Tag: xiangcheng

20 October 2014

Xiangcheng 乡城 – Sangdui 桑堆 – Of Mice and Men

We’re up with the sun and quickly get ready. Today’s our biggest day with a climb over 4700 m so we have little time to waste. After complaining about the lack of Tibetan food for breakfast, feasting on dumplings instead and adding a pumping our tyres up properly, we roll down the steep hill and leave this dump behind.

Tower-like Tibetan structure
Tower-like Tibetan structure

The day starts with a long gentle incline and for the first time this trip, we are able to cruise at around 20 km/h. Following the river upstream, a small hamlet with oinking black pigs in all formats and sizes marks the beginning of the long climb. We decide on a steady 7 km/h to climb the mountain, something which initially works out but after a while proves impossible to maintain. So we stick to our own tempo.

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19 October 2014

Xiaoxueshan Daoban 小雪山道班 – Xiangcheng 乡城 – Hello Road

After a very fragile sleep interrupted by a pee break in the middle of the night, we wake with the first rays of the sun. The gate is still closed so we have to wait for the Daoban boys to head out. We make some coffee and oatmeal, wash our dishes and have a stare-off with the chicken that’s interested in the contents of our tent. At this altitude, when it rains, you get snow. The rocky peaks on the opposite side are covered in virgin snow gleaming yellow in the early sunlight.

Sun and snow on the mountain
Sun and snow on the mountain

The gates open and we head out in the crisp mountain air, watching the morning fog burn off as we creep on towards the pass. When we finally reach it, our excitement is quickly smothered by the discovery that we can barely roll down faster than 15 km/h. The cold, exacerbated by two rear wheel punctures in 15 minutes, makes our descent a difficult one.

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