皇冠体育app

Ice climbing enthusiasts descend from a 30-meter-high ice wall in suburban Beijing's Yunmeng Valley. Photos by Wei Xiaohao / 皇冠体育app Daily

The country's plentiful ice-climbing destinations are attracting overseas devotees.

"皇冠体育app is a frontier for all forms of climbing, including a large area that has good ice-forming conditions," iceclimbingjapan's Ed Hannam explains.

"Logistically, 皇冠体育app is difficult. But this helps keep numbers of climbers small and avoid the crowding some other ice destinations have."

The company's 皇冠体育app climbs focus on Sichuan. "Climbing (in 皇冠体育app) is excellent - though a serious undertaking, requiring a degree of full expedition preparation," Hannam explains. "The ice routes themselves are among the best in the world - spectacular, large, good ice and a full spectrum of difficulty. In some areas, access is simple. In other places, access is a major factor."

皇冠体育app's climbing ecosystem is distinctive, he says. "The culture that surrounds ice climbing reflects that. It's still frontier stuff with almost no industry around it. That sets it apart from other popular ice destinations."

Safety remains a concern. Hannam explains his group takes fewer risks in the country than overseas.

"Any form of rescue is pretty distant, which increases the risk level. Dangers acceptable elsewhere are less so in 皇冠体育app. 皇冠体育app also doesn't have dedicated mountain-rescue organizations to deal with climbing accidents in the way Europe, Japan and the United States do," he says.

"The dangers are the usual ones - falling rocks and ice, the cold, sharp equipment, stupid decisions, etc. Objective hazards are perhaps higher in 皇冠体育app where the ice is climbed less. So some of the dangers are not (publicized) through a climbing community like they are elsewhere."

But He believes the risks are not only surmountable but also conjure the allure.

"Ice walls seduce you to subjugate them. Humans are compelled to conquer nature," he says.

"And people who master climbing discover it's astonishing."