Yushan "Jade Mountain" (Taiwan)

[lenifran]

Yushan, at 3,952m (12,965ft), is Taiwan's tallest mountain. I climbed it twice using the classic two-day route, ascending from the west, climbing from the trailhead to Paiyun Lodge on day 1, and from Paiyun Lodge to the summit and back to the trailhead on day 2. For single-day ascents, most climbers spend 10-12 hours going up and down the mountain.

Trail running is getting more and more popular in Asia these days. Still, I looked around a lot online and even asked some friends to help search in Chinese, but I couldn't find anyone who'd recorded an FKT for Yushan. So... I thought, "Hey, let's get this going here!" On Thursday, December 3, 2015, I set an FKT of 4h29m33s for Yushan Main Peak.

Here are my splits:
Trailhead 00:00:00 (0.0km)
Paiyun Lodge 1:47:00 (8.5km)
Summit 2:40:41 (10.9km)
Trailhead 4:29:33 (21.8km)

I'll attach a few photos: the single-day ascent permit, Garmin Connect GPS data, and a pic from the summit. I'm planning to write a more detailed run report later, which I can share with you guys. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing who can smash my record ASAP. Yushan is a beautiful mountain, and Taiwan is a beautiful island. Cheers, guys!!

Frank Lenihan
[e-mail]

[mom]

You are sure sowing your Taiwan wild oats, mister! Can't wait to see you in less than a month. We got slammed with 2 feet of snow. You are in for a different weather world! Call!
Love, mom

[Dan Lenihan]

Nice job Frank! Will be kind of cool to how long it holds
Love Dad