The Peak ( 太平山 ) Hong Kong

Since I was stuck in Hong Kong for the weekend with nothing much planned, I decided that I would scale the highest peak on Hong Kong Island proper.  Locally known as "The Peak", I wanted to forgo the nomal mode of travel by taking the "The Tram" and hike the peak on foot. Besides the ticket line for the tram was way too long.

I checked the avalanche report (after all it is winter) and with reported low avy conditions I set off alone.

The peak in the mist.

The first step was getting across the bay, and since canoeing was out I took the Star Ferry.

Crossing the bay

Once across the bay, I was in a land of tall trees and many, many people.

The peak seen through the trees

It took me a while, but after winding through the trees I eventually found the trail head.

Trail head

The trail initially wound up the mountain with sustained class 2 climbing.


Class 2 section

I followed the trail cairns as I made my way up above the tall trees.

Cairns seen along the way(click to open larger view)

More class 2 climbing

Once out of the tall trees I came across many beautiful creek crossings and the trail turned from class 2 into class 3 scrambling.

Creek crossing

Class 3 section

As I struggled with my route finding in the 70 degree/90% humidity weather, I wound up the side of the mountain on slippery concrete paths and eventually found myself on the summit ridge.  The objective became a little clearer.

Summit in view (left peak)

Finally, after 2.5 hours of wandering through tall trees, numerous creek crossings, and sustained class 2 climbing I had reached the summit! Well as close to it as I could get - the actual high point was fenced to keep the riff-raff out.

Summit Splattski

And enjoyed some phenomenal views:

I was pretty beat after the climb, so I took the more normal mode of transportation down the mountain to the appointed meeting place for lunch.

Typical mode of transportation

Lunch - Tom Yum soup at Good Luck Thai

A look back at the peak on the boat ride home.

Trip stats:

Elevation gain: 1800' (sea level to summit)

Distance: Unknown - since GPS wasn't working

Time: 2.5 hours from bay to summit with another 2 hours for lunch and liquid refreshments