The Travelling Life of Silvan Colani
May 2001 - Yu Shan, Taiwan
I have been to Taiwan many times for business
but this was the first time that I took some time off to see 'the real Taiwan'. Given my inclination
to climb mountains I thought it a good idea to tackle Yu Shan (Jade Mountain), which, at
3,952 meters is the highest mountain in North East Asia (Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia is the only
higher one in the region).
Organizing this trip was no easy feat, but thanks to the help of the staff at our Taipei office,
I eventually got hold of the necessary permits and a guide. The guide, as it turned out, was a
very serious and dedicated climber, having been up at 8,500 meters on the Tibeten side of Everest
back in 1993. These sort of qualifications were not really necessary for our two day walk up Yu
Shan, but still... Guide Wu spoke little English and so we conversed mostly in my poor Chinese.
Our trip started off at about 2,300 meters from where you have a steady 4-5 hours hike to a little
village at 3,400 meters, where we had lunch. From there we continued up to the summit on a long, winding
route over many treacherous scree slopes. The going was not always easy, but we kept a steady pace.
Having reached the summit, the view was,
unfortunately, not very stunning due to clouds and bad weather. The feeling of achievement and success
was not diminished, however. As we still had time and daylight available, we decided to also climb
the North Peak, which stands at around 3,800 meters. It hosts a well-equiped weather station and
was fairly busy when we arrived at about 4 pm. Everybody knew Guide Wu and treated him was great
respect - I obviously got the best of the best for my journey.
Our original plan was to return to the village at 3,400 m for the night where we had left most
of our gear. However, since the weather started to deteriorate and there was plenty of space and blankets
available at the North Peak, the weather man (below, bottom left) was kind enough to invite us for the night.
Having decided to settle for the night,
the assembled group of stranded hikers started to prepare a very sumptous dinner. I have heard
tales of superb food in remote mountain camps before, but the Chinese buffet these guys produced
at 3,800 meters was just amazing. We spent the rest of the evening around a fire listening to Guide
Wu's mountain stories and drinking large quantities of some homegrown spirit.
As with all mountaineers, we went to bed reasonably early, for a 5 am start next morning. There
was a typhoon approaching and as a result, there was no spectacular sun rise, but only rain and
clouds. We bode farewell and made our way back down the mountain, on the most difficult part of the track.
Maybe it was the lousy weather, maybe it was the early hour, maybe it was the spicy food from last
night which showed its after-effects or maybe it was just that long slope down and back up which
drained a lot of my energy. Eventually, we reached the village and stopped for breakfast. I was sure
glad that we did not return here for the night since the place was absolutely packed - at least 40
people had slept there (and snored, I imagine).
Guide Wu's breakfast was excellent and huge (this guy could EAT!!!). We left and returned to our
starting point, satisfied with two days of good exercise but little in terms of good view. All in all,
an interesting experience and I certainly got to see another side of Taiwan from the hotel lobbies
in Taipei.