Fansipan Trek 25 - 28 Dec 08

We flew into Hanoi on Christmas Day, 25.12.2008 with the main aim of climbing Fansipan mountain located at Sapa, North Vietnam. After a short rest at Nam Hai hotel in the old quarters of Hanoi, we were transported to the Railway Station to catch the 9 p.m. train to Lao Cai. Our train reached Lao Cai @ 5 a.m. where we were met by Dao our guide. From here, it was another hour drive by the van to Sapa town, 38 km away.

We set off to the trail head @ 9 a.m. with Dao as our guide and 3 porters after completion of documentation and repacking. Rather than engaging another porter costing USD45, to carry our personal stuff, we agreed to pay the 3 porters a separate sum of USD25. Our journey of 12 km to the trailhead was stalled several times due to roadwork to clear landslides.

It was already 11 a.m. when we set out from Tram Ton Trail head (located at 1940m altitude) garbed in rain pants and ponchos in view of the lousy wet weather. TTT is supposed to be the shortest and the easiest. The other 2 trails start from Cat-Cat and Sin Chai located at altitudes of 1245m and 1260m respectively.

The first day 3-hour trek to campsite @ 2300m altitude could be considered easy with successive short steep ascents. After dinner, we retired early in anticipation of a tough trek to the summit the following day. The thatched hut of bamboo construct with visible cracks provided us little protection against the bitter cold wind. The night was absolutely freezing despite being warped up in layers of clothing, wool cap, shawl, gloves, socks and sleeping bag. No rubber mats were provided to protect our bodies against the icy air seeping up through the bamboo floor and the straw mats. Throughout the night we were “entertained” by scurrying rats. On hindsight, staying in tents could be a better option.

The second day weather was no better. Started an hour late at 7.30 a.m., we only managed to hit 2800m altitude at around 10.45 a.m. which was considered too late to reach the summit of 3143m by 12 noon. The trail distance to summit is about 17 km long from our campsite. The trail covered steep ascents, including ladder stairs and descents and took us through bamboo groves, shrubs and mossy forest. The trail became rockier and more challenging (had to go on fours) toward the later part near the summit. Except for a member who managed to reach the peak at 12.30 p.m. (Congratulations to her!), the rest of us started back trekking at various points after the time past 12 noon. It was also unbelievable that none of the porters and guide brought any spare drinking water for our lunch break! Though it was cold it was quite dehydrating. All of us got back to the campsite before 5 p.m. That night rubber mats were provided (following our complaint) and we had more than our 40 winks.

The weather was simply beautiful on the third day – blue sky and sunshine. But alas, it was time to trek home. The easy homeward trek took about 2 hours. After washing up at Sapa, we went town trekking…

Below is a series of trek photos (some contributed by Elsie and KT) in chronological order.

Post analysis:
- Change climb itinerary to camp at 2700m altitude instead of 2300m
- Best months for climbing August to October (less cold and also no leeches)

For the photographs, please refer to: http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/4879