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Mount Ophir

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alan_nesbit
alan_nesbit
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3 out of 5
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Gunung Ledang

  • April 22, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by alan_nesbit from Singapore, Singapore
Gunung Ledang

I’ve just climbed the 64th tallest mountain in Malaysia, Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir). At 1276m (4187 feet), it’s taller than anything in England and not far short of Scotland’s Ben Nevis. But this is nothing like trekking in the UK. Starting on day 1, we climbed for 3 hours or so, following the course of a river as it cascaded down the mountainside. This is tropical rain forest, so there are no vistas over the surrounding countryside. The furthest you can see is usually the forest canopy, high overhead. It’s hot and humid.To the sound of distant thunder, we pitched our tents at around 500m. The threatening rain didn’t come to much, but we were still wet through. As dusk fell the sound of insects, present all day, intensified and became a cacophony of whirs, whistles, chirrups, croaks, and taps. For half an hour, the volume was astonishing.By 3:00am, on day 2, we had eaten some breakfast and were on our way, our target being to reach the summit by dawn. We climbed with head torches, following the pools of light as they passed over tangled roots on the path in front of us. Our local guide, Moy, went ahead, climbing with ease. The moon was full, but mostly behind clouds. Although cooler than it was to become later, we needed to drink often.It was still dark when we reached some of the difficult sections of the climb. Ladders and ropes have been put in place where the path is blocked by rocks and fallen boulders. There’s a huge slab of rock at 45° where you must haul yourself up using the ropes. Perhaps it’s just as well, it was still dark and we couldn’t see the full height until the way down.We reached the summit at around 6:30am. It was starting to get light but the sun was still below the low cloud on the horizon. To the north, flashes of lightning light up distant clouds. We rested, watching the world below us change as the mist in the valleys receded and the sun started to shed light on the tops of the trees.After an hour, we started to descend, making our way back to the campsite. After a hasty meal, we packed the tents before heading down to the entrance to the park. Judy has done this climb before and been caught in torrential rain on the way down. I’m happy not to have repeated that experience.We’d had the campsite and summit to ourselves, sharing them only with our guides. Several groups were putting up tents at the campsite by the time we left, and as we descended further there was a steady stream of people heading upward for their climb the following morning. It was going to be busy at the top the following morning.

From journal Climbing Gunung Ledang

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