An Inversion of Memories...

The Utah Capitol Building during last week's inversion

Last week an inversion settled on the Salt Lake Valley- blocking off, not only our air supply, but our source of light as well. Yet one day as I was driving to work a strange thing happened- the sun came out! At first I couldn't figure out what was different, but then I realized that my long lost friend had come to visit.  I was enjoying it soo much I let myself squint for 20 minutes before I finally pulled out the sunglasses.
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But even as I was enjoying the new found light, I must admit that part of me missed the fog. You see, it was not the pollution that I enjoyed, but the fog reminded me so much of Mount Huang Shan in China that it was just delightful to drive in it everyday and re-live my China memories.
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For those of you who were with me I am sure it brought back the same feelings for you. But for those of you who weren't there, I will try to recapture the experience so that next time an inversion comes in, you will find it a little more mystical than mere smog...
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A few years back I went to China as a volunteer and taught English in a private school for four months. It was such an adventure. Every few weeks we got time off- which, of course, we used to travel.On one of our last trips, we decided to go and visit Haungshan-- the Yellow Mountains. A train, bus, and car ride later we arrived at the base of the mountains.
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Unlike mountains I have frequented, in order to climb these mountains you had to ascend by stairs. A steep staircase wound its way up the mountain side. At first I was very energetic and rearing to go- hopping up the stairs, cracking jokes and stopping to take pictures. It was so hot and humid that although it was November, we all stripped down to our T-shirts and welcomed a rain storm to cool us off.
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All too soon, however, we were whistling a different tune. The staircase began more and more to resemble the stairwell from Cinderella- never-ending. With every flight I grew more weary, achy and shaky. Also, the higher we climbed the colder it became. Despite the fact that we re-bundled ourselves, the cold penetrated to the bone due to the fact that we were all wet from the rain and the never-let-you-dry-off humidity. The closer we got to the top, the foggier it became- making it so that you could only see a few steps in front of you.
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At several points I was certain I was not going to make it. I began to panic-- what would my friends do with my body? If they were as exhausted as I was (which was doubtful considering the fact that they were both very athletic and in-shape), my body was doomed to reside on this mountainside forever!
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I watched in disbelief as native after native passed me on the stairwell- not only was I impressed that they were steadily passing me and that their calf muscles were Huge, but I was particularly blown away by the fact that they were climbing with a large pole across their shoulders with a large bucket of water on each end--- all of this without even breaking a sweat!  (that's how they get water to the hostels at the top- there are no pipes, etc, all of the water is carried up on foot).
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Just when I thought I could go no further, a kind man took my hand and led me up several flights of stairs- smiling encouragingly at me. Then others began to chant "Jiaoyou", which means "Go Team" in Mandarin. Their enthusiasm was somehow contagious and I somehow managed to reach the top.
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Our triumph at reaching the top was short-lived due to the fact that not only were we freezing and hungry, we were lost. It took us nearly an hour to locate our hostel in the fog. When we arrived we were each assigned a bed and given 2 cups of hot water. I drank the first and slept with the second to keep warm.
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The next day we wandered about in the dense fog, completely lost and still hoping for a glimpse of these infamous mountains. Fortunately we ran into a couple who spoke English and they were able to guide us down. After a bit of the morning mist had cleared, we were able to see just what makes these mountains so famous-- they float on the clouds!
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Despite the hardship of climbing the stairs of death and almost freezing to death, climbing Huangshan was a priceless experience I will not soon forget (especially on those foggy days..)
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Click here to read an article I wrote about Huangshan.