Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on global travel, Taiwanese have been flocking to domestic attractions “with a vengeance,” a term that entered the Taiwanese lexicon shortly after local restrictions were lifted.
Coupled with the opening of the nation’s forests and mountains to the public in October last year, there has been a surge in people trying to tackle the nation’s highest peaks — and naturally, problems and accidents have increased as well.
Take Pingtung County, for example. It announced on Monday that mountaineering accidents in the county had tripled from last year, with one-third of them occurring on Beidawu Mountain (北大武山), whose difficulty belies its height ranking of just 92nd on Taiwan’s top 100 peaks list. Not only is this due to a significant increase in the number of hikers, but also those who try to ascend and descend the mountain in one day.
Hualien County’s Taroko National Park also said that it has seen an 80 percent increase in accidents from last year — mostly due to inadequate equipment, stamina and knowledge of the mountains and forests.
When the government opened up the mountains last year, the Executive Yuan said that it should not “use danger to personal safety as an excuse for limiting access to the nation’s forests and mountains.” Minister Without Portfolio Chang Ching-sen (張景森) said that the move would train the next generation as proactive citizens who dare to adventure, but also exercise self-restraint.
Is the proliferation of hiking incidents just growing pains exacerbated by the pandemic, or is there really a serious problem that needs additional measures? That is hard to say, but at least hiking experts agree that much more public education needs to be done. In the past few months, countless voices have echoed the same plea: “Mountaineering is not tourism.”
On Monday, Wu Te-fa (吳德發), who runs the Kuaigu Lodge (檜谷山莊) on Beidawu, made a lengthy Facebook post giving detailed advice on what novices should know before tackling the behemoth. Not only does he provide many tips, he mostly pleads for people to do their homework and evaluate their stamina before climbing the mountain.
People should also avoid trying to scale Beidawu in one day unless they are confident in their abilities — a Taipei Times reporter learned this the hard way (“Pushing the limits on Beidawu,” Aug. 27, page 13).
“One must understand the mountain first before tackling it, instead of following the trends and being a mountain tourist,” Wu wrote.
This is key, as it is not the same as sitting at a cafe and posting a selfie on Instagram — it is a serious activity with serious risks.
Tour companies should fully disclose the challenges of climbing, as some seem to tout the idea of “easy hiking,” with porters carrying equipment and food, causing people to overestimate their abilities.
Opening up Taiwan’s mountains is a great thing for the country, but more precautions need to be taken, such as clearly labeling the level and terrain of the hike or requiring people to take an assessment so they know if they are fit enough.
Tour companies should take more responsibility in conveying this and informing their clients. The government could also work more with mountaineering experts to improve education — there is a lot more that can and should be done so that Taiwan’s hiking scene gets through its growing pains quickly.
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