1 Day Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Hiking Adventure (5100 Meters) from Yuhu Village

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山), is located in the northwest of Lijiang, Yunnan province of China. It is an extremely mountainous area in the subtropics of Yunnan province. From the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, there is a complete vertical spectrum of natural landscapes, with micro-climates that include a subtropical temperate zone,  snow covered areas, glaciers, alpine meadows, primitive forests, waterfalls & deep gorges unlike any other place on earth. The mountain is composed of thirteen peaks, arranged vertically from north to south, extending nearly fifty kilometers, and about thirteen kilometers from east to west. It takes on the appearance of a huge dragon. The Naxi indigenous people, called the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain “Bo shi ou nu” ( 波石欧鲁, which means the silver rock of Baisha(白沙). The mountain is sacred to the Naxi and other indigenous folk of Lijiang. The main peak of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is Shanzi peak, (Fan Peak/扇子陡), with an altitude of 5596 meters. It is the highest mountain, at the lowest line of latitude, in the northern hemisphere.

The hiking route to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain brings the nature enthusiast strikingly close to the main peak. The ascent begins at Yuhu village(玉湖村) with an altitude of 2400 meters. You will climb past three mountaineering camps that  all have different landscapes and finally arrive at the Snow Mountain Grand Canyon (雪山大峡谷) with an altitude of 5100 meters. From here you will be struck by the awesome view of the main peak, Shanzi. Anyone who travels here will be impressed and inspired by the power and beauty in proximity to the peak, one of the first in the Himalayan Range. This route is the most popular with backpackers and hiking enthusiasts at home and abroad, because of its rich cultural and natural landscapes. If you chose this route, you can depart from the Old Town of Lijiang, hike the beautiful mountain path, and return to the Old Town in the same day.

Yuhu village, the first village of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, is named for the local lake “Yu Hu(玉湖)”. It is also known as “Wu Nu Ke(乌鲁可)” in the native Naxi language, it means “at the foot of the Snow Mountain”. Yuhu village is also known as “Xue Song village (雪嵩村)” referring to Jade Dragon Hill nearby. About twenty kilometers north in the Dayan ancient town, all the houses are built of stone,  the typical style of ancient buildings. The westerner, Joseph Rock, a wandering explorer, established a base for National Geographic Magazine and made his home in Yuhu village. He happily lived the rest of his days in the legendary Shangri-La region, where he chronicled and experienced the biodiversity as well as the ethnically diverse, profoundly rich Chinese culture.

Xuesong Village (雪嵩村)

雪嵩村

Hiking highlights

You can experience and enjoy the cultural landscapes of Yuhu village (it is the closest village away from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also the primitive village lived the Naxi nationality), and a complete natural landscape, including glacier, alpine meadow, primitive forest, and flow sand landforms on the way, finally reach the Snow Mountain Grand Canyon to see the Shanzi steeper(扇子陡).

Equipment or instruments:

Comfortable mountaineering shoes ( especially with high soles, it will be very fast when you do down the sands), sun helmet, sunglasses, alpenstocks, cold suits with light weight, a single day knapsack of 20-30L, a water glass(there is always clear and clean water), some solid food for energy. What’s more, as the elevation rises from 2400 to 5100meters, although oxygen can be provided to prevent high altitude reaction, it would be better that people with cardiovascular(心血管疾病的) and cerebrovascular（脑血管疾病的） diseases or heavy colds do not participate in the trip.

Routine and cost:

Routine:

Yuhu village (2400m) —— Qaomai area—-Camp three (leech dam, 3400m) — Camp two (Xunqing valley) —Camp one (the sand slope, 4600m)—the Snow Canyon (5100m). This routine is about twenty kilometers and takes seven to eight hours.
Routine in Chinese： 玉湖村（2400m）－－荞麦地－－3号营地（蚂蝗坝，3400m）－－2号营地（殉情谷）－－1号营地（流沙坡，4600m）－－雪山大峡谷（5100m）

Cost:

One hundred and thirty five yuan per man to get into Jade Dragon Snow Mountain; one hundred and ten yuan per man for visiting Yuzhuqingtian spots; two hundred per person for the round trip (shared by all the passengers); five hundred per man for the local guide a day(shared by all the travelers0；two hundred per man to ride a horse to Camp two (one way).

We have seven guide trek hosts, from all walks of life, who have come together out of their passion for adventure. They are committed to safely and enjoyably sharing their expertise and familiarity with the regions natural wonders with all of our YunnanExploration.com participants. I’ll make a brief introduction.

Group Leader: Our Group Leader, Ke Xuan, has been a guide-host for Western and European travelers for many years. He has hiked the pilgrimage route of Kawa Karpo Meili Snow Mountain(梅里雪山), trekked across Everest’s eastern slope（珠峰东坡, travelled to Motuo in Tibet (墨脱), Xinjiang Langta（新疆狼塔 as well as numerous other trekking adventures. His love of adventure and exploration motivates him to want to share with those who are searching for the same.

Assistant Guides:

Xiao Wu（小五, A graduate student  from Guangdong, who loves to experience and enjoy the various cultures of Yunnan during his vacation. He will assist with all aspects of the trek and help to insure safety and comfort for hikers with different experience and ability.

Xiao Xian（小鲜）  From Hunan province, she works in Guangzhou, is passionate for yoga and outdoor activities. She is a very dedicated and committed mother. She will assist hikers of all ability levels to have a safe journey to see natures wonders!

Yan Jing（眼镜） is from Hunan and is employed at a hotel in Lijiang. A quiet type, he usually prefers to stay at home, but his love for the natural beauty of this region of Yunnan Province, motivates him to be of service as a novice-guide and assistant. He is definitely a potential future hiking and trekking guide.

Daijie（黛姐） The owner of a hotel in Lijiang,  she is committed to professionally organizing and operating tours and expeditions throughout the region. She brings with her much experience, and enthusiasm for sharing the wonders Yunnan.

As for me, I am from Beijing, and though it was my first time to participate in such a hiking adventure, I ‘fell in love’ with it, and I am now determined to develop my personal skills  while at the same time offering assistance with all aspects of our journey.

The first station: The Leech Dam (Mahuang Dam 蚂蝗坝)

Our group of seven people started from the ancient city at half past seven in the morning, and arrived at the village of Yuhu lack after half an hour’s driving. Before you go, make sure to have a hearty breakfast,  I noticed that I already had quite an appetite by the half-way marker. All of us chose to walk from the foot of the mountain rather than ride a horse, we wanted to challenge ourselves.

Our destination, ‘The Grand Canyon’ with an altitude of five thousand and one hundred meters, this would take us approximately eight hours, so we took only  short rests, two or three minutes, and then press onward.  The path is very rugged, the way up the mountain is dotted with a wide variety of flowers of many colors and fragrances.

When we reached the ‘buckwheat land’, we could see the ‘Snow Mountain’. After three and half an hours, we approached the first camp, the Leech Dam(蚂蟥坝) (also known as Yak Dam牦牛坝). In the green mountain meadows, yaks, large and small were leisurely grazing,  (I was a bit nervous that my red mountaineering suit, might cause the temperamental yak to become angry as I passed by. However, they timidly continued grazing, and as we passed by, they barely seemed to notice or care about our presence. The local Naxi people told us that there might be some leeches during the rainy season. Legend has it that people who had been bitten by leeches would never get rheumatism. They say to just bring some salt crystals in case one latches on….and not to worry.

The third station: The Sand Slope(流沙坡)
When we reached the valley of love, it has been twelve o’clock, we planned to visit the valley and have a lunch, but the wind was so strong that we couldn’t stand for a long time. Then, Ke Xuan（可宣） suggested that we should keep walking and we may find a place to eat something, so we just walked. It turns out to be a foolish thing, when we reached a forest we kept walking about half an hour, then, we got the edge of the sand slope.

The first thing we did is sit down and regret that we should have ride horses. The camp is made up of wood, some windows are broken, we can hear the wind outside the house. Looking through the sand slope, the thought that we can never get over the sand slope keep occurring in my mind. Several Naxi old man about seventies but still very strong told us that the way we are taking is made by them, they often went to collect the dry woods by this way when are young. Although they can’t listen well and talk loudly, they sing the local song with confidenceand loud voice, which warms us a lot.

After we had a lunch, we headed for the most dangerous sand slope. There is a rumor that you will step back two steps when you step forward one, so, we were very careful and kept the “turtle step”. However, the wind was so strong that I can hardly stand for a second even with a weight of more than one hundred. And Ke Xuan can’t hold his hat. After one hour’s terrible walking, we finally passed the sand slope.