Man Down!!
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2005
1
121
158
Trip End
Jul 21, 2007
Emei,
China
Friday, May 4, 2007
Met up with Holly and Dan at Teddy bear guest house and prepared for the climb. We knew it was not gonna be easy as basically the route consists of unrelenting steps all the way up and all the way down, but we felt keen and set off up through the forested track with hordes of holidaying Chinese tourists all around us. The gradient was pleasing at first but started to increase, and it was about then that we came across our first monkey tollgate. This is LP's terminology and very apt. The family of large chimps straddle the path and if you have snacks anywhere on your person they sniff them out. We were prepared and had our sticks waving, and a stone in the other hand, but the alpha male was not scaring easily and stubbornly held is ground. He bared his teeth and screamed as we edged by, and as I thought I had passed him he cunningly made a grab for my bag and deftly snatched my cookies from the side pocket!! Cheeky monkey.
We climbed for 7 hours, past ornate monasteries hidden deep within the forest on the side of the mountain, and at length reached Elephant bathing pool monastery where we secured lodgings at not quite a big enough distance from the most heavily ammonia stench filled toilets I have ever smelled.
buddha
The next day, the views began to improve but we were still surrounded by a thin blanket of cloud. Our huffs and puffs were put into swift contrast by the teams of Tibetan guys who tirelessly laboured up and down the steep inclines with massive paving slabs on their backs. We made the summit by 2pm after a particularly steep one and a half hour staircase, and were dismayed by the glut of horrific rectangular concrete hotels perched on top to cope with the brand new influx of Chinese tourists who are now allowed religious freedom. It has totally ruined the summit of a no doubt once beautiful and sacred mountain.
We got up for sunrise and were met with yet another dissapointment, as the cloud was laid thick all around, so made our way down. We reckoned on a 10 hour day and made an early start at 7.30. A few hours later after stepping down 60 degree staircases constantly, all our knees were feeling the pace, and shortly after my left one gave up altogether. To my annoyance I was forced to engage the services of a Zampan: a pair of guys who carry the weakened or lazy walker down on a seat/stretcher type contraption. Kerry the angel left the others to race down after the incredibly fit guys as I was stretchered out of the combat zone. The two guys milked the situation by tying my leg to one of the bamboo poles so they could come off like mountain resue paramedics to all their colleagues and Chinese people along the route down, which was incidentally the most picturesque part.
We played drinking games back in Emei town that night to forget the pain. Little did we know that the true agony was still in the post.
