Women like Gao Yang are a bright spot in the mountaineering world.
Manaslu, standing at 8,163 meters, is the world’s eighth highest peak. Before this majestic mountain, the petite figure of Gao Yang, a mother from Guangzhou born in the 1970s, unleashed astonishing energy. She chose Manaslu as her first 8,000-meter-plus peak to climb. Just before this year’s National Day, she and three other Chinese climbers successfully summited, kicking off her K14 journey (a term referring to climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters worldwide). Yesterday, reporters met Gao Yang in Guangzhou. She looked much the same as before departure, without the common facial burns or frostbite seen in many who conquer 8,000-meter peaks. In conversation, there was even no obvious excitement or joy about the summit. But this 20-day climbing expedition has enriched her experience, and she is currently the only woman among Guangzhou climbers closely tied to the 8,000-meter-plus peaks.
K14 First Experience: Half a Year of Preparation, 120,000 RMB Spent
In the Guangzhou climbing circle, Gao Yang is not as well-known as "Rose." In fact, "Rose" is Gao Yang’s English name, and everyone is used to calling her that.
The author first met "Rose" at a gathering of Guangzhou climbers. At the time, Maizi, a leading figure in China’s climbing community, was visiting Guangzhou, and the climbers hosted a welcome dinner for her. Clearly, the two female climbers became the main topic of the gathering—they are bright spots in the climbing world, admirable heroines.
Gao Yang said she prepared for half a year for her first K14 climb, focusing on physical fitness, mental readiness, and more. Climbing Manaslu cost around 120,000 RMB.
On September 7, she departed from Guangzhou, flew for four hours to Kathmandu, Nepal, met up with three other Chinese climbers, then took a one-hour helicopter ride to Samagaon at 3,400 meters above sea level. From there, they hiked to the base camp at 4,950 meters, preparing to assault the summit of Manaslu. The first few days of preparation went quite smoothly.
Climbing always carries risks. Upon arriving in Nepal, Rose immediately sensed that tense atmosphere. "The helicopter pilot was from New Zealand. It was his first time flying this route and he got lost. A 30-minute flight took over an hour. We kept our eyes on the dashboard, checking the fuel gauge, worried we’d run out of fuel because we had taken a big loop through a valley after leaving Kathmandu..." Gao Yang recalled.
Summit Push Without Forgetting Face Masks
Many climbers who reach the summit have visible marks—burns or frostbite. But when Gao Yang came down, aside from slightly darker skin, she seemed largely unchanged. Did she have some beauty secret?
"Facial sunburn must be because they didn’t protect themselves properly. We always covered our faces up there," Gao Yang said. "During the descent, when energy was low, we couldn’t care for anything, not even our faces... Sometimes covering up too tightly affects breathing, especially when it’s foggy—that’s also the most dangerous time. The moment you open the cloth, your face gets burned... There were times I couldn’t resist opening it, and then I’d easily get sunburned. Snowy areas are the most likely places to get sunburned."
Gao Yang said that after leaving the base camp, washing your face becomes difficult, so she repeatedly applied sunscreen and waited until returning to the base camp to wash properly. "I bring lots of face masks, mostly moisturizing ones, and put them on whenever I can." In fact, climbers spend the most time at the base camp. Before receiving the order to push for the summit, they can only wait here or follow plans for training climbs.
"Every day here is just sleeping, eating and drinking, and playing cards," Gao Yang said. "Climbing is a really interesting thing. You realize that things you don’t usually pay much attention to—like the air you breathe—become incredibly important once you’re up the mountain." In her free time, she thinks about many things, including life, and often arrives at different answers.
On September 25, Gao Yang and her fellow climbers reached the summit of Manaslu, staying for a total of just over 20 minutes. They didn’t get their fill of looking or taking photos. "At the summit, you don’t think about much, because every extra minute increases the danger. The excitement only comes when you’re coming down," Gao Yang said.
A Rational "Mountain Madwoman"
In China and the global climbing community, a high divorce rate is a common trait among climbers, which is why they are often misunderstood and called "mountain madpeople."
Gao Yang has her own take on this. "If people are more important than the mountain, then more consideration should be given to their feelings. If the mountain is more important, then communication between the two is essential," Gao Yang said. She has a warm family—her husband works in IT—and he went through the process of going from opposition to support for her climbing pursuits. "What I did was climb with him, so he could understand the sport."
"Is the mountain really more important than people? I think if someone gets divorced because of climbing, maybe their relationship wasn’t strong to begin with," Gao Yang said.
For many "mountain madpeople," the endless pursuit of conquering one 8,000-meter-plus peak after another comes with constant danger, and that sense of instability is the biggest threat to family life. "You can control risks to a certain extent through your own efforts," Gao Yang said. "One, find sponsorship so you’re not always spending family money. Two, I tell my husband that if I don’t climb, I won’t exercise, my health will deteriorate, and you won’t exercise with me either..."
Gao Yang said that people always have dreams and aspirations. "You don’t know what’s out there until you go. I need this—it’s part of who I am. I’m independent, and I’ll tell my husband: ‘When you met me, wasn’t I already like this?’"
"I plan to climb Everest next spring, via the South Col route," Gao Yang began dreaming about her next summit. "Getting to the South Col base camp is a famous trekking route with beautiful scenery."