Li Younan is someone who naturally enjoys good sleep quality, and in the high-altitude environment, not to mention the altitude itself, it’s genuinely quite peaceful.
In such a place, the most audible sounds are one’s heartbeat and the echo of blood flow.
Many find it hard to rest well in such settings, coupled with the agony of oxygen deprivation, as blood oxygen levels plummet rapidly.
These sounds naturally become the biggest distraction during sleep at night, but for Li Younan, it’s not a problem; instead, these sounds have become the perfect white noise, helping him to rest.
Upon waking up the next morning, Li Younan felt refreshed. He stretched comfortably and drew open the tent flap, then looked toward the tent of the three people not far away.
They were also up early, gathered together having breakfast.
To call it breakfast was a bit of a stretch—it was merely a few compressed biscuits paired with freshly boiled hot water.
Li Younan overheard fragments of their conversation; the wind distorted the clarity, but he caught words like unrested and headache faintly.
Next, Li Younan also began to prepare his breakfast.
He continued to use the mountain stove to boil water, and since there was still quite a bit left in yesterday’s thermos, he boldly washed his face with it.
Then, he filled the thermos with freshly boiled water.
After completing these tasks, he lazily took out compressed food.
Today, he decided not to bother cooking for himself.
By the time he finished these tasks, the three people were ready to start climbing.
Zhao Liang made sure to greet Li Younan before departing, for what it’s worth; his attitude was quite friendly.
To be honest, aside from the exchange with Li Younan the day before, it was quite a fate for them to meet here. They were indeed kind, though in such a harsh environment, it’s difficult to gauge everyone’s actions with conventional moral standards.
Soon, they packed their gear and bagged their trash, officially setting off.
Li Younan silently watched their departing figures, not rushing but rather waiting until they had roughly disappeared from sight, before starting to pack his own gear.
Of course, he had brought oxygen, but it seems there was no necessity for it at the moment.
It’s worth mentioning that this high-altitude lineage really is a divine skill when paired with mountaineering abilities.
If he only had mountaineering skills, climbing mountains of 5 or 6 thousand meters would still pose little difficulty.
But when ascending slightly higher peaks, physical conditions become the greatest barrier to height.
Yet, with the high-altitude lineage skill, an altitude of 5 thousand meters is merely a starting point for him.
And frequent Mount Everest climbers know that above 5 thousand meters sea level, the greatest obstacles are not climbing techniques or resources like water and food, but rather oxygen deprivation.
Decades ago, cold was also a major concern, but today’s warm gear can completely resolve the issue of cold.
At least in recent decades, few have frozen or starved to death on the mountain; most deaths result from oxygen deprivation leading to unconsciousness, then ultimately dying on the mountain.
There’s a common misconception that climbers breathe oxygen only by taking a few puffs when experiencing shortages.
In reality, in these high-altitude areas, the oxygen used isn’t ordinary canned oxygen, but high-pressure oxygen tanks.
Once worn, continuous uninterrupted oxygen inhalation is needed; stopping after a while, instead, hampers the body’s ability to acclimate to high altitudes.
Thus, truly professional climbers will ascend a segment, descend, repeat the process so the body can adapt before going higher.
Before setting off, Li Younan measured his blood oxygen and blood pressure.
Shockingly, his blood oxygen saturation still held above 98%, and his blood pressure was considerably lower than in the plains.
Li Younan thought of how many wealthy individuals would hire a Sherpa guide for Mount Everest climbs. Sherpas, living long-term at altitudes of 4 or 5 thousand meters, possess genes that make them fully adapted to high-altitude, oxygen-low environments. Their blood pressure is much lower than people from plains, but due to systemic adjustments, Li Younan far exceeds Sherpas, essentially a Sherpa among Sherpas.
However, in such environments, it’s still advisable not to exercise vigorously as one would on the plains.
Once blood pressure and heart rate rise, the issue of lowered blood oxygen persists.
After consideration, Li Younan brought two oxygen tanks for emergencies.
These oxygen tanks are high-pressure cylinders, capable of continuous use for several hours.
He looked toward the ridge; while he definitely doesn’t need oxygen now, having them would certainly be better than not if faced with scenarios that might elevate heart rate or blood pressure upon reaching the mountain.
Most equipment needs to be left at the camp.
In such environments, theft isn’t a concern.
For one, those arriving here likely aren’t lacking funds, as climbing is among the most expensive sports. For another, everyone’s gear is similar; taking it only adds weight, something no sensible person would do.
His plan for now was to move a bit further up, retreating if insurmountable challenges arise.
So far, over 2000 meters of vertical altitude and roughly 3 kilometers of distance remain to reach the summit.
Estimated slope inclines ranged from forty to sixty or seventy degrees.
Though challenging, it seems less exaggerated than described online.
He’d take it step by step.
Li Younan equipped himself with the crampons, ice axes, and other gear needed for snow mountain climbing, and then set off light.
The two oxygen tanks were quite heavy, yet made little difference to him.
Climbing proved less daunting than anticipated.
There’s no fixed format for summit climbs.
Some seekers of natural and wild experiences even speed climb peaks empty-handed.
Li Younan ascended slowly, not due to lack of speed, but to prudently evaluate the environment ahead before deciding whether to proceed.
For him, safety is the top priority.
However, after climbing for a while, he gradually realized that it wasn’t all that dangerous.
The route could be chosen.
This was also thanks to his excellent physical condition at the time, which made his mind especially clear.
And with a clear mind, he could more calmly analyze which area ahead was safer. Sometimes, taking a detour didn’t matter much; if he felt there was a risk of slipping on the glacier ahead, or if certain angles were hard to climb, even if they were closer, Li Younan would choose to avoid them.
In this way, the journey would naturally be a bit longer, but that didn’t matter; climbing as much as possible was what counted.
However, mountaineering ultimately requires climbing up along the ridge, so the actual options for routes were quite limited, and the general direction was consistent with the few team members ahead.
After climbing for a while, Li Younan gradually saw the figures of Zhao Liang and his two companions in his sight.
The altitude had already exceeded 6,500 meters at this point.
For the vast majority of ordinary people, this altitude was already their limit.
At this altitude, blood oxygen would drastically decrease.
Although Zhao Liang and his companions had climbed many peaks before, in reality, they had only climbed one or two peaks that exceeded 7,000 meters.
So for them, altitude was still a very unstable factor restricting their summit attempt.
The three of them had a background in rock climbing, so they had an advantage when climbing peaks that required high technical difficulty.
And Gongga Mountain was indeed a place that required more comprehensive skills.
The next 1,000 meters or so were the real test of their technical skills.
Zhao Liang could clearly hear his own heartbeat and the sound of blood ringing in his ears; he knew well this was a signal of the body’s lack of oxygen.
Although he had been acclimatizing for several days before this, anyone who often climbs high peaks knows that the body’s tolerance for high-altitude hypoxia only reaches a certain level.
Once over 6,500 meters, it all comes down to willpower.
This is also one of the reasons Gongga Mountain is so difficult to climb—when your body starts lacking oxygen, that’s when the toughest part of the journey begins.
And ahead was an unavoidable slope of about sixty to seventy degrees; this section of the slope was only dozens of meters long but had become the first major obstacle in front of them.
They decided to rest briefly.
While resting, they needed to turn their backs to the slope, which effectively relaxed their calves.
As professional climbers, they knew well that squatting to rest at this time was a no-go, as it would disrupt the body’s blood circulation rhythm, making them extremely tired when they stood back up.
In this environment, where human limits were challenged, no detail could be taken lightly.
The three of them helped each other with tacit understanding, adjusted their resting posture, and took out water to drink.
At this moment, they naturally also saw Li Younan about one to two hundred meters below.
Li Younan was not in a hurry, continuing to climb upwards.
He also chose a spot to rest, while holding a selfie stick and sports camera to capture the scenery at the moment.
Ding Rui gently nudged Zhao Liang: "Brother Zhao, look at that guy."
Zhao Liang nodded: "I didn’t expect him to have climbed this far." He looked up at the slope above, shook his head, "Ignore him, let’s keep climbing. Is everyone rested?"
Both companions nodded, so Zhao Liang took out climbing tools: "I’ll go up first, you guys follow."
Climbing this section of the slope was indeed very dangerous; once someone slipped from above, there was a high possibility of falling directly.
Here it wasn’t as if falling meant a thousand-meter drop, but such intense effort would definitely lead to increased blood pressure and accelerated heart rate.
Once the body lacked oxygen, it also posed a life-threatening danger.
Li Younan stood below with interest, watching as the three of them climbed the slope.
They climbed very carefully and cautiously, using professional climbing tools.
Overall, the slope was approximately over 60 degrees, but there were one or two places that were over 70 degrees or even 80 degrees.
Li Younan hesitated a bit—should he continue climbing?
It took about 20 minutes for the three of them to climb the slope one after another, and then there was another gentle slope of forty to fifty degrees.
Once the three climbed up, they glanced back at Li Younan.
Li Younan thought for a moment and decided to go up to look at the slope’s condition.
Meanwhile, after Zhao Liang and the others climbed up the slope, they continued to climb without resting.
In mountaineering, one should try to stop and rest as little as possible, just slow down.
After climbing for a while, Li Younan’s figure disappeared from sight.
Ding Rui smiled and said, "It seems that guy probably won’t follow us anymore."
Zhao Liang nodded, looked up again, and said seriously, "Ignore others; it gets harder up there."
At this point, the altitude was approaching 7,000 meters, with only about 600 meters in elevation and 1,000 meters in distance left to reach the summit. Yet everyone’s body was nearing its limit.
And similar steep slopes like earlier appeared more frequently on the path ahead.
For Zhao Liang and his two companions, the real challenge was only just beginning here.

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