Climbing Gunung Datuk, the 'Highway To Hell'

Stretching before the climb helped avoid muscle cramps later. Here Terence (left) follows Andrew’s lead in going through some moves.

I have to be very honest: a few days before the climb, I had serious thoughts about pulling out from the Star2 Monthly Challenge for Adventure.

I didn’t feel ready for it: my routine of climbing the 18 floors of stairs at our office still drained me every time, and I knew Gunung Datuk would be far, far worse than that. Was barely two months of training (with the occasional hike thrown in) going to be enough for me?