Older climbers could soon be banned from scaling Malaysia’s tallest peak after four deaths in the last six months.
Last week, a 70-year-old British man died after collapsing near the summit of Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu.
He was the fourth climber to perish on the mountain in under a year. In February, a 65-year-old Malaysian man died after falling unconscious at the halfway point, while two Malaysian climbers aged over 50 perished on the mountain in October and August.
Now, the local tourism minister has said she’s considering an age limit to block some climbers from scaling the 13,435 ft / 4,095m peak, with an aim of stopping further deaths.
“[We] will study further the suitability of having the climber age limit as well as determining its number,” Sabah state tourism minister Christina Liew said in a statement, as reported in the Times.
Minister Liew also reportedly confirmed she was considering a stamina test for climbers and acknowledged that “the fitness of a climber is not necessarily related to his or her age”.
Mount Kinabalu is the third-highest island peak on the planet. The two-day trek to the summit involves steep uphill hiking over uneven terrain and rocky patches. Some routes incorporate via ferrata sections, which require climbers to scramble up ladders and over narrow bridges.
People must be at least 15 years old to climb Kinabalu.
If authorities opt to impose an age limit, Kinabalu would join a handful of other mountains that have banned older climbers from ascending.
For example, you must be between 18 and 60 to climb Mount Everest from China. There’s currently no upper limit for climbers on the Nepalese side of the mountain, although calls for such restrictions grew after the 2017 death of an 85-year-old at Everest base camp.
For more safety information, check out our expert guide to when you shouldn’t go hiking.
