Getting warm, heated tempers
A few extra charcoal blocks are thrown on the fire to boil water and provide heat. Although the temperature in Taiwan's plains can go as high as 30oC in late May, when night comes, it falls to 4-5oC on the north peak and there is often a strong cold wind. Sweaters, hats and thick socks are basic requirements all year round. "Not until November 1997 did a helicopter bring the first load of charcoal to the Yushan Weather Station," says Hsieh. "Before then we had to collect firewood ourselves."
In modern society, we take electricity and gas for granted, so it is difficult to imagine that in the 1990s those working at the weather station found themselves arguing over how best to light the firewood they collected. At that time, the station had its own annual budget and employed workers to carry 12 canisters of gas up the mountain per year, which meant each team was restricted to the use of one 20-kilo canister per month. Generally, this was reserved for cooking, but that also meant that collecting firewood to cook rice, boil water or keep warm in winter was the responsibility of the assistants.
Two assistants from each team usually either cut down branches or picked up dead wood in a mountain gorge approximately 200 meters from the weather station, at the bottom of a roughly 1,000 meter long, 60-70 degree slope, a round trip of two kilometers. Because sometimes in the snowy season it is impossible to go outside, assistants had to work especially hard before the snow arrived to ensure enough wood was stored at the station. Insufficient firewood in the winter months meant those working at the station ran the risk of frostbite.
In addition, each team's assistants were only allowed to use the firewood they had collected themselves. As a result, every time a fire was lit, there was friction and bickering. In order to cool tempers, it was decided that the station chief would decide when the fire was lit and put out. Later charcoal was purchased and transported up the mountain, finally laying to rest the problems caused by the previous arrangement.
Other than at a barbeque, few people use charcoal in their daily lives, and so are unaware of what it costs. At around NT$10 a kilogram, a year's supply of 3,000 kilos costs a total of NT$30,000. Using a helicopter to carry it to the north peak costs NT$220,000 per 700 kilo, or a grand total of around NT$950,000. Add to that the cost of getting the charcoal to the helicopter, and the total is over NT$300 to transport just one kilo of charcoal to the north peak. With such a major outlay, staff at the weather station still use charcoal sparingly, so as to prevent waste.
Yushan, the highest peak in East Asia, calls to mind the words the Japanese explorer Kano Tadao wrote on reaching its summit: "Far removed from the world, what makes me happiest is that this untouched forest embraces me with its warmth, allowing me to enjoy its eternal peace." This photo shows A distant view of the Yushan Weather Station, on the mountain's north peak.