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Published: November 18th 2009
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Well, we set of early for Huashan, one of the five sacred Tao peaks like Taishan, in our secretly hired mini bus with our secretly hired mini bus driver. Chatter started early and we soon found ourselves at the ticket station before we knew it. Even though it took about 2 hours to get there. We sort out the tickets for entry and the bus and head in to the National Park, only one entry though and special equipment was used by the security to check if there were any terrorist style devices on board. It is the National Holiday week after all. Can't be too careful!
Pics are taken at the foot of the climb and it's Ready, Set....Go. It was like a stampede. All the more fit and, dare I say, young ones are off at a cracking pace. I'm bringing up the rear, so to speak, in my usual slow and steady pace. My adventures on mountains are usually on my own, I stop for a rest, eat my snacks, take pictures. It's one of the most enjoyable parts of the climb. The solitude and the chance to have a good look around. The rock faces are
incredible. The stairs are sheer. There are 5 peaks to this mountain, we are only going to the first one. There's no time today to reach the highest peak.
So 2.5 hours later the last climb is in sight. I can see the top, and I can see Sheryl trying to take pics of me but a worker is sweeping the steps in front of me. The last 20 steps and the Rocky Theme Song is playing in my head. Da...da da da...da da da da da....da da...da da da...da da da da da.. trying hard nowwwwww, gonna fly nowwwww. And I make it to the top, with a round of applause from everyone in the group, a medal is being hung around my neck, flowers are being thrown at my feet......wait a minute......forget the flowers. A great achievement by everyone today.
If you have ever had the chance to research this mountain, you would have read that it's labeled by some as one of the most dangerous treks in the world. Not much in the way of public safety laws here. If you fall, it's your fault. For all you travelling through China who will use this
as an excuse not to do it, you'll find that the worst parts (see set of stairs pic) have been replaced by new walkways and stairs so that it's an easier challenge. Shame though, I really wanted to do the harness thing and shimmy around the cliff. We did learn that it could have been done further up to the top of the mountain. Too far away for this day trip.
We spent a bit of time at the village and explored around the area. It was quickly getting cold and the afternoon sun had no warmth left in it. So we met the others at the cable car hut and within 15 minutes we were at the bottom again.
Some of us snoozed on the way back to Xi'an but all of us were awake and laughing by the time we reached the city.
Carnivorous Kangaroos?! I remember hearing something years ago and I had to look it up. True story on the meat eating beasties.
So what do you get when you put a mini bus load of Americans, Australians and Canadians together for two days? A bloody fantastic time. Thanks guys.
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Camden
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THANKS!
Hey Lynne, Thanks for the post and the awesome memories. I had a great time with the crew climbing the mountain and finding out about all the other amazing places in China I did not have time to visit. I took some great memories away from the few days I spent in Xi'an! And from the desk at work, the thought of climbing that mountain again seems more appealing. Cheers, Camden