Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
macaques. Note that the giant hollow before you is a
glacial cirque
formed by retreating
ice-fields.
It's another 1km from here to the summit along more switchbacks. Unlike Yushan, the
summit of Snow is rounded and requires no climbing to mount. But you'll want to linger
here and take in the Holy Ridge and other surrounding peaks.
Hikers normally reach the summit of Snow and then return to the trailhead (and their
vehicles) on the same day. You need to leave 369 Cabin no later than 6am to accomplish
this before dark. For reference: from the Main Peak back to the trailhead takes about six
hours (two hours back to 369 Cabin and a further four hours from there to the trailhead).
O' Holy Ridge
HIKING
(O, Shèngléng Xiàn O Xíng Zòngzǒu)
The O stands for the circular nature of this hike (written
as Shengleng Trail on the national park website), which begins and ends at Wuling Farm.
It's also probably the shape your mouth will be in most of the time as you take in what
may be the best high-mountain scenery in the country.
After a hard push on the first day to the ridgeline, you never drop below 3000m for the
next four days as you reach the summit of a half-dozen peaks, including grassy
Chryou
Shan
(3303m), crumbly
Pintian Shan
(3524m), black-faced
Sumida Shan
(3517m), the
sublime
Snow Mountain North Peak
(3703m), and
Snow Mountain Main Peak
(3886m) on the last day.
This is not a trail for the faint-hearted or the inexperienced. You will be required to
scramble up and down scree slopes, navigate narrow ledges with 1000m drops on either
side, and use fixed ropes to climb vertical shale cliff faces. It's a grand adventure but you
need to be prepared.
The trailhead for the O' Holy Ridge is the same as the Chryou Shan trailhead and
starts off the path to Taoshan Waterfall. For a full description of the five-day hike see
ht-
The Holy Ridge (without the O) has several variations. The most popular is a linear
path going from Dabajianshan to Snow Mountain.
Wuling-Quadruple
HIKING
The quadruple refers to four peaks over 3000m that can be climbed relatively easily in
two days. The views are fantastic and permits are easier to get than for Snow Mountain.
The peaks are
Taoshan
(3325m),
Pintian Shan
(3524m),
Chryou Shan
(3303m) and
Kalayeh Shan
(3133m).
The clearly marked trailhead for Taoshan (the first peak) begins off the path to
Taoshan Waterfall in Wuling Farm.
