Summary

The author recounts their experience hiking the Plank Walk on Huashan mountain in China, known as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world.

Abstract

The author shares their thrilling experience of undertaking the Plank Walk at Huashan, a mountain renowned for its treacherous trails and breathtaking views. Despite warnings of inclement weather, they proceed with the hike, which involves navigating narrow planks with a thousand-foot drop, while clipped to the mountain via harnesses. The hike is a there-and-back route, requiring hikers to pass each other in tight spaces. The author initially feels nervous but becomes more confident after getting used to the safety equipment. They highlight the fear not only of their own actions but also of others', citing an instance where they had to prevent a fellow hiker from unclipping both carabiners simultaneously. The article concludes with logistical advice for prospective hikers, emphasizing the importance of an early start to avoid crowds.

Opinions

The author initially doubted the hike would happen due to weather warnings but was pleasantly surprised by clear skies.
They found the safety instructions to be minimal, which added to the nervousness before starting the hike.
The author was amazed by the views, comparing them to being inside a traditional Chinese painting.
A significant fear arose from the potential mistakes of other hikers, not just personal safety.
They express relief at not witnessing any accidents and describe the overall experience as fun and unique.
The author advises others to hike in the morning to avoid long waits and excessive crowding on the trail.
They recommend the hike as a must-do activity for the extraordinary views and the adrenaline rush it provides.

I Did China’s Most Dangerous Hike

I did the most dangerous hike in China (and maybe the world) and here’s what happened.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Huashan, one of China’s most famous mountains. It’s also one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. The nearest large city is Xi’an, which is most famous for being the home of the Terracotta Warriors.

The night before the hike, we were chatting with the people working at the hostel we were staying at. They warned us to cancel our trip because it was going to rain. We were very concerned because we thought our trip was ruined and we would be stuck in town for the next two days. The next morning, we decided to go ahead with the original plan and by the time we were on the cable car up the mountain, we realized the hostel workers were dead wrong.

As we were taking the cable car up, we were blown away by the beauty of the landscape. We had discussed doing the Plank Walk, which is considered to be the most dangerous hike in China, but now that we had the amazing weather, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Once we dropped our stuff in our hotel on the top of the mountain, we made a beeline for the hike.

While we were waiting, I was getting kind of nervous. We realized you have to wear a harness and clip yourself onto the mountain. We got very minimal instructions about how not to fall off the cliff and die and then it was our turn to go.

The hike is famous because essentially the whole thing is walking on a couple of boards that seem like they’re stapled to the mountain. At the edge of those boards is a thousand-foot plummet, at least.

One very interesting fact about this hike is that it’s there and back, not a loop. So as soon as you start, you have to navigate two-way traffic on a “trail” that barely fits one person. So get used to not having any personal space.

But once we were on the walk, I was so amazed. You get the most incredible views of the mountains and you feel like you’ve been transported into a traditional Chinese painting.

Overall, once I got the hang of the carabiners, I felt pretty safe. The adrenaline stopped pumping as much and I was pretty distracted by the view. But once we were out there I realized I had a fear I hadn’t anticipated. I felt like I could control whether or not I fell off the cliff and died, but I realized that I couldn’t control whether someone else made a mistake. At one point, I saw a woman unclip both of her carabiners at the same time, so she wasn’t connected to anything. We were right next to each other and without thinking, I grabbed one of the carabiners from her and clipped it back to the chain. Then I repeated the instructions we had been given: unhook the carabiners one at a time!

I’m so relieved I didn’t see anyone plummet from the trail, but that might be the biggest risk you’re going to face on this trail. Overall, it’s a fun trail with a great view and is unlike anything else you’ve ever done, I can guess.

Some logistical notes if you’re going to do the hike yourself: it costs about $4 (in addition to the fee for getting up the cable cars) and I definitely advise you to go in the morning, because we only had to wait 20 minutes or so to get going, but by the time we got back the line was at least three times as long. It definitely made the crowding issue more bearable. At times we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The trail is called “chang kong” in Chinese and it’s near the South Peak inside the park.

If you want to read more about my trip to Huashan, you can read the original blog post here. If you want the visual experience, I made a video of the whole hike which you can watch here: