Date: 10th - 17th November 2001
Venue: Sabah

he thirst for glory, the needs to reach higher heights and the past successes has led the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Group to yet another astonishing expedition at the dawn of a new millennium. As in the history of the group, dating back to 1986 where First KL first conquered Mount Kinabalu, the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Group embarked on a quest to revive the glorious past and yet again conquer the highest peak in South-East Asia, Mount Kinabalu.

At 4,101 metres above sea level, the Mount Kinabalu expedition will take two days of hiking to reach Low's Peak, the summit of the mountain. There are two routes available to the peak. One is the common-taken trail while the other is called the Mersilau Trail, a trail twice as long and twice as tough as the former. Only those who went on the Mersilau Trail will get a certificate upon conquering Mount Kinabalu. We went for the Mersilau Trail.

On the 10th of November 2001, eleven members of the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Group Seniors Troop namely TL Lim Chen Choong, TL Cheong Wai Kit, TL Gary Yoong Sem Whye, TL Eric Goh Hong Leong, TL Yu Ren Fung, SPL Aston Philip Paaiva, SPL Ramakrishna Tharini a/l Sooryanarayana, ASPL Dylan Lee Dyk Kuan, SS Chiew Jian How, SS Yan Chin Fei and SS Jeffrey Goh Hong Soon began their quest to conquer Mount Kinabalu. The nature of the ascent is such that it requires a high level of physical fitness and strong determination, which no doubt come naturally in the members of the First KL.

We started our first ascent on the 13th of November to reach Laban Rata, the one and only stop point on the mountain. This was the place where we would stop and rest before we made our final climb. The journey to Laban Rata took us about eight hours of steep uphill and downhill hike along the trail. This truly pushed our skills to the maximum. Our months of training and preparation were put to use.

On the morning of the 14th of November 2001, we started the last ascent to reach Low's Peak where we would raise the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Group's flag and bring honour to the group as well as the school. The final hike took about two hours in a near sub-zero condition. The average temperature was around 0-5° C. We Finally reached the summit at 5 in the morning. Our effort was not wasted. The flag was brought up to share our success and glory in honour of past leaders and the reputation of the group.

The whole expedition, which ended on the 17th of November 2001, took us eight days. We came home satisfied with our achievement in upholding the name of the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Group and Victoria Institution, and also in strengthening the bond of friendship among members.

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