Safe climbing journey

To climb mountains safely, you need to practice carefully to have good physical strength, bring necessary support equipment, go with local people and not be subjective. Let's explore a safe climbing journey with iguide!

1. Prepare your physical strength and endurance before going

Climbing is a sport not for people with weak health or suffering from bone and joint diseases, heart disease or blood pressure. People in good health still need to jog, especially climb stairs or do sit-up exercises every day from 3 weeks to 1 month before the trip so that the body gets used to being constantly pressured when climbing mountains. . I have met many cases of young and healthy people suffering from knee, ankle or calf inflammation while climbing because they did not practice carefully. Many people could not continue climbing and were forced to ask someone to help them down the mountain.

Before going, you need to eat enough nutrients and get enough sleep. Northern mountain climbing routes are often located in remote places, taking many hours by car to reach the starting point. As for the Pusilung climb, the travel time by sleeper car from Hanoi to the starting point in Pa Ve Su commune (Muong Te district, Lai Chau) takes 13-14 hours. Therefore, with remote routes, you should move closer to the starting point and spend the night there to have the best physical condition for the trip the next day.

2. Not subjective

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Bac, a Northwest mountain climbing tour specialist, all climbing routes have been introduced in detail by previous trekkers. However, those who follow absolutely must not be subjective. In particular, during the climbing process, do not separate from the group and always follow the porters to avoid getting lost or encountering snakes or wild animals. In case you get lost, find the nearest trail or stay where you are and find a way to light a fire or smoke signal to let other members find you.

If you are not used to bathing in cold water, you should not bathe in the stream because the spring water in the Northern mountains is very cold and you can easily catch a cold. Personally, at home I often bathe in cold water so I can bathe in the stream, but I usually bathe very quickly when my body is still warm and immediately put on warm clothes and rest in a tent or shelter.

When you have to sleep in a tent, you need to set up the tent in a high and dry place, and use an insulating sheet to prevent your body from getting cold when it comes into contact with the ground. You can use dry leaves to spread under the tent in case there is no insulation. Especially do not drink alcohol before or while climbing to avoid muscle laxity and loss of alertness. After drinking alcohol, the body is susceptible to colds in rainy or hot weather.

If you feel like you can't continue, don't try. Immediately notify the group leader or group members for timely support.

3. Learn about leo in advance

Before the trip, backpackers need to carefully learn about the route and mountain they are about to conquer, from the terrain, terrain, flora and fauna... This is very important because it will help us know what to expect. What difficulties do you face to overcome them?

In addition, you also need to carefully monitor the weather forecast on the days of travel. You should not climb some routes with many streams and steep slopes if it is raining or rain is forecast.

"If it rains heavily, I will not take my guests to conquer the peaks of Pusilung or Nam Kang Ho Tao because it is very dangerous," shared Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien, who regularly organizes climbing trips in the Northwest.

Pusilung climbing arc has a total of 11 large and small streams. A heavy rain will cause stream water to rise, possibly causing flooding or cutting off roads, leaving travelers stuck in the forest for days. Nam Kang Ho Tao Palace has many steep cliffs. When it rains, the mossy cliffs will be slippery and if climbers fall, they can fall into the abyss.

4. Prepare necessary personal items

On every climbing trip, my outfit includes: Light cotton inner shirt, light jacket, quick-drying pants, sun hat, gloves, sun glasses, knee braces, ankle wraps to help minimize affects the knees and ankles.

There are also small backpacks (containing snacks, warm jackets and dry clothes, scarves, raincoats, cold medicine, drinking water, lighters...). Even though it's hot, I still have to bring a warm jacket in case the weather changes. When climbing in mountainous areas or bare hills in hot weather, you need to wear sun-protective but cool clothes to prevent heat stroke. Hiking shoes with good drainage and trekking poles are also essential.

It should be noted that in high mountains, although it is sunny and people are very hot when climbing, the outdoor temperature is always low and there are strong winds. Therefore, every time you stop to rest, you need to use a dry towel to wipe the sweat from your body and wear a jacket to avoid catching a cold. If it rains, you need to change into dry clothes and wear a warm jacket and raincoat outside to avoid water absorption and heat loss.

5. Must have a local guide
According to the administrator of the Mountaineering Enthusiasts Association Forum with more than 45,000 members, with dangerous climbing routes in the Northwest, you should go with people who have experience organizing or hire a group leader and guide. The local porter has experience and has climbed those routes.

An experienced group leader or guide will assign tasks to each member, anticipate difficulties and know how to handle situations when problems arise. Climbing routes like Pusilung are very long and dangerous. Without them, trekkers might get lost or not be able to conquer the mountain due to unreasonable timing.
For difficult climbs and without shelters, you should hire multiple porters, with one porter for two people to avoid having to carry your own tent, cooking utensils and food, leading to reduced physical strength.

Thank you for your choiceiguide.aito accompany your exciting experience!