Jade Dragon Snow Mountain 玉龙雪山
October 30, 2024
Early in the morning, we got up to watch the sunrise by the lake. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate—thick clouds blanketed the sky, and the sun only peeked out briefly before retreating behind the clouds. Feeling a bit disappointed, we returned to the hotel, enjoyed a simple breakfast, and quickly set off on our next journey.
The journey from Lugu Lake to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain took approximately 4-5 hours, passing through Lijiang. Before entering the scenic area, our driver suggested stopping at one of the many shops selling oxygen cans and renting winter jackets. A shop assistant recommended two oxygen cans and two drinks per person as “necessary” preparations. Chenggang was firmly against spending money on something we didn’t need, but the ladies in our group felt a bit pressured by the general consensus, so we ended up buying total of two cans for ¥39 each, just in case.
Our cable car tickets were valid for the 2:30–3:00 PM time slot. After a quick lunch, we joined the queue for the shuttle bus to the cable car station. While on the bus, the sound of hissing gas filled the air as passengers started inhaling oxygen from their cans—despite still being surrounded by dense forests with abundant oxygen!
The gondola line took about an hour. The cable car carried us to the trailhead at 4,506 meters, well above the tree line. From there, we walked along a sturdy, well-constructed pathway to the observation deck at 4,680 meters. It was cold and very windy, but unsurprisingly, our oxygen levels were perfectly fine. We frequently used the oximeter we brought with us to monitor our oxygen saturation, which confirmed that the fears surrounding oxygen deprivation were highly exaggerated. The pervasive sale of oxygen cans at high-altitude tourist spots seems more like a commercial ploy designed to exploit fear for profit. In contrast, high-altitude regions in Europe and the United States rarely sell oxygen cans; instead, they promote natural acclimatization and scientifically managing altitude sickness.
Having recently spent two weeks in the Mont Blanc region, the scenery at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, while stunning, felt somewhat less remarkable by comparison. Even so, for the last two days, it was an enjoyable experience.
Fo dinner, we enjoyed authentic Yunnan-style “crossing the bridge noodles,” a hearty and flavorful dish that was the perfect conclusion to our day.
2024年10月30日
清晨起来去湖边看日出，云层太厚，太阳刚露了个脸就又躲进云里去了。回旅馆吃了个早餐就赶紧出发。
从泸沽湖到玉龙雪山的车程大约需要4-5个小时，中途经过丽江。在进入景区之前，司机建议我们为一会儿的登山备上氧气罐并在一家售卖氧气罐和租赁冬季外套的商店停留。店员热情地推荐我们每人准备两罐氧气和两瓶饮料，说这是“必备”的物品。成刚觉得言过其实，坚决反对买这些不必要的东西。但母女俩觉得大家都在买，我们也不妨备着，以防万一，但肯定不需要那么多。最后我们总共只买了两罐氧气，每罐39元。
我们的索道票是下午2:30到3:00的时段。吃过午餐后，我们排队乘坐接驳巴士前往缆车站。在巴士上，车厢内不断传来“嘶嘶”的声音，许多乘客已经开始使用氧气罐了——尽管我们还在山脚下，仍然处于氧气充足的森林地带！
缆车站的人密密麻麻，我们足足排了一个多小时。排队时周围的吸氧声更是此起彼伏，让我们觉得哭笑不得。缆车将我们带到了海拔4506米的步道起点，这里已经远远高于树线。从步道起点出发，我们沿着修建完善的栈道开始往上行走，最终到达海拔4680米的观景台。山顶寒风刺骨, 但并不意外的是，在往上爬的过程中我们频繁使用随身携带的指氧仪检测血氧饱和度，结果表明所谓的缺氧风险其实被大大夸张了。母女俩偶尔也试试随身携带的氧气罐，但并未感觉有什么区别。在高海拔景区大肆销售氧气罐，似乎更像是一种利用恐惧心理牟利的商业策略。相比之下，在欧洲和美国的高海拔地区，很少看到售卖氧气罐的现象，当地更提倡通过自然适应和科学方法来管理高原反应。因为我们最近刚在欧洲勃朗峰地区待了两周，与之相比，玉龙雪山的体验少了一些新鲜感。
整体而言，这次的二日游出行仍然很愉快。
回到丽江古城，再次入住之前的民宿。晚餐我们品尝了正宗的云南“过桥米线”，味道非常鲜美，十分地道。夜幕下的古城很漂亮，而城内不计其数的餐厅，酒吧及各种娱乐场所也让古城显得格外热闹。
