Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010)

Puppy Join date : 2012-02-25 Location : Castle Rock, CO

In 2010, a friend and I made a plan to climb the 17,703-ft Haba Mountain with our two dogs: Polar and his Saint Bernard. It's an easy mountain from a mountaineering perspective, nothing technical, mostly just a snow slog to the top. Preparations were made, research were done, and I felt pretty confident that we can safely bring the dogs up and back. So we packed up all of our gear and headed out.

Because of a landslide that blocked the southern roadway, we had to drive all the way around the mountain and enter from the north, which turned the drive into a two-day trip. By the time we got to the village at the base of the mountain (elevation around 7800 ft), the weather was misty and rainy, it wasn't looking too promising. But we decided to hike up to basecamp anyway and see if we can get a weather window.

Day 1:
The basecamp was at 13,400 ft. Weather didn't improve when we got to basecamp, in fact it steadily got worse as the day went on. The dogs were soaked (RW raincoat doesn't do much when it rains all day). We made camp, ate dinner, set the alarm for 3 am, and went to sleep.

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8801

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8801

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8808

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020037

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020041

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020055

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020060

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020063

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9020081

Day 2:
The alarm went off at 3 am, I listened to the heavy rainfall tapping on my tent for just a few secs, and went right back to sleep. The weather was not good, it was a no-go. We had agreed last night if the weather is bad, we will wait one more day at basecamp for better weather. So we did. By the afternoon the rain stopped, cloud drifted away, and we got our first clear view of the big slab we have to climb on the way to the summit.

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9030107

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9030107

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9030129

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8868

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8857

Day 3:
We woke up at 3 am again, and this time, there was no sound of rain. We got the climbing gear ready and headed up. Normally, people just climb this mountain with just ice axe and crampons. But since we had two dogs with us, we decided to play it safe and brought helmets, harnesses, and a 60m rope in case we need to belay. We started out in pitch black, so there weren't any photos of the climb until we got above snowline. The sun came up, but visibility never improved.

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040130

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040130

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040131

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040132

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040135

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040138

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040139

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040142

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040147

The summit! You can see "5396" (5396 meters = 17,703 ft) written vertically on the summit post.
Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040155_2

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040155_2

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040161

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040167

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040169

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040172

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040177

When we got back to basecamp we still had a lot of time left in the day, so we decided to pack up and head all the way down the mountain.

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040204

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040204

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040206

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P9040212

A tired puppy is a happy puppy!
Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) _DSC8914

Senior Join date : 2012-01-29 Location : Broken Arrow, OK

Great pictures.. love the dogs both of them look like they had a good time.

Senior Join date : 2010-09-11

Great pics!! Love the rainbow one!

Comedic Relief Join date : 2009-07-15

Love your pictures and love the adventures of Polar and yourself.

Damn anyone that climbs with a Husky and St. Bernard can't be all bad.

The Gentleman Join date : 2009-06-16

Holy crap that's some gain! I can't imagine 10k all on one hill. Spoiled by starting my drive at 5,000 feet. Heh.

Incredible journey.

Adult Join date : 2011-05-15 Location : South Jordan, UT

I love this. I can't even imagine 17,000 ft. That's incredible. Utah's highest peak is a measly 13,528 feet...

Puppy Join date : 2012-02-27 Location : Chicago, IL

So jealous!! Looks like an awesome trek!

Senior Join date : 2012-02-24 Location : Denver Colorado

wow that is awesome! That is soooo high! I love the pictures! The St. Bernard yours? I love the st. Brenards! You know what a lot of other malamute owners have them. I wonder what it is!

Maverick Join date : 2011-07-01 Location : Denver, CO

That looks like an awesome trip! I can't wait to be in a position to take Ghost hiking like that, but I guess a trip to Alaska is in order to get that kind of elevation Cool

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Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) 85ced801-eef9-49ab-a499-d82fe0067cd7_zps64d8039a

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) 85ced801-eef9-49ab-a499-d82fe0067cd7_zps64d8039a

Puppy Join date : 2012-02-25 Location : Castle Rock, CO

harrise wrote:: Holy crap that's some gain! I can't imagine 10k all on one hill. Spoiled by starting my drive at 5,000 feet. Heh.

Incredible journey.

rileyflorence wrote:: I love this. I can't even imagine 17,000 ft. That's incredible. Utah's highest peak is a measly 13,528 feet...

blueeyedghost wrote:: That looks like an awesome trip! I can't wait to be in a position to take Ghost hiking like that, but I guess a trip to Alaska is in order to get that kind of elevation

That's the nice thing about living in Asia, there are a lot of really high mountains. The photo below is Muztagh Ata, a 24,636 ft mountain in northwest China. It is also an easy mountain to climb, save for its altitude. I snapped this photo when I was guiding a group on a trekking trip around the base of the mountain, too bad Polar wasn't with me on that trip. If I had my own transportation when I was living in China, I'd seriously consider taking Polar up this thing.

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P7050229

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010) P7050229

Puppy Join date : 2012-02-25 Location : Castle Rock, CO

norbreedslove wrote:: wow that is awesome! That is soooo high! I love the pictures! The St. Bernard yours? I love the st. Brenards! You know what a lot of other malamute owners have them. I wonder what it is!

The Saint Bernard belongs to my friend who Climbed this mountain with me. Polar and this Saint Bernard grew up together, they were best buddies.

Senior Join date : 2010-12-22 Location : Portland, OR

Thanks for a great trip report.
Love the pix of Polar looking out over the valley.

» Polar goes hiking. Yunnan, China
» Polar goes camping. Yunnan, China
» Polar goes rock climbing (ok, not really...). Yunnan, China
» Polar goes hiking: Herman Lake, Pettingell Peak, Woods Mountain (8/16/2013)
» Mountaineering with dogs...?

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010)

Polar goes mountaineering. Haba Mountain (17,703 ft), Yunnan, China (9/2-9/4, 2010)

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