Huang Shan. 3 (黃山之三)

The second day at Huang Shan, we had to change hotel. That means plenty of steps to walk up and down. As on the first day, there was absolutely no sign of any sun.

 

Right opposite to our first hotel is this huge boulder

One look up these steps is enough to cause an instant fall in my moods as I thought of the amount of legwork I got to do on our snow spikes.

Something to brighten up our day

The only leaves left on this tree!

We got to walk through this valley

 

Rime on the rushes

 Rime upon the pines

As the day wore on, the ice began to melt on some of the branches

But in the sheltered corners, they refused to go

As the temperature dropped below freezing point, ice began to form on the surface of this catchwater.

Here and there, we found some stubborn leaves

 

The only survivor

A pine cone full of ice

What a relief to find a short stretch of the mountain path which is flat!

More valleys to pass through

Trees in white

More rime upon the branches

An archer or a martial art expert or a dancer?

Steps at the top of the mountain

The mountain is thick with firs and pines



but in no time, they're covered by fog again.

Trees on the boulder like so many people walking up the steps

The fog again!

 Ice on the ground

After close to two hours, finally our hotel

Our tour group members taking photos

I joined them

 
The fog cleared a little. No time to lose

Fog in the valley

 

The fog circled the waist of the mountains like an apron

Another view of the fog

Looks as if it's clearing!

Another Chinese ink painting?

The fog is thickening again

The lookout point. No one there, in Huang Shan! A mini miracle!

After a good night's sleep, we got to go back to the cable car station. More walking along the slippery path !

The ice from last night

dripping popsies?

combs of ice!

icicles?

jelly fishes amongst sea weeds?

A bamboo had fallen under the weight of the ice

These are the silent culprits of the bamboo's downfall. But time to say farewell to Huang Shan!