A small journal - each day: one sentence, one picture

Huashan mountain is located 75 miles East by Northeast from Xi'an near the city of Huayin in the
Shaanxi province of China. It has been religiously significant for Daoists since the 2nd century and
for centuries it was climbed by primarily by recluses, religious or otherwise, looking for the isolation
that the difficult ascent provided. In the past 40 years the trail has been improved and summiting is
easier. So now the masses have arrived and the hermits are long gone. Although there are cable
cars available to take you to the top, Chinese nationals often hike all the way up and actually have
created a kind of tradition to do the hike overnight in order reach the East peak summit in time to
see the sunrise.

I recently hiked Huashan for the first time and really enjoyed it - but while in the planning process
I had trouble finding enough English language internet information. Probably related to this lack of
information, I noticed that there really weren't any Western tourists actually hiking Huashan. I
personally didn't see a single Westerner while doing the hike up but saw many hundreds Chinese.
Once I got to the top there were a few Westerners up there that I'd guessed had taken the cable
car up.

This post is intended to provide information to assist in planning a hike of Huashan mountain in a
way that Maximizes Experience and Minimizes Expense. For maximum experience I recommend
hiking up Huashan and not taking the cable car. The hike is physically challenging and a certain
fitness level is required to complete it, but that level is not overly extreme. If you are regularly
physically active you will probably be able to complete this. If you are a runner you probably will be
able to complete it easily. Many guides estimate that it will take 5-6 hours to complete the ascent,
however a runner capable of running 10 miles [16km] in about 90 minutes hiked to the top of
Huashan in 2 hours 40 minutes in good weather while maintaining a 'comfortably hard' pace. To be
clear, running up (or down) Huashan is not really possible because it's too steep. However the fitness
that comes from running will prove beneficial in hiking Huashan.

Addressing the elephant in the room - safety:

Huashan mountain has a reputation as 'the world's most dangerous hike'. I wouldn't call it that. I think
the more accurate name would be 'the world's most accessible slightly dangerous hike'. The
convenient transportation and proximity to Xi'an means that many, many non-hikers are easily able to
hike this mountain. All these hikers are social media posting about it to other non-hikers showing
somewhat scary looking pictures of extremely steep sections and that has fed an overblown 'danger'
narrative that won't go away. Also this hike was at one time more dangerous than it currently is.
Countless changes have been put in place over the years to improve safety and some of the
information in circulation is out of date. The infrastructure on Huashan is beyond anything I've seen on
any other nature trail. There are lights all along the way for night hiking, heavy chains for handholds
have been added to steep sections, the trail is clearly marked and off trail dangers are also pointed
out as an extra precaution.

That said, there are definitely sections of the hike where 'if you let go, you will die'. This is true. But...
there is essentially no chance that a mentally healthy, physically healthy and fit person would let go in
one of those sections.

The one safety concern I had that was outside of my control was the portions of the trail where you
are on a steep section with people above you. If someone else were to let go and fall they could take
you out. While this is pretty unlikely, there are sections of the hiking trail where it is undeniable that
this could happen.

As far as I can tell, the mountain is not closed for bad weather. If there is bad weather you'll have to
decide whether or not to attempt the hike and some extra precaution is advisable. I personally would
probably still do the hike in rain while just taking everything a little slower and making sure I always
had a solid grip and/or solid footing where warranted. I would not hike in the snow - that extra amount
of slipperiness from snow is more risk than I would be comfortable with. Much worse than snow is ice.
Trying to hike Huashan mountain in icy conditions would be, in my opinion, borderline suicidal. If an ice
storm hit while I was already on the mountain, I would probably go into survival mode and hunker down
in place until conditions improved.

The final safety concern I can think of is the physical difficulty of the hike itself. If you have a medical
condition like heart disease that makes prolonged exertion dangerous, Huashan might very well eat
you.

Getting to Huashan Mountain:

Step 1: Get to Xi'an - it's the nearest major city.

Step 2: Take a high speed train to Huayin (sometimes called Huashan Bei) - trains leave every 30
minutes from the Xi'an Bei train station located and are quite cheap at 54.5 RMB ($7.88) for a perfectly
adequate second class ticket. You can buy tickets in advance through this site but will pay an additional
service fee. If you just show up to the Xi'an Bei train station to buy a ticket the service fee can be
avoided. There is some risk that the train you want will be full, but with the frequency of trains it would
probably just cause you to be delayed by 30 minutes or an hour. You will want to ask for a ticket that
goes from Xi'an Bei to Huashan Bei. The phrase "I need the cheapest available ticket for the next train
going to Huashan Bei" in Chinese is:我需要下一班前往华山北的最便宜的机票. You will be required to
show your passport when you buy the ticket. After buying the ticket pass through security and find your
platform. Take a moment to admire the Xi'an Bei train station. It is newer, huge and an absolute marvel
of efficiency in loading and unloading masses of people from high speed trains going to far off
destinations. Once the train arrives snap back to the moment and board. Soon you will be traveling at
about 180 MPH [300 kPH] in comfort. Thirty minutes later you will arrive at the Huashan Bei train
station.

Step 3 - option 1: Get to the Yuquan temple starting point via the visitors center The visitor's center is
primarily setup for people taking the cable cars. It is not really necessary to go to the visitor's center if
you are hiking unless you want to use the left luggage service available there.

Yuquan temple is the starting point for hikers (no cable car) and this route is known as the 'ancient path'.

To get to the visitor's center from the train station, leave the Huashan Bei train station through the main
doors. Ahead and to the left is a row of shops. Behind those shops further to the left is a parking lot with
a small city shuttle bus service. There is a number 1 bus and a number 2 bus. You can take either one
as they both terminate at the Mount Huashan Visitors center. Once you arrive at the Visitor's center bus
stop you will have to walk across the street and up the road a few hundred yards to get to the actual
Visitors center (it isn't visible at first but when you get there you'll know it, it's quite large and modern).
You can safely ignore the shops just outside the visitors center selling tour packages. Go inside the
visitors center and buy a ticket to enter Mount Huashan the price is 180 RMB [$26.03] most times but
discounted to 100 RMB [$14.46] from December to February. Make sure the clerk understands that you
will not be taking a cable car and that you only need a park entry ticket. There is a left luggage service in
the visitors center that charges 20 RMB [$2.89] per day - keep in mind that the left luggage service will
only be open when the visitor's center is open. I recommend hiking as lightly loaded as possible. There
is a lot of vertical ascent and you will pay a physical price for every extra pound of cargo.

The main hall of the visitors center has a glass floor and beneath that floor is a large scale model of the
entire Huashan mountain with paths shown. It is quite well done and interesting to study.

There are free shuttle busses that go from the visitors center to Yuquan Temple. You will see a temple on
a hill. Go up to and through this temple and there will be the start of a path and some shops selling
hiking things on the backside. Shortly after will be a ticket collection place, go through there and you are
on your way.

Step 3 - option 2: Go directly to the hiking start point from the Huashan train station: Definitely use this
option if you don't have any luggage to store during your hike. Maybe use this option anyway if you do
have luggage to store - you could check with hotels near the start point to see if they will store your
luggage for a fee.

Leave the Huashan Bei station through the main entryway and catch a cab to the Yuquan temple
[玉泉寺]. There are many stores, restaurants and low budget hotels just outside of the temple.
At the end of my hike I was pretty easily able to negotiate with a hotel here to use a room for an hour for
30 RMB [$4.34] to take a shower.

Go up to and through the temple to the path leading to the ticket office on the other side. You can buy a
ticket here for 180 RMB [$26.03] most times but discounted to 100 RMB [$14.46] from December to
February. The ticket office is always open as it is setup to accommodate the many Chinese hikers that
start late and hike through the night.

Hike to the North Peak up, up, up and more up. First paths and some steps then mostly steps, some
incredibly steep and long ladder like steps that require you to hold onto the chains that are strung
alongside for safety. There is 3,950 ft [1204 meters] of elevation gain from Yuaquan temple to the North
Peak. There are vendors selling drinks and food all along the way. The vendors at the lower part of the
hike have mountain stream water running off of hoses, you can rinse off (don't drink not safe) with this
cool water for free. Anything that you purchase, cash or wechat payment only - no credit cards. It is
really not necessary to bring much - however prices are higher than off the mountain. You'll see older,
sherpa-like men on the path with the arduous task of carrying heavy wicker backpacks full of supplies
for these vendors -- I don't begrudge them the price premium.

Typical well stocked trailside rest stop.

A bit about the path. It is paved and lit with lots of pedestrian traffic and there are signs everywhere both
in Chinese and English showing you where you are and how far you have to go in meters, footsteps and
time. Also there are guideposts at every fork telling where each leg of the fork will take you.

Typical signage at the top. Notice that distance is given from point to point in meters, footsteps and minutes

Navigation has been made easy everywhere on Huashan mountain. You don't need to bring a GPS,
compass, sextant or anything else for navigation. Bringing this rudimentary map might be helpful in
deciding where to go once you've ascended.

Once you get to the top take a well deserved break and get some photos. Casting a smug look towards
a cable car rider is your hard earned right at this point.

I estimate that if you multiply the time it would take you to traverse 10 miles by foot on level ground by
1.8 that will approximately match the time needed to ascend to the North peak in good weather
conditions. As a reference point, 10 miles can be walked at a brisk but comfortable pace in about
3 hours, 20 minutes. This would equate to about a 6 hour journey to the North peak

Things to do after summiting the North Peak:

Option 1: Hike all the peaks use the maps on the signs and the guideposts along the paths to go from
peak to peak

Option 2: Spend the night in a hotel There are hotels available at different peaks. There is a wide
range of quality from a barebones traveler's lodge with shared sleeping quarters and bunk beds at
100RMB per night to more luxurious hotels with prices in excess of 1000RMB per night.

Option 3: Spend the night in a tent I observed that a few people had pitched tents on the wooden
platforms on the East peak. Just make sure you're prepared for the nighttime cold temperatures.

Option 4: Watch the sunrise The East peak is reputed to have the best sunrise vantage points and
there are several platforms setup for this purpose. Crowds of overnight hikers congregate on the
platforms just before sunrise and it can get quite congested - get there a good hour before sunrise to
guarantee a good spot. My personal feeling having seen the sunrise is…. what I saw wasn't that
special. I don't know that seeing a sunrise from a mountain is that different than from a lake, ocean or
across a field. Now, I must give the caveat that I have only seen one sunrise there. There may
sometimes be conditions that create spectacular sunrises. Also keep in mind cloudy skies = no visible
sunrise.

Option 5: Scare yourself on the plank walk. This is a purely optional side excursion and a definite
favorite amongst the red bull drinking instagram crowd. The ledge is undeniably scary - narrow and
high but danger has been mitigated (eliminated?) by mandatory harnesses. There was a long line at a
fairly early hour in the morning when I went by.

Option 6: Hike back down Go down from the North peak the way you came up. You'd think going
down is easier. It's not. By the time you've finished you will have a new appreciation for the efficiency
of movement that level ground provides. I found going down was only slightly faster than going up.

Planning your start time:

A few factors to consider when planning your start time: Do you want to see the sunrise from the
mountain? how much time do you want to spend on the top of the mountain? how much time do you
need to get up and down the mountain? when do you need to be down? etc.. The mountain is always
open so quite a bit of latitude is possible when picking a start time.

Many Chinese hike the mountain at night starting around 10pm or so in order to see the sunrise from
the top. If this is your chosen time, be prepared for a bit of congestion at the narrow and slow sections
of the trail as the crowds make their way through.

Also because of the masses of people going up at night, you'll probably want to avoid trying to
descend the mountain at night because you'll be going against heavy traffic in the other direction and
it will be quite tight in the narrow sections.

If you are planning to stay in a hotel at the top you may want to plan to get to your hotel by late
afternoon at the latest. As far as I can tell these places don't take reservations. They give out spots on
a walk up, first come, first serve basis and if they're full, they're full.

Weather:

It gets colder as you go up. I experienced about a 20 degree F [11 degrees C] drop from the starting
point to the North peak. It gets cold and windy at the top at night. While hiking up you'll probably be
plenty warm but you'll probably pause at the top for an extended period and you'll want to bring
adequate clothing.

Rain can come quickly in a mountain. Ponchos are a nice comfort in the rain and are sold at many
vendor shops alongside the hike so you don't necessarily have to bring one with you.

Cell Phone coverage:

I almost always had good phone and data signals. I had very good signals at the peaks.

Night Hiking:

Night hiking is possible and this is actually a very popular time to hike as you can time your hike to
arrive at the East peak in time for sunrise. Some people strap hiking headlamps on at night, most
don't. There is enough path lighting to get by without a headlight.

Things to bring:

Number one is a camera to capture the incredible vistas, mountain temples and the marker rocks at
each summit with the summit name inscribed.

Comfortable shoes with good traction. I wore trail running shoes and they were perfect for me. Hiking
boots would be ok, but not really needed and a bit heavy. Shoes that do not have good traction could
be a safety risk.

Clothing for various weather conditions. It's colder at the top. Rain can come quickly in a mountain but
there are vendors selling ponchos if needed

Cash or a loaded up wechat account. The vendors don't take credit cards

Water optional. It's definitely cheaper to bring your own water purchased away from the mountain.
I went through 4 liters of water going up and down in fairly warm conditions. Water is heavy though so
you may just choose to buy it whenever you need it. There are vendors selling water everywhere.

Sunscreen. The sun is intense up there

Don't bring:

Hiking poles. In my opinion they are not really needed. You're going to be going up a lot of steps and
they'll just get in the way then.

Anything else non-essential. Light is the name of the game with all of that elevation gain.

elevations:

North Peak 1,615 m (5,298 ft)

East Peak 2,096 m (6,877 ft)

South Peak 2,154 m (7,067 ft)

West Peak 2,082 m (6,831 ft)

Central Peak 2,042 m (6,700 ft)

Yuquan Temple 411 m (1,350 ft)