Grades are subjective by nature and invariably lead to late-night debates between climbers in one of the delicious local restaurants. Strong and humble climbers may under-rate their realizations, which can end up being as frustrating as it is dangerous when your climbing abilities don’t allow for a comfortable margin. This is even truer in HuangShanGu. Except when explicitly mentioned in this guide book, it is safe to add at least one or two grades to the indicated grades. The writer once failed on a presumed 5.10a that turned out to be a solid 5.11c with scarce equipment in place on a compact slab.
List of sites
Getting there
Climbing HuangShanGu is a lengthy and strenuous adventure, that starts with the approach. But you will get rewarded with a long list of challenging routes, on some of the finest granite you can dream of, in a unique wild mountainous atmosphere above the sea.
From the parking lot, walk 30 meters with the sea on your right and take the first street left.
Cross the small creek and turn right, then follow all the way up the mountain road that meanders up the mountain across famous and beautiful LaoShan tea terraces.
Reaching the first hut, the mountain road becomes a trail. Don’t miss the right turn soon after the hut, pass a pond and reach a second hut by the fence (10 to 15 minutes from the parking lot).
At the gate, follow the fence during 10 meters to the left then turn right (don’t follow the trail facing the gate: it would take you too deep into the glacial valley and would later oblige you to scramble through a painfully exhausting glacial chaos covered in giant ivy).
From the gate, it will take you 30 minutes to the East ridge and North-East face, or 1h to North and West faces. There is only one trail but it is easy to lose track of it in these dense bushes. Most of the time, the trail follows the black water pipes that carry LaoShan mineral water to villages on the shore.
Soon after catching a first sight of the East ridge through the dense forest, you will all over sudden enjoy a direct view on the East ridge and the North East face. To get there, cross the creek and find easily the start of your projected route.
To get to the North and West faces, keep following the trail (and the black water pipes) for a while, mainly within the creek itself, until getting at the level of the North-West ridge. Then, scramble your way up to the North-West ridge, following some occasional red marks and cairns. Once at the foot of Dream it possible, you can scramble 3 meters up and follow the rock face to get to the West face.
 | Parking to all HuangShanGu areas |
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