[The third stop of the trip to western Sichuan] Balang Mountain

There is a poem from the ancients that says:

The autumn wind blows over the top of the mountain, and the thousands of cliffs and ravines are surrounded by beautiful scenery.

The clouds and mist are thrown away, and I am in the purple air of the blue sky.

"Balang Mountain" is "Balang La" in Tibetan, meaning "Holy Willow Mountain". The main peak is 5,040 meters above sea level. The mountains above 4,000 meters above sea level are frozen and weathered mountains. The mountains are steep and rugged, with exposed rocks and rock debris everywhere. Debris slopes and piles of rocks formed by falling down the cliff.

When going to "Balang Mountain", there are three places not to be missed: the top of the Panda Kingdom, the pass, and the bridge of the cat's nose. Standing on the top of the Panda Kingdom, you can see the rugged peaks and cliffs covered with snow, which is extremely majestic.

As the altitude climbs higher and higher, you can clearly feel the thinning of oxygen when you are at the top of the Panda Kingdom. Coupled with the cold wind blowing in your face, it is a bit difficult to breathe. Before you can change clothes, you can clearly feel the body temperature drop.

Green velvet

Green velvet is a wild alpine flower that grows on flowstone beaches and on the front edge of glaciers at an altitude of more than 3,000 to 4,000 meters. It is known as the "alpine peony" and is praised by Europeans as a "world famous flower." It is named because the entire plant is covered with downy or bristly hairs.

I saw a lot of this kind of flower along the way, and I heard that its petals will protect the insects that come to collect pollen, so as to better spread fertilization. After walking for a while, we reached the bottom of Balang Mountain. The top of the mountain seemed not far away. This was a wrong feeling! After putting on warm clothes and organizing our equipment, we started to climb to the top.

The road at the beginning was wet and sticky, with piles of rocks. It didn't take long before you reached the snowy area. You need to wear snow gloves on this kind of snowy road, otherwise the snow will jump into your shoes and soak your pants. The low temperature and biting cold wind may cause hypothermia at any time!

Thick snow covers the mountain, and the snow surface is white and smooth, just like walking on a solid color carpet, like a dream.

The blue sky is like a wash, the sun is in the sky, and white clouds are floating in the clear sky like a solitary sail on the blue sea. This may be what Yuan Zhen wrote about "Except for Wushan, there is no cloud". I didn't think so when I read this poem before. Sure enough, only by being truly immersed can you understand the author's heartfelt emotions.

The higher you climb, the thicker the snow becomes, and the difficulty of walking also increases a lot. Every time you walk a few steps, you will sink into snow pockets as deep as your thighs. The stumbling along the way adds a lot of fun. When approaching the summit, you can clearly hear the sound of water flowing. This is the undercurrent formed under the snow after the ice and snow melt. You can identify the areas with undercurrents through the changes in the color of the snow surface.

This is really the first time in my life that I have seen such thick snow, and it is in May. To me, this is indeed paradise, a white paradise; a fairyland, a pure color fairyland; and it is also a sea of joy and play. Among them, you are on the other side of happiness and enjoy the beauty and joy of escaping from the city!

Turning around and taking a look, I saw dangerous peaks standing in the distance, with thick dark clouds covering the top of the mountains. At this moment, I deeply realized the artistic conception of not being afraid of the floating clouds covering my eyes. It was as moving as what Cao Sanxuan wrote in the opening poem.

Looking out from the top, there is a completely different scenery on the other side of the mountain. Between the blue sky and white clouds, the vast sea of clouds floats on the mountainside, and the white clouds cover the long canyon. The wind is surging, the waves are magnificent, and it is spectacular. There are also dense primeval forests in the valley, with wonderful usneas hanging in the forest. Let’s take a short break and enjoy this dreamlike scenery together.

The top of the mountain is 4,800 meters above sea level. We didn’t stay too long because the clouds continued to sink. However, we were still surrounded by a cloud on the way down. The temperature inside the cloud was very low. Wet clothes would lose temperature faster, forcing us to speed up. The progress was fast and they were all safely withdrawn in the end.

We stayed in an inn for the night and went to Changpinggou early the next morning. Changpinggou is a scenic spot at the foot of Siguniang Mountain. From there, you can see the graceful mountains of the four peaks (Yamei Peak) of Siguniang Mountain from a distance. There is only one in the scenic spot. The very long plank road is mainly for enjoying the scenery along the way. Because it was cloudy and rainy in the morning, I couldn’t fully see Yaomei Peak.