Rilong Day 2
We stayed at the Five Colours Mountain Lodge, which was quite near the entrance of the National Park. This lodge was named after a nearby mountain which was supposedly to have 5 colors due to the different mineral compositions. We didn’t see the 5 different colors though, maybe the colors appear only on certain time of the year.
I found that the lodge was slightly better than expected. We actually had proper beds, with heat blanket. No other form of heater in lodge except for the fire stove in the cook house. The toilet was minimal, with no running tap water. So we had to rely on alcohol disinfectants. We didn’t have to flush either, because the water was channeled from the river so it flushes continuously 24/7. That would mean that it was also the start of our shower-free week!
It was really very cold. Temperature was about -8 to -10 C every morning and only rose to slightly above freezing temperature when the sun is at its peak. Man, it was really freaking cold!
Anything that you leave outside overnight will freeze the following day. Even the water dripping from the mop. Things won’t get dry, it’ll just freeze. Oh, if you want to eat ice cream, you’ll just bring it out from the fridge. And if you want to drink water, you better leave it in the fridge!
A typical breakfast at the lodge. Anything that’s hot is good, in this case, the plain porridge!
We left our lodge at about 10am for our first day ice climbing training. A frozen lake along the way.
This is the eagle’s beak mountain. Don’t think anyone has climbed to the beak before.
The first task was to cross the river! A little challenging given that that was our first time walking with the snow boots.
We had to trek up the river bed covered with ice and snow to our destination. It was definitely not easy trekking along the river bed, considering such a thick snow and at about 3,500m elevation. Along the way, you can still hear water streaming beneath the ice and snow. So we had to watch our steps or risk stepping into freezing cold water!
When we were about to reach the waterfall, we had to put on crampons, after we had our lunch: cold, tasteless buns.
Preparing to climb our first waterfall
It wasn’t too steep, about 15-25 degree slope. But still, it wasn’t that easy.
Holding on to the rope with an ascender while climbing upslope for the first time! By the time we reached the top, it was almost 4pm so we had to descend down again before sunset.
While resting on top, I had to say that I found this photo really funny. NUS flag, NUS Lion and it just happened that the outerjacket and helmet that I borrowed are the same colour scheme. I definitely looked like an ambassador for NUS!
On the way down, I saw a nice view of a waterfall nearby. And boy, sure it looked surreal!
An enjoyable first winter climb!