Top female team members and guide take a group photo
At 10:40 a.m. on the 24th, three female students from the Shanmingzhi Women’s Mountaineering Team of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) successfully reached the summit of Mount Haba. As the first all-female university mountaineering team in China recently established, they completed their first summit mission successfully.
Yesterday around 2 p.m., Chen Chen, China's first female university student to have summited Mount Everest, had just returned to Haba Village at an altitude of about 2,600 meters and called reporters to share the good news, as well as the hardships and fatigue of the past few days of climbing. Previously, due to difficulties charging their phones and weak signals, they were almost cut off from the world for two days.
The Ascent: Cheering with Inspirational Slogans
Climbing Mount Haba in January is no easy feat. Originally, the plan was to set up camps between Haba Base Camp at 4,100 meters and the summit at 5,396 meters, but due to the cold weather and strong winds, they had to abandon that plan and go straight for the summit. After a period of rest, on the 23rd, the team members hiked toward the base camp. Although 14 horses were hired to carry supplies and equipment, the boys, who were willing to act as pack animals, carried heavy loads—each with backpacks weighing over 30 pounds—while the girls traveled light, only carrying their own drinking water, down jackets, and the like.
On the 24th, the team split into two groups to make their push for the summit. At 4:30 a.m., the first group, including Chen Chen, He Ran, and Yang Bingqian, set off. After approximately six hours of arduous climbing, they successfully reached the summit at 10:40 a.m.
Upon reaching the summit, the three female team members excitedly took photos to commemorate the moment and recorded a video, cheerfully shouting the team’s slogan: “No brothers, no mountaineering!”
It is understood that among the three who summited Mount Haba, only Chen Chen had prior snow mountain experience. Yang Bingqian is an arts major from the School of Marxism, while He Ran is a freshman from the School of Geophysics and Geomatics.
Regret: Some Team Members Had to Turn Back
While the first group of female team members were summiting, the second group of female climbers also advanced toward the peak. Due to limited equipment, they had to wait for the first group to descend before they could change into crampons and other gear at the snow line.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. When the second group of summiting climbers were just ten minutes away from the summit, they had to turn back midway due to excessively strong winds.
The male team members, who played supporting roles in the group, also harbored dreams of reaching the summit. Xu Nuo, a freshman in the Physical Education Department of China University of Geosciences, helped the female climbers without hesitation. But when he reached the area near Moon Bay at 5,100 meters, he was utterly exhausted—having to stop and rest for three to four minutes after every ten steps. Observing his severe physical exhaustion, the guide firmly insisted he descend, and he cried unwillingly...
Descent: Male Team Members Carry Injured Female
There were several male team members in the women’s mountaineering team who played supportive roles. They were not only students of outdoor sports majors at the university but also skilled mountaineers. Bao Shaorui, a junior female student, twisted her ankle near the snow line at about 4,900 meters. Four male students, including Song Hong and Deqing Ouzhu, took turns carrying her on their backs. By the time they reached the base camp, they were all utterly exhausted and collapsed onto the ground.
Yesterday afternoon, after returning to Haba Village, the team immediately took vehicles to leave and arrived in Lijiang last night, where they celebrated together with fine food and drinks. Today, the team members will head back to their respective homes.