Climbing China’s Treacherous Mount Hua

Ever receive a forwarded email containing a dubious photo? You might have received this one under the subject line “the world’s most dangerous hike” or, alternatively, “Sunday walks for the clinically insane.” In the picture, three narrow wooden planks rest against a wall of solid rock. Snow-capped mountains appear in the distance. You can’t see much of the drop below but you know it’s a big one, the same way you know that whoever built this path must have been one egg short of an omelette.

This mysterious photo haunted my dreams. Further investigation revealed that the picture was in fact real, the hike did exist and I’d be able to find those planks on Mount Hua, a two-hour drive from the historic city of Xi’an, in central China. Scaling the Cliffside Plank Path, the “No. 1 steep road on Mount Hua,” as a nearby signboard read, required no climbing experience, and since I had none, I packed my bags and headed east to burst the bubble of an internet legend.

Mount Hua is one of China’s five sacred mountains and, as such, it’s a popular domestic tourist attraction. The parking lot was full when I arrived, and cable cars were busy ferrying passengers to the peak’s base. Considering the many tour buses, I began to wonder if I was in the right place. After all, I’m a thrill seeker, not a souvenir collector. Until, that is, I noticed the optional accident insurance available with the entrance ticket. The prospect of injury and death elevated this hike from the get-go.

At the end of the cable car line, various temples and tea houses were open to the public, accessible by long cement paths that snaked to the mountain’s four peaks. No hiking boots in sight, although cheery Chinese of all ages wore thin white gloves to hold onto the cold, heavy iron chains that bracketed the path. Thousands of engraved locks were sealed to the chains, rusted blessings through the decades. When I had left Xi’an, it was scorching; I hadn’t expected Mount Hua to turn icy, its trees to be covered in snow. The higher I walked, the more inadequate my thin sweater became. “We don’t encourage foreigners to visit Hua,” a guide had explained to me earlier. “Too dangerous.” We’ll see about that.

The Cliffside Plank Path is 2,160 metres high, located between the south and east peaks. Heavy tourist traffic petered out to nothing as I approached a beautiful temple, walked around a boulder and almost spewed my pistachio snack right off the sheer rock face. A sign indicated it would cost 30 RMB ($4.50 CDN) to continue and, after forking over the cash, a young guy casually handed me a harness and a set of carabiner hooks. My hands were freezing and, in an act of compassion, he took off his gloves and gave them to me. He probably thought me an idiot who was in way over his head. He was right.

Iron bars had been fastened into a crevice and I scaled down them slowly. The drop was deadly, the view of the surrounding mountains killer. A few metres down, I reached the thin, cracked planks. It was exactly as it had appeared in the photo. Clipping onto the chain above, I shuffled along the rock face, overwhelmed by the silence, the mountains, the beauty, the cold. A one inch piece of wood was all that separated me from the void.

The World’s Most Dangerous Hike? No, wherever that is, I hope it’s not open to the public. The World’s Scariest Hike? Now there’s an accurate subject line for your emails back home.

If You Go:

Mount Hua is a two-hour drive or three-hour bus ride from Xi’an. It’s open daily to the public, year-round. Entrance to the national park costs 100 RMB ($15 CDN), accident insurance (covering medical and death) is 5 RMB (75 cents) extra. Bring thin gloves and warm clothing. The trails are steep, slippery and not for the timid.

Robin Esrock is co-host of the OLN travel series Word Travels.

From Outpost Issue 65

This entry was posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 11:58 am and is filed under Thrill Seeker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.