Yangshuo Climbs 2

Go back to China.
Go back to Yangshuo Climbs 1.

Safety first.

On the third day, we actually got to use the trad rack that’s been sitting in our packs for nearly two weeks in China. We climbed the enjoyable Witch Woman Of The Rock line on the Brave New World Buttress (well, the last pitch was kind of less enjoyable) after it had gone into the afternoon shade. We had learned our lesson on The Thumb and so when we got to the base of Low Mountain on day four, we opted for the easy and shady L’Echo Des Montagnes route vs. the original, sunny pick. Though the climbing was mostly forgettable, the serene views of the fishermen on the Yu Long River below were a favorite among all the climbs we’ve done in Yangshuo. The descent which involved about 50 meters of spelunking through the formation was also unique.

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Yangshuo sunrise.

Sadly, we had to say “good-bye” to Ola as our time in China was running out. We cannot say enough good things about her. In addition to being a prodigy (world class climber, perfect English, a masters degree in physics, perfect – as far as we could see – Mandarin, Russian I believe? What have we missed?), she went above and beyond the call of duty babysitting us and provided quite a bit of inspiration for a future return trip to China. We can only hope that she’ll still be there for a few more years…and that she’s willing to put up with our shit once again.

Photos

View of Yangshuo from Ola’s living room window (Sept. 2016).

Some minor scooter shenanigans. Ola’s scooter had some starting issues and so we towed it back to town (Sept. 2016).

Ola and Shirley and a scooter (Sept. 2016).

Shirley on the first pitch of The Witch Woman Of The Rock on the east face of Brave New World formation. One and only trad climb of the trip (Sept. 2016).

Leading the fun pitch 2 of The Witch Woman Of The Rock (nice crack system). Photo by Ola – thank you!

More pitch 2 action. Click photo for a full resolution version. Photo by Ola (Sept. 2016).

Shirley topping out on pitch 2 (Sept. 2016).

Pitch 3 of The Witch Woman Of The Rock (Sept. 2016).

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 3 (Sept. 2016).

Shirley on pitch 4 which we had linked with 3 (Sept. 2016).

Starting up the final and crux (by far) pitch 5 of The Witch Woman Of The Rock (Sept. 2016).

Shirley above the crux on the crux and final pitch (Sept. 2016).

Views from the route: urban development impinging on farmlands (Sept. 2016).

Shirley loving another pitch of thuggish climbing in the moist heat of southern China (Sept. 2016).

And it’s almost beer time!

Some heavy handed Chinese development on display (Sept. 2016).

A mini bushwhack on the final rappel. Click the photo for a video of Shirley’s short but poignant commentary (Sept. 2016).

Safety first.

Morning coffee sesh about to commence (Sept. 2016).

A busy gas station (Sept. 2016).

Our ride parked at the Low Mountain “trailhead”.

Ba Yue (August), Ola, and Shirley hiking up to Low Mountain. Our planned goal for the day was baking in the sun here (Sept. 2016).

More shots of the crew and Low Mountain (Sept. 2016).

When Ba Yue grabbed a stick …you know, to check for and ward off snakes… I took my cue and moved to the back of the pack (like a good little Taliban). Ba Yue, Ola, and Shirley clearing the path of any potential serpents on approach to L’Echo des Montagnes on Low Mountain (Sept. 2016).

Shirley emerging from the foliage on pitch 1 of L’Echo des Montagnes. This is the low angle western arete of Low Mountain (Sept. 2016).

A fisherman on the Yu Long River as seen from Low Mountain. Click the photo for a brief video haiku (Sept. 2016).

Shirley topping out on pitch 2 L’Echo des Montagnes. Not that memorable climbingwise but the views were some of the best of the whole trip (Sept. 2016).