WHO said you have to travel to other countries to see snow? On Feb 28, 154 climbers and guides on Mount Kinabalu experienced a rare snowing phenomenon around the summit.
Kinabalu Park deputy director Justinus Guntapid confirmed that climbers and guides experience snowfall along their trail from the Sayat-Sayat trail to the summit at about 6.40am on Monday.
The last time it was reported snowing in Mount Kinabalu was back in May 2018. It’s not so common to witness snow on the mountain, and official records showed that the phenomenon was only recorded previously in 1975 and 1993.
Guntapid also mentioned that there might have been more similar incidents but was not recorded as they could have happened during hours when no one was on the summit area.
The phenomenon lasted between two and three minutes. “It was a sudden and surprising experience for many of them on the mountain,“ Guntapid said, adding that they initially thought it was sleet that had occurred previously.
One of the witnesses of the phenomenon was Hajiri Sulumin, 47, who recorded a video that was widely shared.
Another TikTok video recorded by user @mrk_ranau2021 near the summit also went viral.