Some Upcoming Hikes

We’ve got two open hikes planned for February.  The first is to Snow Mountain on the 10th-12th and the second is to Dabajianshan on the 25th-27th.  February 27/28th are both holidays and so we’ve got a 4 day weekend then.

Snow Mountain is Taiwan’s second highest peak and a great climb.  Some amazing scenery!

Snow Mountain Facebook Event

Dabajianshan is probably Taiwan’s most distinctive mountain.  Look on the back of a $500NT note, that’s the one!  It’s a great 3 day hike to this huge mountain and back.

Dabajianshan Facebook Event

If you’re interested in joining us on either hike or on some gentler day trips around Taipei, then join the facebook group, Taiwan Adventures – Group Hikes.

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The Holy Ridge – 聖稜線

The Holy Ridge is a razor thin ridge of mountains in the Sheipa National Park that runs from north to south connecting Snow Mountain to Dabajianshan.  This was definitely the toughest hike any of us have done, made all the more difficult given the poor weather we encountered on the most hardest day.

The Holy Ridge

A section of the ridge that we traversed

There are several routes that can be taken when doing the Holy Ridge, Barking Deer have some info here.  We chose to do the ‘O’ route in reverse purely because this was the only way we could get permit!

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100 Fun Things to do in Taiwan

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau have another competition on the go.  This time you need to write about a fun thing to do in Taiwan and provide 5 photographs.  There’s some good stuff on there, scooting through Taroko, wild camping, and lots of hiking including Daba and Yushan.  I wrote about Snow Mountain because I think it doesn’t get as much attention as Yushan despite it being a much more scenic hike.  However you can only write 100 words and so it was very difficult to say anything meaningful about it!  Hopefully my pictures will tell the story!  Here’s a link to it;

 

Hiking Snow Mountain

 

Enjoy and don’t forget to write about your favourite thing to do in Taiwan too!

Snow-capped peak of Snow Mountain in Taiwan

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Snow Mountain, Taiwan (winter 2011)

Returned  to Snow Mountain this weekend in the hope of seeing some snow.  There wasn’t as much as last year, but the trail through the black forest and up the cirque to the peak had a fair amount as well as a lot of ice.  My new 12-point crampons served me well and there was no problem in getting the top to enjoy some fabulous views, even if it was a little chilly!

I’m just going to post of pics of the trip here.  Information about doing this hike can be found on my original Snow Mountain post. Also Barking Deer can help with organising permits/guided trips.

Sunrise from the East Peak of Snow Mountain was exceptioanlly beautiful

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Snow Mountain 2, Taiwan – 雪山

I blogged about climbing Snow Mountain during the winter earlier in the year so I won’t write many details of the hike.  Last time we went, the mountain was covered in deep snow and despite our best efforts we didn’t get to the top, just shy by 300m.  This time we got a permit at the last minute to be in the 369 hut for Friday night which meant that we had to drive to Wuling Farm after work, hike up to 369 at night, sleep for a few hours (earplugs recommended) then get up, hit the peak and come down on Saturday.  We got lucky with the weather.  It was cool and dry and we made it up and down ok but I would suggest to anyone wanting to do this hike to add an extra day/night.

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Snow Mountain, Taiwan – 雪山

Snow Mountain 雪山 is Taiwan’s second highest peak (not counting Jade Mountain’s sub-peaks) and is possibly the most beautiful place in the whole of Taiwan. The main peak is 3886m above sea-level making it a very cold place to be in winter but the scenery is second to none.

So close and yet so far….

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