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Every time I go climbing or skiing, I like to take a lot of photos because it leaves me with fragments of memories. It's better to put in some effort to remember the things from my youth, so I won't forget how I spent those years when my eyes grow dim...
Last May Day, Mid-Autumn, A-Su, and I went skiing and mountaineering on Banji Peak in Sichuan. We caught the season’s excellent spring snow, with the usual rocky slopes all covered in thick, wet snow. Coupled with great weather, we had a perfect ski-mountaineering trip.
This article is the first piece of the 2012 series "Wild Snow Bible – Only for That Powder in the Sky." Soon, this series will feature a ski descent of Cho Oyu written by Jazz Ice, recounting the first-ever ski descent of an 8000-meter peak in China. Stay tuned. —— Preface
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With nothing much to do on May Day, Mid-Autumn said he wanted to find a mountain to ski. Initially, we planned to do the Lhotse Shar expedition that The North Face women's ski team did last year (you know, the one where Jimmy Chinn, one guy and three girls, had their fun~~~). But after researching and consulting Dongdong, Huazai, Ayu, and others familiar with the area, we felt that even with five days off, we might end up just hanging out at base camp, so we gave up. Then Banji it was – apparently the spring snow there this year was great.Later we heard A-Su was also going skiing on Banji, and thus our trio, the Banji Snow Chasers, was formed.
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Mid-Autumn and I flew overnight to Chengdu and stayed in the loft apartment A-Su had – the kind that makes you green with envy. I thought, although I’m sort of part of the system (as Mid-Autumn puts it), if I kept living in Beijing, I’d probably never get a place as swanky as A-Su’s... The next morning, we took a taxi to the highway and hopped on the bus organized by the Gaodudu (Height Bro, in Chengdu dialect) team heading to base camp. The journey went smoothly, and by noon we arrived at Shanghaizi. Interestingly, just before reaching Shanghaizi, we passed the Wanzhu team who were descending from Banji. Sadly, we didn’t get to meet them in person – just two vehicles passing each other.
A-Su hadn’t been to Bipenggou for six years, but back then he knew Xiaoli. Xiaoli, a feisty girl who’s lived around the mouth of Bipenggou for generations, is a familiar face to many who hike Banji. I don’t recall her role back then, but now she’s the “reception manager” at the Shanghaizi Tourist Reception Center in Bipenggou. Thanks to an old connection, A-Su pulled some strings to let us spend the night on the wooden floor of the reception center – a pretty sweet deal.
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After breakfast on April 30th, we set off for C1.The route from Shanghaizi base camp to C1 follows the left side (north) of the glacial valley along the ridge, and C1 is a small pass along this valley. The ascent offers scenery and vegetation somewhat similar to that of Xiaowutai’s North Summit, especially the big slope beyond the treeline. After hearing Wanzhu say that there had been plenty of snow these days – powder everywhere on rocks, meadows, and woods – we walked while imagining the conditions up top, getting more and more excited. Near the slope approaching C1, everything was buried under thick snow, often sinking into it up to our thighs. A-Su simply took off his skis and skinned up to C1 with great ease.
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C1The snow was about two meters deep, with the remains of one large tent and four or five smaller ones on the surface – likely left by Sun Bin’s team. We pitched our tent further west, right at the edge of the pass where we had phone signal. Once settled, we started looking for snow. In the blink of an eye, A-Su traversed diagonally up a gentle slope and then skied down. Mid-Autumn and I quickly took off our skins too, found our favorite slopes, and began climbing. Mid-Autumn, being a Face athlete, had a little assignment this time. I’ve recently taken an interest in alpine photography too, so I brought a DSLR to help him complete the task.
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After climbing about 150 meters from C1, we started playing in the snow. The snow got a bit sticky in the afternoon, so skiing wasn’t very fast but was very comfortable. Near C1, a few large rocks were capped with snow. While skiing, I jumped off one on a whim and found it surprisingly solid. Jumping is Mid-Autumn’s specialty – he found a good rock, I positioned myself below to catch the shot, and snapped the moment he took off. Honestly, he jumped higher than I expected. As for ski jumping, A-Su wasn’t about to be outdone, but he overdid it and smacked his chest-mounted camera into his front tooth, nearly taking a chunk out.
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At night, there was a light breeze and a bit of snowfall. Frustratingly, the cough I’d been trying to shake off over the past couple of days showed no signs of improving, and I didn’t sleep a wink. I owe Mid-Autumn a huge apology and am deeply grateful for his patience sharing a tent with me. The next morning, A-Su asked, “Why didn’t you guys sleep? Were you chatting all night?” I replied, “It was just me coughing and talking to myself.”
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On May 1st, we continued upward in search of snow. The slope from C1...gradually steepened, from around 15 degrees initially to over 20 degrees soon after. The snow surface was hard in the morning, but skinning up was still manageable. Around 4600 meters, the slope increased to over 25 degrees, making skinning more strenuous and requiring more upper-body work. Without crampons, I inevitably slipped at the steepest point and had to wedge myself against a rock, carrying my skis on my back while hiking up. Mid-Autumn, relying on his wide skis, fresh skins, and crampons, kept pushing up the steep slope. Eventually, the slope reached around 30 degrees, and he too slipped, not a tragedy in itself, but the distance he slid was significant – dozens of meters. Getting back up would take ages, at least as long as it takes to smoke a pipe.
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We climbed to around 4700 meters, around 9 AM. Looking back down, we saw A-Su and a few commercial team guides just setting off from C1. There’s a fairly steep slope around 4800 meters, estimated at 35–40 degrees, where Sun Bin’s team had already set ropes. I thought this slope would be a blast to ski down, but fate had other plans – it was here that I had a Class 4 slip on the way down.
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Approaching C2, our energy was drained – we had to stop to rest every couple of steps, coughing violently until our abs cramped, feeling dizzy and rather miserable. I thought, screw it, might as well cough my lungs out. Of course, I also considered other options – if I coughed up anything red, I’d descend immediately. After climbing over that steep slope and walking for another hour, we reached C2 around 11 AM. Aside from a few tents from Sun Bin’s team, there was also a tent belonging to a hiker from Wuhan. I rested there, had some snacks, and chatted. Turns out, one of them was even trying to buy my gear on Lvye.com – small world.
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After sitting a while, we decided to keep climbing. From C1 onward, we’d been constantly scanning the route above. Between C2 and the summit, there’s a 400-meter elevation gain with four relatively established routes. In terms of skiability, Route 1 has an exposed rock section at the top half, with a skiable bottom section of about 200 meters of elevation drop; Route 2 is good news all around with powder coverage, but the bad news is a near-vertical 50-degree+ slope around 5250 meters – pros like Xiao Ai and Petit might breeze down it, but the rest of us would more likely tumble down; Route 3 has two narrow ice bands crossing the snow bridge, making it less skiable than Route 2; Route 4 is comparatively gentler and seems to allow a direct skin-up. So, we headed for Route 4.
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The slope quickly steepened to 30 degrees, and due to the warmer midday temperatures, the snow softened slightly, still allowing diagonal skiing on the boards. Looking back at C2 camp, the two figures down there seemed to have multiplied into four – turns out Mid-Autumn and A-Su had also arrived and were coming toward me.
Upon closer inspection, the upper part of Route 4 was steeper than it looked from afar. Even choosing the best ridge for a diagonal climb, the slope was still over 35 degrees, forcing us to carry our boards. Though it wasn’t yet 1 PM, considering my poor condition, we abandoned the idea of summiting. The snow on Banji is great – we’ll come back to make up for it next time.
A-Su and Mid-Autumn soon caught up, also checked out the steep slope and avalanche zone at the start of Route 4, and then the three of us began descending, taking photos of each other. We soon returned to C2, where a couple of Sherpas from the Sula team had also arrived. With the cough lingering and no sign of improvement, staying at high altitude any longer wouldn’t help my recovery, so I bid farewell to Mid-Autumn and A-Su at C2 and descended alone to C1.
The afternoon snow was perfect – thick, soft, and buttery smooth, like a giant ice cream slope. Every turn of my skis scraped off flakes like a steel spoon cutting through ice cream. At 4900 meters, the slope steepened, and each tail swipe sent chunks of snow tumbling down, sometimes growing into snowballs the size of a table. Fortunately, the snow was so soft that these posed no real danger. Experiencing such massive snowslides – something I’d only seen in foreign ski films – was a highlight of the trip. No complaints. We got back to C1 around 2 PM, packed up, descended to Shanghaizi, and took a van back to Chengdu. Back in Beijing, the hospital diagnosed it as just bronchitis – thankfully nothing serious.
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5On the 2nd, Mid-Autumn summited early via Route 1, skied the steep lower section of that route, then skied all the way back to C1 and returned to Chengdu. A-Su, meanwhile, skied four runs in the 5200–4700 meter steep zone – I was astounded: a 2000-meter vertical drop, almost on par with Muztagata. To tackle such elevation changes, you need not only exceptional fitness but also a solid AT setup. A-Su skied two more runs on the 3rd before descending. We estimated his total vertical drop over those four days was close to 4000 meters – indescribably epic. Improving high-altitude skiing skills is closely tied to the number of vertical meters skied at elevation, and A-Su basically racked up a month’s worth of Muztagata skiing in those four days on Banji – incredible value. Both Mid-Autumn and I agreed that if A-Su keeps training like this, he could become the most accomplished ski-mountaineer in China, no contest :D By the way, they’re organizing a Muztagata trip this summer via the Taxkorgan route, and several ski-mountaineers are already signing up. If you’re interested, better hurry and register.
During Qingming Festival, I’d just skied thick spring snow on Gangshika. Compared to Banji, Gangshika’s slopes are gentler – you really have to hunt for the fall line to find anything near 20 degrees. Banji’s slopes are far superior, and even the easier descents are often around 30 degrees. Add in the fantastic spring snow, and you get the perfect ski-mountaineering adventure.
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Next time the spring snow is glorious, let’s hit Banji Peak together!
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