Ski Taiwan

Taiwan is home to eastern Asia’s highest peak, Yushan (also variously Yu Shan, Yùshān or Mount Morrison) it is just under 4,000m high (3997m/13113ft to be precise) and normally receives plenty of snowfall each winter – although it all melts by mid-Spring. So it should be possible to ski Taiwan, if you hike up with your gear, although reports of anyone having done so are hard to find. There is no Taiwan ski resort as such.

Yushan is located in a large national park, in the centre of the island of Taiwan, it was first climbed in 1898 by a German explorer named Stopel, only a few decades after it was first spotted by western eyes. The snow on its summit each winter apparently shines like jade, which is where the name Yushan comes from, as it means Jade Mountain. It also helped the mountain be the highest mountain and one of the 28 overall finalists in a 2009 contest to name seven natural wonders of the world. The mountain continues for 4000m under the sea giving it a total height of around 8,000m.

The snow falls above 2000m and above 3000m it usually lasts from December to March, having first appeared in October. The biggest snowfalls are normally in January and March and on average snow falls around 24 days each winter, although that number is declining.