2016The New Year has arrived.2015On the last day of the year, where were you and who were you with as you counted down to the new year?
2015In the year12of31, at 7:30 PM on the evening of the7th, inside the Wuse Mountain Villa in the Double Bridge Gully of Sichuan’s Siguniang Mountain Scenic Area, lights shone brightly, crowds gathered, and a roaring bonfire set the festive mood. The dazzling wishing tree was hung with sincere blessings, and a whole roasted yak flipped at the entrance made everyone’s mouths water.
With a total of400people, more than half of the residents of Double Bridge Gully had gathered here, along with ice climbing enthusiasts from around the world, to welcome the new year together. Amidst the joyful Guozhuang dance, they witnessed the opening of the Kailas “Declare War on Extreme Cold” Double Bridge Gully Ice Climbing Event.2016Perfect Conditions Make Double Bridge Gully an Ice Climbing Paradise
Every year from mid-to-late
, it’s the season when ice walls form in the Double Bridge Gully of Siguniang Mountain, attracting ice climbers from around the world. As the only domestic ice climbing destination with numerous ice walls of varying difficulty levels and convenient transportation, Double Bridge Gully’s global reputation continues to grow. This time, international visitors from the United States, Brazil, and New Zealand came after hearing about it and praised the climbing environment of the ice walls.12According to Dong Ping, Director of the Siguniang Mountain Scenic Area Management Bureau, the ice climbing season in Double Bridge Gully generally starts in mid-to-late
and lasts until the end of12the following year. Thanks to the area’s natural advantages, the management bureau is also keen on fostering an atmosphere suitable for outdoor sports and guiding local residents to welcome ice climbing, rock climbing, and outdoor tourism visitors. The presence of professional outdoor clubs and training schools has also made special contributions to shaping and promoting Siguniang Mountain’s outdoor sports image.2Hiking, Ice Climbing, and Dry Tooling – Enthusiasts Have a Blast
The Kailas “Declare War on Extreme Cold” Double Bridge Gully Ice Climbing Event was packed with activities. Different experience groups were arranged based on varying skill levels, ensuring beginners and seasoned enthusiasts alike could find suitable activities. For example, the expert group mainly participated in experience tours themed around the “Extreme Cold Journey,” including hiking adaptation, ice climbing experiences, and leisure horseback riding in Changping Gully and Haizi Gully.
2016Ye Ma, Principal and Coach of Guangzhou Lingpan School, highlighted a new feature of this year’s ice climbing event – the university public welfare training program.
In2015, with the support of Kailas, Guangzhou Lingpan launched the University Outdoor Club Growth Plan. The ice climbing event was part of this initiative. Through selections, the organizers formed a team of5university students from over ten institutions. They underwent courses in rope knotting and protection, ice slope walking, wilderness first aid training, and ice climbing experiences. The organizers expressed hope that through this training, students would master ice climbing skills and enjoy the sport.40On the
1th of the month, a dry tooling training and experience session held at the Shenxian Cave Dry Tooling Venue attracted many enthusiasts. Dry tooling involves using ice climbing gear like crampons and ice axes to climb rock walls. While ice climbing involves swinging ice axes to create holds on ice walls and kicking crampons into ice for stability, dry tooling requires finding appropriate spots to place ice axes against rock and pressing the body against the wall. Crampons are also single-pointed instead of double-pointed to better find holds. Relatively speaking, dry tooling is more challenging, consumes energy faster, and offers higher visual appeal.2During the event, the organizers also arranged two evenings of ice climbing enthusiast exchange sessions. Participants ranged from newcomers to seasoned veterans, and discussions covered a wide range of topics, including gear selection, mountaineering culture, physical preparation, technical skills, and the differences between climbers and guides. Questioners were eager to learn, and respondents shared generously, creating a highly harmonious atmosphere where all gained valuable insights.
Strong Collaboration, All for the Climb
When it comes to ice climbing in Double Bridge Gully, one must mention Zeng Shan, the principal of Sichuan Lingpan Mountaineering Training School. This American, who has loved outdoor sports since childhood, founded Chengdu Lingpan School, providing safe mountaineering courses for enthusiasts of all levels with comprehensive climbing skills and scientific training philosophies. Unlike the commercialized approach to Mount Everest summits, Zeng Shan advocates for self-reliant mountaineering. He said altitude is not the absolute measure of mountaineering achievement. Unless one climbs through their own efforts and communicates with nature, it’s just mountaineering tourism, not true climbing.
When it comes to ice climbing in Shuangqiao Gully, one person who must be mentioned is Zeng Shan, the principal of Sichuan Leading Climb Mountain Training School. This American, who has loved outdoor sports since childhood, founded the Chengdu Leading Climb School, offering safe mountaineering courses for enthusiasts of all levels with comprehensive climbing skills and a scientific training philosophy.
Unlike the commercialized approach to Everest summit climbs, Zeng Shan advocates more for the philosophy of independent climbing. He says that altitude is not an absolute measure of climbing achievement—unless you put in the effort to climb and truly connect with nature, it’s just mountain tourism, not genuine mountaineering.
The development of Lingpan is also inseparable from the support of Kailas. The Kailas brand, which specializes in climbing sports, has not only built a high-quality platform for ice climbing activities for enthusiasts but also sponsored the Shuangqiaogou Ice Climbing Festival for seven consecutive years.2015At the end of the year, it launched a comprehensive climbing system that enables ordinary people to grow into professional climbers. The system is divided into five modules, including “Physical Training,” “Outdoor Survival Training,” “Rock Climbing Training,” “Extreme Climbing,” and “Recovery and Rest.”
Through the Shuangqiaogou Ice Climbing Festival, Kailas hopes to enhance the general outdoor sports community’s correct understanding of ice climbing, encourage more people to participate in the sport, gain a deeper appreciation for its charm, and make due contributions to China’s climbing endeavors. Meanwhile, as another major event promoting the development of public-benefit ice climbing in China, Kailas will fully implement its brand philosophy of “Only for Climbing” and strive to advance the development of mountaineering and exploration sports.