftentimes confessed his love for the mountains. He had, in his 70s, climbed most of what the Philippine had to offer—Mt. Pulag in Luzon, Mt. Kanlaon in the Visayas, Mt. Apo in Mindanao. Interspersed with these were ascents of Mt. Arayat, Pico de Loro, Mt. Pinatubo and others. He had gone hiking in Bhutan, and in New Zealand along the slopes of Mt. Cook. He had gone up Mt. Fuji in the company of some of the FPH executives, and was just about to take a Tibetan vacation when China closed the borders of Tibet due to political unrest. In Germany, courtesy of Siemens, he had hiked in the vicinity of Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s famous mountain retreat in the Bavarian Alps.

When OML sets an objective, he does not stray from it. He sets out doggedly after the objective and, come what may, pursues it until it is attained. He maintains a quiet demeanor of gritty determination, but you can see the bulldog stubbornness in his eyes.

Mt. KinabaluOur pace, doing the climb in Kota Kinabalu over five days and four nights, was the right pace for OML, one that would provide him enough time to rest between climbs, to get used to the altitude and thin air. It was also the right pace for us, executives in our 60s who do not normally climb mountains in our spare time.

May 16. Access to Mt. Kinabalu is through the Kinabalu Park, 88 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, standing at an elevation of some 1,563 meters. Mt. Kinabalu lies at the southern boundary of Kinabalu Park and rises to its highest elevation at Low’s Peak at 4,095 meters.

May 17: The climb to Layang- Layang. We board the vans that will shuttle us the four kilometers to Timpohon Gate. We cross Climb of Layang-layangTimpohon Gate to officially begin our climb, and stop momentarily to allow the park ranger to record our tags. We hike at the pace set by the guides and by our leaders, walking behind OML. Everything is uphill four kilometers to the Layang-Layang shed and ranger station. Sometime in the third kilometer, the flora turns to more ferns, mossy-forest types.

May 18: The climb to Laban Rata. We mount up for the day’s climb of two kilometers to Laban Rata, the principal layover lodge at Mt. Kinabalu. From the Layang-Layang hut, the initial ascent is severe. Now, the steps are mainly cut from rock. Unfortunately, as we passed the four- kilometer mark, it began to drizzle and we had to put on our plastic raincoats.

Oscar M. LopezMay 19: The climb to Sayat-Sayat. We rose at about seven and got ready for the day’s scheduled ascent to the ranger station at Sayat-Sayat. It would be our shortest ascent for any given day—only one kilometer—but the expedition leaders felt that it would be a necessary layover to enable all of us to acclimatize ourselves to the higher attitude.

May 20: Reaching for the summit. We set off from Sayat- Sayat while it is still dark. The first part of the ascent, on totally bare rock, is still mildly steep and requires some effort. On our left is the South Peak, said to be just a few meters lower than Oscar M. LopezLow’s Peak. A little further ahead also on our left is St. John’s Peak. And right in front of us is Low’s Peak, the acknowledged highest point of Mt. Kinabalu.

A few final steps and OML steps onto the summit. Angela raises her arms in triumph. Those still on the plateau hiking towards Low’s Peak shout in exultation.

Quietly, I thank OML for the opportunity of making the climb with him. He, too, has a look of quiet satisfaction, knowing that he has achieved his dream. Shortly, the others from Laban Rata begin to join us, till finally, we are all complete at the summit, all 24 of us!

Foot of Mt. Kinabalu May 21: Descending to the foot of Mt. Kinabalu. As expected, the descent from Laban Rata proved to be every bit as difficult as the ascent. We gathered at the lodge restaurant for our victory celebration. Mrs. Lopez had flown in earlier in the day, along with Cedie and several of the grandchildren.

Seven of eight children had made the climb with him, some with their spouses. After dinner, we had a round of speeches and an awarding of the certificates from Kinabalu Park evidencing the fact that all 24 of us had successfully climbed to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu.