玉山 ... 還是 雨山?

Mong-Han took me (Kamil) along on a weekend trip with his friends into the mountains lately. We attempted to climb 玉山 (yù shān). With 3952m above sea level, it is the highest peak of Taiwan and one of the highest mountains in all of East Asia. Its name translates as "jade mountain". Geologically, this is a gross exaggeration, because there are no jade-bearing rocks (that form at high pressures) exposed, but mostly only slates and sandstones.
The mountain lies in the a large national park named likewise.


After leaving Taipei on Friday afternoon, we were headed for Tungpu, a small mountain village south of Choshui Valley in Central Taiwan. The next morning, before setting out for the climb, we were all still in quite good mood. The above picture of Mong-Han with two friends from Fong-Yuan gives evidence to it.
Our good spirits were not meant to last long, however. Only few minutes after we started our ascent up to the PaiYun lodge at an elevation of c. 3400 m, where we were supposed to stay overnight, it started to rain.


The guy with the red jacket said he was the mountain guide. I preferred to rather trust Mong-Han, instead.

It rained really hard...

... and incessantly.

Arriving at the Paiyun lodge, I was hoping to warm myself with some hot tea in a cozy dry place next to an oven:
Wet down to my underpants how I was, I hurried into the lodge, just like these hikers did. Some three weeks after the experience, I cannot properly describe the huge disappointment I felt, when I found out that INSIDE Taiwanese mountain huts are very much unlike huts in the European Alps. There was no "gute, warme Gaststube" and no drying room. In fact, there was no dry room, no dry spot at all in the hut! So all we could do is to hope for better weather to cheer us up, which in fact did not come anymore.
It then only added to my already bad spirit that the national park staff apparently has a tendency for sarcastic humour, as this sign showed:


I am now convinced that Taiwanese cartographers must have mistakenly misunderstood the mountain's real name. 玉山 (yù shān) sounds almost like 雨山 (yǔ shān), which translates more appropriately as "rain mountain".
After a short night with still incessant rain and strong gusts of wind, it was decided not to climb up to the top but to descend instead. Back in the bus a few hours later, it was at least dry again. The worst, though, was still to come: My ears were maltreated with karaoke for some 4 hours on the drive back to Taipei...
However, having seen some gorgeous pictures of 玉山 on flickr.com, I am determined to give it another try later this year, in October or November, when the weather is supposed to be much drier!