Taiwan

Climbing Mt Jade (Yushan) requires experience?

I'm interested in going to Taiwan and read about Mt Jade/Yushan and since I've never done any climbing before I was wondering if it was a) Challenging b) Doable without climbing experience c) That steep Since I'm not a climber I don't know any terminology. When a mountain can be climbed does that mean like rock climbing? Or can it mean just a steep hike? I'm assuming that if it's a steep hike you don't need prior experience Has anyone conquered the mountain and cares to tell the tale?

Public Comments

1. Check out the SummitPost link for info on this mountain, which has a number of different approaches, some easy, some intermediate, and some hard technical ones. If you have no experience at all with mountaineering, and you just want to get up there, take the trail on the East Face. It's 14.6 miles with about 9,000' gain, and you'll need a few days for the round trip. Because the summit is almost 13,000' high, you're likely to get altitude sickness, so you might want to take a while to get acclimatized as you go up. Spend the night at the meadows at 9,800 feet. Don't try this unless you are fit. 9,000' gain is a lot even for experienced mountaineers. If you go the shorter route on the West Face, the gain is about 4,500', and a 6.3 mile trail will get you to a hut, after which it becomes a class 3 rock scramble to the top. Again, if you are fit, you can do this, and probably is not dangerous (class 4 is where it becomes life-threatening), although twisted ankles are common for exhausted climbers. You'll still probably have the same problem with altitude sickness, so spend the night at the hut first. If you're intrepid enough, and bring a backpack with food and gear for overnight stays, you probably can do it, even if you have no prior mountaineering experience. Go during the warm months, because snow and ice makes it dangerous for inexperienced climbers. For future reference, check out the wiki on the Yosemite Decimal System, so that you'll know what those ratings mean. And I've never brought a rope for class 3 climbs, and even for some class 4 climbs, although I would advise against free climbing anything harder than class 3. The difference between 2, 3, and 4 climbs is that while 2 risks very little, however strenuous, 3 can result in sprains and even broken bones in particularly bad falls, and 4 can result in death.