The beautiful Mount Haba will welcome the "12 Golden Flowers" from Wuhan
The beautiful Mount Haba will welcome the "12 Golden Flowers" from Wuhan: Today, the Women's Mountaineering Team of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), known as Shan Ming Zhi, held a send-off ceremony. As China’s first female university mountaineering team, they will set off on the 17th of this month.
Chen Chen, the first female university student in China to summit Mount Everest and one of the initiators of the team, said she hopes the event will inspire more female students to take up outdoor sports.
Only two girls have snow mountain experience
Mount Haba, located in Yunnan, has a maximum elevation of 5,396 meters and is capped with ice and snow year-round, making it moderately challenging to climb. Therefore, the women’s mountaineering team has strict selection and training standards, matching those of the previous CUCC Everest climbing team.
“We started with a campus-wide selection process back in October last year. This was followed by two months of physical training, then fitness tests involving a 5,000-meter run for the girls and an 8,000-meter run for the boys, medical check-ups, eliminations, then more training, and more eliminations…” Chen Chen explained. So far, the team has selected 12 members through multiple rounds of screening. They come from various departments including Environmental Science, Art and Media, and Computer Science.
However, among these 12 female members, only Chen Chen and Liao Yiming have prior experience climbing snow mountains. “This is the biggest test and challenge,” Chen Chen said.
Three male students willingly act as "pack animals"
There are also male members on the women’s mountaineering team—Song Hong, Wang Haijin, and Ma Haiyuan. These three guys play the supporting roles.
They are all students in the Outdoor Sports program at CUG, and each is skilled in snow mountain climbing. Among them, Song Hong, currently in his second year of graduate school, has previously climbed Mount Everest.
During the three-month intensive training period, the "supporting cast" accompanied the "12 Golden Flowers" every step of the way. “We trained twice a day, at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” Ma Haiyuan explained. From basic running to technical skills such as setting up tents and wearing crampons, these three male students provided hands-on teaching.
During the Mount Haba climb, they will also be responsible for logistics, taking on the tough and dirty jobs, and even cooking meals for the female members. “In short, we need to be good ‘pack animals’ and help conserve energy for the female climbers reaching the summit,” Ma Haiyuan said with a smile.
Summit planned for January 24
Although Mount Haba is at a relatively low latitude with a milder climate, the best climbing season is April. Summiting in January is no easy feat. Mountain climbing is to some extent a weather-dependent activity. Because they can only attempt the climb during winter and summer breaks, Ma Haiyuan made two attempts on Mount Haba over two years but missed the summit both times due to heavy snow. Now, his biggest concern remains the weather: “We call the guides in Haba Village every day to check the weather conditions, because January and February are traditionally known for harsh weather on Mount Haba, with strong winds.”
If all goes smoothly, according to plan, the female university mountaineering team will arrive at the base camp at about 4,000 meters above sea level on the 22nd of this month, with a planned summit attempt on the 24th.