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About Yushan South Ridge
The Difficulty Rating: ★★★⯪☆
Yushan, the tallest mountain, definitely the most popular hiking destination in Taiwan as well, attracts many local and international hikers to reach its summit. Yushan South Ridge (玉山南稜) is a non-official, special route to climb the Yushan Main Peak. The route is quiet, challenging but rewarding.
Although based on this name, the full length of this ridge should be between Yushan Main Peak and Yushan South Peak, but normally for hikers, this is just the ridge between Yuanfeng (圓峰) and Yushan Main Peak.
When you are heading to Yuanfong Cabin (or Yuanfeng Cabin 圓峰山屋) after passing Paiyun Lodge (排雲山莊) and then going further above the trail junction of Main / South Peak (主南叉路), you are walking right underneath this ridge. The spot where you finally veer to the cabin is a small saddle on the South Ridge between Yuanfeng and an elevation point of 3804 m. The small saddle is roughly the place where people start the ascent toward the Main Peak on this ridge.
My partner and I hiked on this route in 2015. The trail was not signed (at least no official signs). We started the climb by moving toward the point of 3804 m from Yuanfong Cabin. Once on the ridge we saw a few cairns occasionally and we mainly just followed the ridge. When we were fairly close to the Main Peak, the path became narrow and exposed where required extra attention.
There were fixed metal chains on the steep section before the trail nearly joined the main trail between Main Peak and East Peak. I wondered if the route was taken frequently decades ago. Having some nice photos taken at the summit of Yushan, we returned to Yuanfong Cabin via the official trail.
Does this route suit you?
This route is shorter than the official trail between Yuanfong Cabin and Yushan (The straight line between Yuanfeng and Yushan is only 1.4 km in length), but there are a few more risky places to negotiate carefully. Nothing was really technical.
Navigation is supposed to be straightforward as there is not much space to go astray on a narrow and steep ridge. As long as you are experienced enough to follow an impact trail on the ridge and not afraid of heights, you should be alright.
Overall I think this alternative route is suitable for an experienced hiker on a fine day. Also moving in northbound direction (from Yuanfeng to Yushan Main Peak) may be safer than the other way around in my opinion. I prefer to climb up on a steep and dangerous terrain rather than descend it.
