As Taiwan’s highest mountain at an altitude of 3,952 meters, Yushan (meaning JadeMountain), also known as “the first peak in Northeast Asia,” represents Taiwan’s spiritual fortress.
Among the Taiwanese, ascending to the main peak of Yushan has become a personal mission for overcoming life’s challenges, but it has also become one of the main attractions for many foreign mountaineering enthusiasts to come toTaiwan.
▲玉山主峰遠眺群峰 | Overlooking the mountaintops from Yushan’s main peak. (Courtesy of Chu Yen-yen)玉山國家公園高達3600公尺的海拔落差高度，造就了生態多樣性的景致與特色，從生態景致從亞熱帶、暖溫帶、冷溫帶一直到高山寒原等氣候與生態，登山者可明顯感受到四季更迭，變化萬千的美麗景致。
Yushan National Park owes the ecological diversity of its scenery and features to being located 3,600 meters above sealevel.Traveling through subtropical, temperate warm and cold environments up towards alpine cold climate, climbers can clearly experience all four seasons with its changing naturalbeauty.
One month before climbing Yushan, visitors must first register online for a mountain lodge at “Hike Smart TaiwanService,” and fill in a detailed itinerary and personnel information. Also worth noting, Paiyun Lodge(排雲山莊) is equipped with only 116 beds, so you better have luck on your side.
Teams climbing Yushan usually stay at Dongpu Lodge(東埔山莊) in Nantou County’s Xinyi Township the day before, then set off from Paiyun Station at 6 a.m. the next day on a shuttle bus to Yushan Mountain.
After getting off the shuttle bus at an elevation of 2,610 meters, a large stone slap indicating the entrance to a gentle slope up Yushan which lasts around 45-minute, during which, hikers can enjoy a vast panoramic view of mountains and peaks to theright.
At 1.7 km lies the Menglu Pavilion(孟祿亭) in memory of the American, Dr. Meng Lu, who died in Yushan in 1952.
▲玉山登山口塔塔加鞍部出發，一路之字緩上陡坡，映入眼簾的是雲杉原始林，是全台相當少見的林相。| Starting from the Yushan mountaineering entrance at Tataka, the zigzagging path slowly climbs up steep slopes covered in a virgin spruce forest – very rare in Taiwan. (Courtesy of Chu,yen-yen)過了孟祿亭後緩坡攀行，海拔高度約莫3,000公尺，此區域的林相很明顯地轉換為冷溫帶針葉林，主要以鐵杉為主，混雜著紅檜木，參天巨木圍繞四周。隨後兩旁樹蔭漸少，視野逐漸開闊，幸運的話可以遠眺玉山南峰和前鋒。
After the Menglu Pavilion, the slope reaches an altitude of about 3,000meters.
The forest in this area contains features typical of a cold temperate coniferous forest, mainly dominated by hemlock, mixed with red cypress, and surrounded by giant trees stretching up to thesky.
Then, tree shade begins to dissipate on both sides, and one’s view graduallywidens.If lucky, you can overlook beyond Yushan South Peak and other nearbymountaintops.
After a rest, the climb continues for about 40 minutes when hikers reach Yushan’s famouslandmark,“Big Cliff.”
This steep rock slope is a natural landscape carved up by the Eurasian plate and Philippine tectonic plates, and when taking the trail through the slope, humanity’s smallness can be felt when under Yushan’s BigCliff.
▲參天巨木縈繞兩側，人顯得十分渺小。| Towering giant trees line both sides, making visitors seem minuscule. (Courtesy of Chu yen-yen)距離排雲山莊僅剩一小時路程，接下來路線越區陡峭崎嶇，而最後一段被稱為「好漢坡」的陡峭階梯，更讓人走到幾乎快崩潰。
Only one hour away from Paiyun Lodge, the next route us rugged and crosses the area moresteeply.The last step is called Haohanpo(好漢坡), or “Hero’s Slope”, because its steepness causes hikers to almost faint.
▲玉山佛甲草為台灣特有種植物，盛開於六月中旬至八月底，多生長在台灣中高海拔裸露岩石或道路兩旁。其肥厚肉質，有如指甲形狀，而得其名。|The Morrisor Stonecrop is an endemic plant in Taiwan, blooming from mid-June to the end of August. It grows mostly on Taiwan’s high-altitude bare rocks or roads. Its fat and fleshy shape not unlike a fingernail is what gives it its Chinese name: 玉山佛甲草 (the Yushan Buddha Nail). (Courtesy of Chu Yen-yen)
▲尼泊爾籟簫又名玉山籟簫，屬於菊科，外層密佈長綿毛，花期落在七月至十月，多生長於3,200公尺以上高山群峰及岩原。| Anaphalis Nepalensis , also known as the Yushan pearly everlasting, belongs to the Asteraceae family, is densely covered with long trichomes (or “plant hair”), and blooms from July to October. This flower’s ideal habitat are peaks and rock plains over 3,200 meters high.(Courtesy of Chu, yen-yen)位於8.5公里處的排雲山莊海拔標高3,402公尺，提供水源、廁所、廚房等設施。
Located at an altitude of 3,402 meters above sea level at 8.5 kilometers, Paiyun Lodge provides water, bathrooms, and kitchenfacilities.
▲排雲山莊 | Paiyun Lodge (Courtesy of Chu Yen-yen)山莊供餐以及睡袋租賃委外經營，如果不想自己煮飯，可以事先訂購排雲山莊伙食，也可以租賃睡袋，減少背包重量，如此的服務與設備，簡直是登山界的五星級住宿。
The restaurant and the sleeping bag rental are run by separatecompanies.
If you don’t want to cook your own meals, you can order meals offered by Paiyun Lodge in advance, and it’s also possible to rent sleeping bags to reduce the weight of thebackpack.Such services and equipment are basically five-star accommodation in the mountaineeringworld.
Built adjacent to Yushan’s main peak and Xifeng peak, the lodge is surrounded by all these mountaintops, facing the valley with a wide view of thesouth.This position makes it an excellent place to view both the vast ocean and clouds above, which are best enjoyed at around 5 p.m. during autumn andwinter.
▲排雲山莊觀賞日落雲海 | Paiyun Lodge under sunset-bathed clouds. (Courtesy of Chu Yen-yen)隔天清晨三點，是攻頂玉山的團隊準備整裝出發最佳時間，離開排雲山莊後的路段就是一路之字型的陡坡，加上高山反應讓很多登山者會有缺氧喘不過氣的狀況。
The following morning at 3:00 am is the best time for the Yushan hikers to start making their way to themountain.
The road after leaving Paiyun Lodge is a zigzag-shaped steep slope whose high altitude makes many climbers breathless, while the road’s loose gravel increases a sense of unease, although some sections of the road have iron chains to supportit.
With a low morning temperature of fewer than 5 degrees, the road seems endless as the shuttle’s headlights illuminate the path ahead, and it’s not easy reaching Xiaofengkou(小風口) as strong winds make standing upright difficult.
Only 200 meters away from Yushan’s main peak and the final trek of this zigzagging slope is so steep, it seems like a stairway to the sky, so grasp onto the iron chain beside you and climb carefully until you’ve finally completed the final 2.3-kilometertrial.
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If you’re lucky and depart early enough in the morning, you will arrive at the peak in time to enjoy the sunrise bathing the sea and clouds – an undeniably unforgettable sight tobehold.
▲玉山主峰標高3,952公尺 | The elevation of Yushan’s main peak is 3,952 meters high. (Courtesy of Chu Yen-yen)原文自 《The China Post》