Chapter 49p2: Knife Tassel
Although Jiang Zao had experience climbing an 8,000-meter snow mountain and was an “outdoor expert” in the eyes of her fans, that was also with the premise of professional and mature logistical support. In the face of such a forbidden land full of unknowns and buried with professional mountaineers, and with no logistical support, no weather forecast, and no medical support, she still had a sense of awe. She made a detailed climbing plan from various aspects such as physical fitness, weather, adaptation training, route selection, campsite construction, and emergency plans.
They didn’t have to worry about their physical fitness. Jiang Zao was very clear about her and Wen Zhao’s physical condition. It was just that Wen Zhao had no experience climbing at high altitudes, so she needed 3-5 days of adaptation training, but this was also in Jiang Zao’s plan.
As for the weather…
Jiang Zao looked at the contour map and wrote and drew on a piece of paper. “You’ve picked a good time. January to May every year is the spring snow season of Chongming Snow Mountain. The low temperature and powder snow may lead to avalanches or crevasses.”
“Then why don’t we go climbing in the summer? The snow on the mountain is almost all melted.”
Jiang Zao gently blew away the pencil shavings on the paper.
“June to September is our local rainy season. The weather conditions are even more unstable, with frequent disasters such as landslides, mudslides, and thunderstorms. If you go climbing in the rainy season, you must be tired of living.”
She looked up and saw the afterglow of the setting sun on Chongming Snow Mountain. She turned to look at Wen Zhao.
“Now is the last window of opportunity. Any later and it won’t work. Let’s hurry up and set off tomorrow.”
Jiang Zao had prepared at least fifteen days’ worth of trail food. When she was packing her bag, Wen Zhao tried to lift it and almost couldn’t.
“It’s so heavy. Do you carry so much stuff every time you hike?”
“It’s alright. It’s just that this time is special. You don’t have high-altitude climbing experience, so I’ve prepared a little more.”
“Let me carry some for you.”
“No need, no need. Let’s go.”
Jiang Zao lifted the backpack from the ground with both hands, slowly put it on, bent down to adjust it to a suitable position, fastened the waist belt and the chest buckle, and hung the sports camera.
Wen Zhao looked at her small back and couldn’t help but sigh. How can she have so much energy? When she came to her senses, Jiang Zao had already walked far away. She quickly picked up her trekking poles and also chased after her.
“Wait for me.”
The first stop was the forest ranger’s small wooden cabin.
The two of them arrived after a six-hour long trek.
Jiang Zao used this place as their climbing base camp.
On this trip up, she had also specially brought a hammer and iron nails to repair this somewhat dilapidated wooden cabin.
Wen Zhao took the work from her.
“I’ll do it. You go and rest. If you’re really restless, then go and get some firewood and start a fire.”
Jiang Zao smiled slightly, said nothing, and went out with an iron bucket.
When she came in, Wen Zhao had already taken off her windbreaker because of the work and was only wearing a black short-sleeved shirt inside. When she raised the hammer high and brought it down, her arm lines were smooth and her muscles were firm. The fingers holding the hammer also looked very slender and powerful. The thin sweat on her forehead made her look even more charming.
Jiang Zao leaned against the door frame and couldn’t help but think of a popular meme from before: Is this a roofer?
“The leaky places are all patched up. Come and see how it is.”
She was mesmerized. Before Wen Zhao’s gaze came over, she immediately stood up straight. “Coming.”
Dinner was roasted potatoes and meat slice soup.
The meat slices were the dried meat from the wild boar they had hunted a while ago. With protein and starch, they had a simple meal, and the two of them prepared to go to sleep.
Wen Zhao had just spread the egg crate mat on the ground when she turned and saw Jiang Zao sitting on the small bed, about to take off her clothes. She quickly turned her face away.
“You’re changing… then, then I’ll go out first.”
Jiang Zao’s hand, which was pulling the hem of her clothes, froze. Seeing her serious and even tense jawline, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s warmer to get into the sleeping bag after taking off your clothes. I’m not taking everything off. We’ll be together for at least seven or eight days. Are you going to go out every time I change?”
Only then did Wen Zhao stiffly turn her face back, still staring at the work in her hand, not daring to look at her.
“You… you were always like this when you hiked before?”
“There have been worse environments than this. Co-ed dormitories, cattle sheds, haystacks, pigsties. It’s good enough to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.”
Only then did Wen Zhao smile slightly again.
“Little Zao, you are much more amazing than I thought.”
Jiang Zao got into the sleeping bag, a smile on her lips. She wriggled, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. “Let’s go to sleep. We have a tough battle to fight tomorrow.”
The next morning, when Jiang Zao opened the door of the small wooden cabin and looked at the flowing clouds in the azure sky, her face changed.
“Oh no, we have to hurry up today.”
“What’s wrong? Isn’t the weather very good?”
Wen Zhao also came out. The autumn air was crisp and clear, and the sky was as clear as if it had been washed. There was no sign of rain or snow.
Jiang Zao pointed to the thin, curled cirrus clouds in the sky that were slowly flowing like an animal’s tail. “Those are called cirrus clouds. They only appear when the weather is clear, but this often also means that the temperature is rising, the snow line is rising, and it may rain or snow in the next 48 hours.”
“Then I’ll go and pack. Let’s get ready to set off.”
After a simple breakfast, the two of them continued on their journey.
Jiang Zao looked at the constantly rising altitude on her watch and looked back at Wen Zhao, who was falling behind. “Are you okay?!”
Her weather forecast was indeed very accurate. Eight hours after they set off, they encountered a strong wind.
This was a route that cut across a mountain ridge, which was equivalent to walking against the wind. The weeds and bushes were already past their thighs.
Wen Zhao looked at Jiang Zao, who was leading the way and breaking the wind for her, and shouted, “I’m fine! I can still hold on!”
Jiang Zao was also panting slightly.
“The altitude has already risen by eight hundred meters. We’re almost at the C1 camp I planned! Just a little longer!”
“You go at your own pace. Don’t mind me!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a trekking pole was extended from the front.
The strong wind soon brought precipitation. The rain on the mountain was mixed with snow pellets, which blew in their faces and pattered on their goggles.
Jiang Zao raised her voice and shouted, “How can I not mind you? This is strong convective weather. The wind on the ridge is the strongest and the most dangerous time. Grab my trekking pole and follow me!”
She led the way and broke the wind in front. Wen Zhao grabbed her trekking pole and followed her step by step. After a difficult journey through this crosswind section, they trekked for another two hours and finally arrived at the C1 camp at dusk.
Jiang Zao’s choice of campsite was very good. It was on the leeward side of a mountain pass. After they were on the snow line, the rain and snow had completely turned into snow. The two of them managed to set up their tent before the blizzard arrived, with the pegs deeply embedded in the rock layer.
The tent was rustling in the wind, and the camping lamp hanging at the top was also swaying back and forth.
Jiang Zao was curled up in her sleeping bag, her knees bent, looking at the contour map on her tablet, and planning the next day’s climb.
“The altitude of the C1 camp is now 5,200 meters. Tomorrow, we’ll see. If the weather is good, we’ll set off for…”
Before she could finish, another strong gust of wind blew, and the tent shook violently. The camping lamp at the top fell down.
The entire tent was instantly plunged into darkness.
Wen Zhao hugged her head. “Be careful!”
Before Jiang Zao could react, she was pulled into an embrace. The tablet fell to the ground, and the darkness was replaced by the familiar, slightly cold, pine-scented fragrance on her body.
“Are you okay? Are you scared?”
Wen Zhao knew she had claustrophobia, so she gently patted her back to comfort her.
“No… I’m fine…”
Seeing that she was stammering, Wen Zhao thought she was scared, so she held her even tighter and tried to find a topic to talk about to distract her.
“By the way, how did you know the weather was going to change…”
“Children who grew up in the countryside all know how to read the clouds to tell the weather. To be honest, my first teacher was Jiang Wuni.”
Should I tell her that the camping lamp is not broken and that it will work again with a pat?
Feeling the warmth and the light and slow force from her back, Jiang Zao finally chose to follow her heart, gently closed her eyes, and buried her head in her embrace.
The strong wind howled all night. Although the snow had stopped the next morning, the sky was still very cloudy.
After breakfast, Jiang Zao decided to set off anyway, to reach the C2 camp at an altitude of 5,800 meters before the next blizzard arrived.
Although the climb this day was only a short six hundred meters, the entire journey was on a scree slope. A slight carelessness would lead to a fall into a crevasse, and below was a perennial glacier. If they fell, not even their bodies would be found.
They had put on their crampons when they set off from the camp this morning. Jiang Zao had also given her her ice axe. Mountain Stream was a technical curved axe with an adze, more suitable for ice climbing or complex ice surfaces. Compared to the walking axe she was now holding, it was also much safer.
This was a slope of nearly seventy degrees. A few dozen meters to the right was a huge crevasse, which was like a giant axe that had split the mountain in two. The blue ice was bottomless.
Jiang Zao used both her hands and feet, leading the way in front, setting up the ropes, setting anchors, and establishing a protection station.
She and Wen Zhao were connected by a main rope. When Wen Zhao looked up, she could always see her small back moving forward against the wind and snow, smashing the ice with her axe again and again.
She exhaled the cold air from her lungs, gritted her teeth, and grabbed the rope with her right hand, pulling herself up with all her might, trying not to hold her back.
Finally, they were almost past the crevasse. Jiang Zao had set up the last protection station and finally had a chance to stop and look back.
Wen Zhao was panting heavily, and her eyebrows were covered with white frost, but her eyes were still sparkling. She looked up and smiled at her.
“Why… did you stop?”
“I’m waiting for you.”
“I’m fine… let’s go quickly. Otherwise… it will snow heavily again later…”
Jiang Zao looked up at the sky, her expression gradually becoming grave. “If it’s not good, we’ll retreat.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Zhao had just raised her hand. The moment the ice axe was about to touch the ice surface, a crosswind blew from the mountain wall, and snow pellets hit her goggles, blurring her vision for a moment.
The main rope at Jiang Zao’s waist suddenly sank. Fortunately, the protection station above held the two of them in time. She grabbed the rope with one hand and looked back. Although Wen Zhao had hit the ice wall due to the wind, she had also quickly stabilized herself. But under the impact just now, the harmonica that was inserted in the side of her backpack had slipped out.
Her pupils shrank. She reached out to catch it but missed.
“Stay there and don’t move!”
It all happened in a flash. Jiang Zao had already unfastened the protection of the main rope on her body, leaving only a secondary rope hanging on the protection station. She was like a fish, sliding down.
“Jiang Zao!”
Wen Zhao watched as she slid past her. But Jiang Zao’s eyes were only on the harmonica. Unknowingly, she was getting closer and closer to the crevasse. Just a few feet away from the crevasse, she leaped and grabbed the harmonica that had hit a rock. She looked down and her scalp tingled. She gritted her teeth, rolled over on the ice, and began to use her body and the ice axe to brake urgently.
Who knew that this walking axe was somewhat helpless against the hard ice wall. Jiang Zao smashed it several times, and snow pellets mixed with stones flew into her goggles, but she still couldn’t stabilize her rapidly falling body. The moment her legs slipped into the crevasse.
A hand firmly grabbed her arm.
Wen Zhao’s face appeared above.
She was panting slightly. “Hold on to me. I’ll pull you up.”
The moment she hung the protector on her body, Wen Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking of her dangerous behavior just now, a hint of anger couldn’t help but appear in her eyes.
“Why did you let go of the main rope just now? Don’t you know…”
Don’t you know what I would do if you fell?
Jiang Zao wiped the snow from the harmonica and handed it to her.
“I still have a secondary rope on me. It would have caught me before I fell. Look, I got your harmonica for you—”
Before she could finish, she was pulled into an embrace. Wen Zhao’s force was so great that she almost squeezed her into her body.
Jiang Zao was gradually getting out of breath.
“Wen… Wen Zhao…”
“A hundred harmonicas are not as important as you. In the future… in the future, you are not allowed to do this again. Do you hear me?”
She said it word by word, her body trembling, as if she were holding something that had been lost and found again, gritting her teeth in her neck.
Jiang Zao was stunned for a moment and also slowly hugged her back.
“Alright, then… let’s retreat to the C1 camp first.”
Translator’s Notes
[1] “Eye contact is the spiritual kiss of humanity, without desire.” (对视是人类不带欲望的精神接吻。) – This is a quote from the movie “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” The original line is slightly different, but the sentiment is the same, emphasizing the intimacy and connection of a shared gaze.
[2] “A treasured sword is hard to come by, and it is rare to meet.” (宝剑不可得，相逢几许难。) – This is a line from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. It speaks to the rarity and preciousness of finding something or someone truly valuable.
