China Daily Online, Oct. 15 — “The route we took this time was the high-altitude trekking loop around the Gama Valley on the eastern slope of Mount Everest. It’s a newly developed trail with fairly complex conditions along the way, so very few people have completed the full route so far,” Zhang Xiaohui, who just completed a 12-day high-altitude endurance journey, told China Daily.
Starting on Sept. 30, Zhang Xiaohui, an eight-year veteran of outdoor hiking and climbing and a Class 6 graduate of CMDI who serves as a high-altitude mountain guide, led the 2014 Gore Dream Women’s Mountaineering Team on a 12-day high-altitude snow mountain trek from Lhasa to Shigatse along the eastern slope of Mount Everest.
(Photo / Hai Qing)
This activity was not only innovative in terms of the route but also marked the first time that a domestic professional outdoor energy food underwent such a high-altitude, high-intensity endurance test. Zhang Xiaohui and over 60 female mountaineers transported cooking utensils, vegetables, and dry rations via yak, providing three meals a day for everyone. Meanwhile, “Wild Wanderer Energy Bars” were used for trail meals and to replenish energy lost during the challenging sections of the snowy trek.
“Trying out a domestically produced professional outdoor energy food for the first time during the trek, the most noticeable aspect was the taste, especially the moderate sweetness which suited the Chinese palate,” Zhang Xiaohui said. “Many imported energy bars on the market simply provide energy without paying much attention to taste, making them overly sweet and also very dehydrating.”
Zhang Xiaohui explained that he and many hiking enthusiasts had discussed the issue of energy replenishment during long treks. In the past, during their hiking and mountaineering activities, they would choose imported products such as energy gels from abroad, because in extreme environments, these foods didn’t really focus much on nutrition or taste but were purely meant to supply energy.
“The nutritional components in the energy bars are very important, especially the vitamin content, which is one of the main reasons I was particularly impressed with the Wild Wanderer Energy Bars during this activity. During prolonged trekking and mountaineering, the human body loses a large amount of vitamins and salts, so it’s essential that the food is rich in these nutrients to replenish them. Otherwise, health issues can arise—like mouth ulcers or hangnails—which can greatly affect the trekking experience.”
He has been involved in hiking and mountaineering activities since 2006, totaling eight years now. He said that prior to this trek on the eastern slope of Mount Everest, most people who had completed this route were photographers for national-level publications, and there were still many ordinary hikers who had not yet tackled this newly developed trail. Completing the trek was a significant challenge for the team members, especially in terms of endurance, and the Wild Wanderer Energy Bars played a major role at crucial moments, offering an excellent sustained energy replenishment experience.
Wang Lifeng, head of the Wild Wanderer division at Compaq Group, closely monitored the progress of this activity. After the event and product testing were successfully concluded, he expressed great excitement, saying: “Domestic outdoor energy foods have long relied on imports. This high-altitude endurance test of the Wild Wanderer Energy Bars shows that domestic professional outdoor energy foods, compared to imported brands, can not only ensure high-load energy replenishment but also offer more suitable nutrition and taste for the Chinese physique.”
According to Mr. Bai Houzeng, General Manager of Compaq, the company has been engaged in the field of professional sports nutrition for over a decade, consistently serving competitive sports groups represented by Olympic athletes. It is the pioneer and standard-setter of sports nutrition products in China. In the energy bar sector, Compaq also has nearly ten years of R&D and production experience, with its professional energy bar products occupying over 90% of the domestic market. The launch of the Wild Wanderer Energy Bar, specifically designed for outdoor enthusiasts, is also in response to the huge market demand in China’s professional outdoor food sector.